History: Jimbob mythos

Source of version: 1 (current)

See [http://balance.wiw.org/~jkominek/lojban/9203/msg00101.html] for the thread that engendered the mythos (recirculated in ((ju'i lobypli)) 16 and 17.) 'Jimbobs' became an term used to designate the community of active Lojbanists of around 1992, including ((Nick Nicholas)), ((Ivan Derzhanski)), ((Mark Shoulson)), ((Colin Fine)), etc.

Some explications of the email:

*__El Zamenhofo__ refers to adherents of the traditional Esperanto ideology, so named after the language inventor, Zamenhof, with a sideswiping allusion to Harlow's reference to El Capitan.
*__Il Silferissimo__ is an allusion to Giorgio Silfer, an Italian Esperantist intellectual, and one of the primary advocates of the doctrine of ''Rauxmismo'' ([http://www.helsinki.fi/~jslindst/raumo-20.html|Esperanto-language discussion]), asserting that Esperantists should emphasise their achievements as an autonomous language community, rather than evaluate everything they achieve relative to the 'final victory' (''finvenkismo, pracelanoj'') of the universal adoption of Esperanto.
*__La Dangxera Lingvo__ details the political persecutions Esperantists have suffered over the years, primarily under the Nazi and Stalinist regimes.
*__Schleyer__ was the inventor of Volapük, and the archetype of the dictatorial artifical language inventor.
*__Bruce Jilson__ is Bruce Gilson, notorious at the time on the CONLANG list as an anti-Esperantist and advocate of Ido and other, more naturalistic conlangs.  He and others worked on a naturalistic loglang eventually called [http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/3141/voksigid.html|Voksigid].
*__Carter Jimbob__ is Jim Carter, who has worked on his own Loglan-influenced artificial languages, most recently ((Gua\spi)); in -gua!spi text he uses the name ''kartr jym'', where ''y'' = English ''i'' in bit, not Lojban ''y''.
*__Ivan derJimbob, Mark Joulsonbob, Colin Jinebob, Nickbob, Bob !LeJimbob__ should be self-explanatory.
*__John !McJohnbob__ is explained in the exchange.
*__Jimbrownbob__ is ((James Cooke Brown)).  Calling him the First Digger is an allusion to the First Speaker of Isaac Asimov's ''Second Foundation''.

Nick Nicholas originated the comparison between Lojbanists and stereotypical American 'rednecks' (Jim-Bob being an archetypal name of such), but does not remember why. Presumably he intended it as a mild protest at the Americanicity of ((Lojban Central)), although most 'Jimbobs' were not in fact Americans.

''I always thought "JimBob" was a reference to the main figures of the Loglan/Lojban community: Jim=((James Cooke Brown)) and Bob=((Bob LeChevalier)).  Oh well.'' (Se non e vero, e ben trovato...)

----

I don't know which image is more interesting: Lojban intellectuals that advocate doctrines, persecution by totalitarian governments, or rednecks that drawl Lojban.

''Er, Esperanto intellectuals, but I see your point. (Kinda...)''
History: Jimbob mythos

Source of version: 1 (current)

Search Lojban Resources
