Altebrilas:@ceigered
I think you should accept other people having different interests than yours. You may dislike grammar or politics - your opinion is respectable - , but those who are interested in them are not necessarily bad people...

You've misunderstood, probably because I wasn't being clear if I was serious or semi-serious . I actually like grammar ALOT, I just think others might find it tedious to talk about in Esperanto, just like talking about maths in languages you aren't fluent in.

(Talking about bringing down X country for their perceived "Imperial attitudes" and having revolutions is NOT something I like though, especially when its out of blind faith as opposed to real world worries, and it's not nice to have on an Esperanto forum - so much for world peace and understanding if we're using Esperanto as a vehicle of more regional misunderstandings and blind nationalism!)

I apologize because you weren't aimed personally. I meant "you, users of the forum..." I started writing "I think one should accept ... etc.", but gave up because I didn't know how to finish my sentence (if a native anglophone can tell me how, he will be welcome). So I switched from "one" to "you".

About politics, I think esperantists should be diplomatic, because most of the people in the world live in countries with political (and economical) regimes they have not choosen. Some esperanto congresses were organized in dictatures, and maybe they were a breath of oxygen for esperantists living there. And that was made possible only because of the peaceful and diplomatic spirit of esperantists.

BlackOtaku:So if I'm understanding the issue correctly, the main issue is that those who may have something to contribute might not have a sufficient command of English, and thus may only be able to post in Esperanto.

In fact there is no rule at all that says that it's ok to post in Esperanto only. If you read the forum rules, you won't find it.

However, sometimes people break the rules and post in Esperanto only. In those cases, if the person is truly unable to post in English, sometimes a member of the forum will be nice enough to translate the post so that it isn't deleted for non-compliance with the rules.

It is really a very simple rule. It isn't the problem of the Chinese speakers if my Chinese isn't good enough for me to participate in their forum, so I can't just go there and speak Esperanto because my Chinese is no good.

It doesn't mean I'm stupid. My Chinese just isn't good (in fact it is non-existent). So I can't really participate in the Chinese forums, even if they have very interesting discussions. It's the same in the English forums. If you can't write in English, this forum isn't really for you. If you want to write in Esperanto only, you go to the Esperanto forums. This forum is for discussions in English. In the past we have been very helpful and indulgent with this language issue, but the rule is very clear-cut.

BaclkOtaku, as you have quoted him, Erinja, perfectly states the issue.

And it is the number of people that comprise this constituency which makes it an issue.

Your example with Chinese (one imagines few who can read Chinese who cannot also write it) does not address the question. As neither does the constant repetition of 'rules is rules'.

Personally, since my writing skills are adequate, in both languages, I am not disadvantaged.

But I find myself uncomfortable with the idea that in engaging with other contributors, I may more easily win an argument just because I am a native speaker.

Wasn't Esperanto created, precisely, to put people on an equal footing?

Esperanto was created to put people on equal footing.

If you write in English here in the English forum, then people who don't speak English are forced to use their meagre English skills in a struggle to understand you.

If you write in Esperanto in the Esperanto forums, everyone understands you perfectly.

Therefore I encourage you to go to the Esperanto forums and have conversations in Esperanto.

As I stated previously, this forum was never intended to be a general discussion of all things by all nationalities. This forum's primary purpose it to help English-speaking beginners. Of course anyone in the world is welcome to post here, whether they are a native speaker of English or not. But the language of this forum is English. I wouldn't go to the Chinese forum and post in English or Esperanto, because there are other forums for that. That forum is for Chinese. This forum is for English. Other forums are for Esperanto.