Donations?!

I certainly don't expect donations, but I've included a link on the site, and would like to recommend that other conlangers do, as well. The reason is roughly as follows.

In a capitalist society (I realize this is the internet, not America, but play along for a bit), something has value insofar as it makes money. The perception, then, is that anything that does not make money is valueless. The very notion is faulty, of course, but there are a lot of folks who feel that this is the case. As artists, it's our duty to let others know that our work has meaning, and that it should be valued. This isn't to say that, for example, a good conlang is as great a work as a best-selling novel. The idea is this: if money is how a work of art is valued, and how artists are valued, then created languages and languages creators should be allowed to compete—to be a part of the artistic community. By supporting a given language creator, you support the language creation community at large, and the community of artists, struggling and otherwise.

Again, the idea is not self-aggrandizement, or even to earn a living (ha!), but to help to prove that there is a market for what we do—that there are those out there who appreciate our efforts. We've got a long way to go, but who knows? Maybe some day under "Profession", one will actually be able to write "Language Creator" just as easily as one can now write "Writer", "Actor", or "Artist".

[Note: If you know a good conlanger, suggest to them that they set up a PayPal account for donations. If they ask you why, send them to this page, or have them contact me.]