So.. What should I actually be doing?

[oshfdk]

I think this one is more likely than finding Voynichese text. Again, access to a large number of contemporary manuscripts would help.

Is the implication that all of the currently digitised and accessible manuscripts have likely already been looked over by the people here? I'm not sure how the digitisation process goes; how often they are publically released etc.

Not necessarily by the people on this forum. But given a highly unusual appearance of Voynichese it kind of stands out. Normally you would be curious if you find an inscription in an unknown language, identifying Voynichese shouldn't be hard. But this is just my guess. I'd say randomly stumbling upon Voynichese when looking through medieval works seems unlikely. On the other hand, if you have a specific theory regarding the origin or especially authorship, then of course it makes sense to check other works by the same author or originating from the same place.

On the other hand, this is my personal favorite, so I certainly won't argue that it's pointless, etc... One just has to bear in mind that the success here is quite improbable and all the odds are definitely against any specific person achieving this. On the other hand, I think that the chance of somebody finding the right approach is quite high. So, the more people try, the better the overall chances are.

I feel similarly to this honestly. I would love to sit there and test some of my showerthought induced hunches, but the chances are that even if it leads to something, it will lead to me being convinced I am right and the rest are wrong.

I think no matter what solution you publish, people will first assume you are wrong. Even if you are right, initial reaction of any sane person to "I've cracked the Voynich cipher" would be "haha, you wish". So, there is nothing specifically wrong with thinking you are right and the rest are wrong, as long as you are ready for a constructive discussion and do not expect a round of applause the moment you share the solution.

Unfortunately, a lot of current ideas and solutions fall into the grey area between "not strong enough to be clearly right" and "not bad enough to be provably wrong". So, a lot of authors are stuck in the limbo of being sure they are right, but having no means to persuade others. In which case I think it's up to the author to try and make a better case of their idea.