erinja:It won't be a special surprise for the 100000th subscriber, actually. We did discuss that, but we decided that there's nothing that makes the 100000th subscriber any more special than anyone who signed up earlier. The special activities will involve some sort of contest with prizes, open to all lernu users (not just the 100000th user!)

Owww, that's a shame. I already had the nickname, 'The Chosen One' as an idea

The Internet must have had a big effect on the interest in Esperanto.

It has not only made the language much more accessible, providing a rich resource for learners and facilitating contacts among speakers, but also by its ubiquitous presence must have had an influence on public attitudes.

How many people speak Esperanto and at what level we shall never know. The more so as the Internet, now allows anybody to learn Esperanto to a passable level without leaving a sigficant footprint.

The consequence of this is that nobody can prove you wrong if you pluck any plausible figure out of the air.

It would be foolish to assert that there is only one speaker of Esperanto in the world, and you would be mocked for asserting that there are 40 million speakers.

However set your level as to what counts as a speaker and try your luck.

Leke:Nice statistic gathering
I noticed lernu will soon have 100,000 registrations.

erinja:Some special activities are being planned to celebrate the 100,000th registration, in fact.

I be waiting it.

I agree that the internet must have helped Esperanto. I fell away from Esperanto in the late 90s, due to work committments and a lack of fellow esperantists nearby. Now, with the internet, I can have as much or as little contact as I want AND the resources are all there online for free!

I wonder how many other people are in a similar situation.

bagatelo:I agree that the internet must have helped Esperanto. I fell away from Esperanto in the late 90s, due to work committments and a lack of fellow esperantists nearby. Now, with the internet, I can have as much or as little contact as I want AND the resources are all there online for free!

I wonder how many other people are in a similar situation.

More than you can imagine.

ceigered:
"Gratulojn! Vi estas nia 100.000a abonanto! Alklaku tie ĉi por informiĝi pri via speciala viruso! Tiu ĉi ne estas ŝerco!"

Hi-fidelity translation.

Hahahahaha.

bagatelo:
I agree that the internet must have helped Esperanto. I fell away from Esperanto in the late 90s, due to work committments and a lack of fellow esperantists nearby. Now, with the internet, I can have as much or as little contact as I want AND the resources are all there online for free!

I wonder how many other people are in a similar situation.

The Web has also helped out speakers of conlangs which are even less popular than Esperanto (Ido, Novial, Interlingua, Lojban, probably even Solresol, et cetera ad nauseum). Without the Web, some of those conlangs would be in danger of dying out for good.

Kraughne:
The Web has also helped out speakers of conlangs which are even less popular than Esperanto (Ido, Novial, Interlingua, Lojban, probably even Solresol, et cetera ad nauseum). Without the Web, some of those conlangs would be in danger of dying out for good.

There are a lot of other natural languages and their culture expertise dying out.

UNESCO Interactive Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger