The Voynich Ninja

I think it would be a good idea for people whose work on the Voynich manuscript is tied up with their financial affairs to make that clear.

This is not really about money  - we're not the income tax department - but because people with a vested interest in maintaining their preferred hypothesis will be less likely to respond well to challenges and new information.  And that's something other researchers need to know.


I'll start by saying that I'm working on a book commissioned by a reputable  publishing house. Submission date is late this year.

I'm also instructed by the publisher to remind everyone that he considers his publishing house has a well-earned reputation, and that reputation is partly due to the quality of the persons whose works appear under their imprint. In his opinion, irresponsible persons' allegations and insinuations about one of his authors may well have a quantifiable impact on his sales, profits, and his own house's reputation, things of which he would take a dim view.

Sorry, but I've been asked to say that in a public Voynich forum. It has to do with a small clique, a sub-group in the 'German theory' set, who have pursued a relentless campaign of denigration and personal abuse because my work has not reached conclusions which support that theory.  The campaign has noticeably become more vicious since I began demonstrating Jewish influence in the manuscript.  The slanders have included insinuations that I am a liar, that my academic qualifications are not real; that my students were not real; that I suffer from some mental, moral or other deficiency... and so on and so forth.

I don't think our moderators will tolerate that sort of thing.  I'm posting the notice for form's sake in a public forum as I've been asked to do.

Hi Diane,
I'd remind everyone that there are two options for such types of disclosure:

• Add it to your introduction in the "Introducing Researchers", if you have chosen to create an introduction
  
• Add it to your personal profile
  

Creating threads here doesn't really work, because it gets lost in the future and there is no way to cross-reference. Imagine someone wants to check if Diane mentioned this link once that book is published later in the year - it would be difficult to find this post.

As a matter of common courtesy I expect people to mention any professional links to articles, books, videos or theories they mention. But as there is no way to enforce such a rule, we have to hope people abide by good manners and scholarly courtesy.

(22-03-2016, 03:12 PM)Diane Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view....

Sorry, but I've been asked to say that in a public Voynich forum. It has to do with a small clique, a sub-group in the 'German theory' set, who have pursued a relentless campaign of denigration and personal abuse because my work has not reached conclusions which support that theory....

I don't know who this clique is or who the 'German theory' set is (and I really don't pay much attention to other people's theories (or care) except when they expressly post them on the forum for public comment) but I would like to point out from a purely historical perspective that Jewish influence and German theories are not incompatible.

There was a very significant Jewish population all across southern Lombardy in the 14th (and partly into the 15th centuries) at a time when Lombardy stretched from eastern Spain to western Czech and included Venice, Salerno (which remained Lombardic for a considerable time after the Lombards lost the kingdom of Naples), and parts of Rome.

---

(22-03-2016, 03:12 PM)Diane Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.I think it would be a good idea for people whose work on the Voynich manuscript is tied up with their financial affairs to make that clear.
...

For the record, I have no financial interests in the VMS and I have no ads on my blog. This is a sideline for me. I like solving puzzles and I like exploring history within a real-life context.

Things could change. What is true today might not be true tomorrow.

I can only make one general recommendation.
Internet discussion fora are always at risk to be negatively affected by issues that occur in other boards on the same topic, or have occurred there in the past.
Dragging such issues into a new forum should be avoided. The moderators here have no way to control what happens in other boards.
So far (as I already wrote before) everything seems just fine here.

By the way, I have no financial interests in the Voynich MS, and I am very open to new information.

Same here: No financial interests involved! If anything, the Voynich is often a distraction when I should really be working on other things!

I've never seen any sort of abuse going on here, and I'm pretty sure the forum rules, and indeed its very structure with the reputation/rating system are a great way of keeping that in check while guaranteeing freedom of speech.
I'm sorry, Diane, that you feel that there is any sort of Voynich theory-clique: all I have seen here is open-mindedness and tolerance.
I think it is a good thing that our ideas, our premises and views, can be questioned by others.
Of course, we all have our temperaments, and naturally, we can adamantly defend our conclusions when we feel its necessary. 
Sometimes even a heated exchange can lead to a new inspiration or to considering options we hadn't before.
Just as in life itself, people can be more or less courteous, or even unpleasant to chat with: but thankfully we don't live in a world where that's forbidden!

I would like to mention that this Forum in itself is also strictly non-commercial.

Once deciphered   i will publish the text in VMS on one of my websites. 

That will be done anonymously, because i am already happy with my way of life 
and interference by money or journalists is not preferred.

Thanks to everyone for their comments.

I agree that the atmosphere on the forum is intellectually free, and socially civil to a refreshing degree. I keep urging people who write to me to join!

Also agree with VViews that
" the Voynich is often a distraction when I should really be working on other things!"

The 'Blogosphere' is a brilliant idea, btw, in the amount of time it saves going from site to site to check if there's anything new.
Congrats to whoever thought of it.

I feel your pain Diane