Who actually wants the Voynich solved?

[Oscroft]

This seems like a suitable thread for my first forum post. I've had a passing interest in Voynich since I first heard about it a few decades ago. I have some exposure to cryptography and to language structure - but nowhere near the expertise to have a go at Voynich! But I am certain the vast majority of people with an interest in it want it to be solved... and I really hope I'm still around to see the day it happens.

I've also read a number of claimed solutions - published in other places, and here in this forum. And, as others with more knowledge than me have pointed out, they all fall victim to the same basic mistakes... which have been well explained here (and in Koen's YouTube channel).

The obvious challenge to anyone who claims to have cracked the secret is: "So tell us what it says then!" And they invariably can't. Nobody has come plausibly close. People are convinced they're right about what it is, where it came from, even what language it is or is based on... but they haven't a clues what it says.

Scepticism, critique, challenge... those are the exact way theories should be challenged, and are vital approaches to help focus and improve ideas. It's a positive constructive approach, not one of negativity.

Of the ideas currently being discussed here, not one comes close to convincing me. But I'm grateful to the people who put in the effort and present their ideas. I find some of the things people unearth quite fascinating. And who knows... maybe one of the links they find in an otherwise flawed theory could provide a link for someone else with another idea?

I really hope people keep offering their ideas, and I hope others keep critiquing them. And I'd urge authors to be as open as possible to critique - critique is the lifeblood of research, and should never be personal or derogatory.