Primer toot, probando probando.
¿Es verdad que puedo usar LaTeX aquí? a ver \(\sqrt{4}\)
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@dyvulgativa Hi there. Just a warning, while right now we do allow you to post in any language you wish there is ongoing debate about restricting QOTO's post language to english only. It isnt enforced yet but there is a fair chance it may be enforced in the near future.
I just wanted you to be aware of this conversation before you get too established here just in case we begin enforcing it.
@freemo thanks for the info.
The aim of this account is to boost threads on science-related issues, written mainly in Spanish.
Since we moved from Twitter to Mastodon we started to boost also threads in English, but I do not think we would like to restrict exclusively to that languaje.
In case my opinion could be useful, I do not think that science should be restricted to any languaje, and even if my scientific work is written completely in English, I would not participate in an instance with such a regulation. Be aware that, if such an idea spreads, we all most prepare to discuss science in chinese in a couple of decades.
So, I think we would have to leave the instance before even starting to post. Since we just moved from mastodon.cloud, that would not allow a second redirection before 30 days, and since in 30 days such instance will be closed, we would have to complete the motion to qoto.org first, and then move to another instance.
So... So long and thanks for the fish.
@dyvulgativa Please add your comment to the discourse thread, so it can be considered.
For now we are holding off enforcing any language restrictions.. Its been considered but we decided not to enforce it unless and until it creates an actual problem... We welcome your input in the thread:
https://discourse.qoto.org/t/final-proposal-restricting-posts-on-qoto-to-english-only/226?u=freemo
@dyvulgativa We a should at least tag the other moderators here since they play a large role in this discussion. Though they will prefer to comment in discourse as would I since that is where we keep a more official record of it all
@freemo thanks, I will leave my comment there.
Since you took the time to explain the issue here, let me add a couple of ideas
- The interface detected my location and spoke to me not only in Spanish, but with the specific slang we use in Argentina. That's cool, and implies that there are people from my country collaborating with QOTO. I am sure that, if needed, you can find enough moderators in Spanish among your community.
- Technical scientific discussions must me made in a common languaje to all the participants, and that's usually English. If you wish to restrict the instance only to such kind of exchanges, then the proposed languaje restriction would not be a problem. But popular science and discussions on scientific politics have a wider scope, and restrict them to English would be a waste.
- English is the languaje of scientific exchange not due to a constitutive feature, it is not "better" in any sense. It's use is just a consequence of the fact that the countries that are investing the most and producing most of scientific publications are English speakers. But that may change, and will certainly change in the years to come. Let me remind you that the most important paper in the history of physics was published in German. A community restricted to one languaje could not follow such changes.
- Finally, languaje restrictions are usually a way of self distinction, a way in which a group of people separate itself from the rest. It is a way to say "we are special, we are different from the others". The history of the "big vocalic shift" that made English into the orthographic and phonetic mess that it is today is an example of that. "Inclusive languaje" is another example. As a scientist who contribute to popularization of science in social networks for more that 15 years, I do not agree with any choice that identifies scientists as any kind of special elite.
I will improve and publish this ideas in your discussion thread, in case they could be useful.