[pmoriarty]

There's a huge difference in the effort required to learn shorthand vs something like Shavian or Quikscript.

I learned Quikscript in less than a week. From what I've heard, most shorthands take months or years to learn.

[themodelplumber]

Ah, I believe I'm familiar with this thinking. I have discussed it with other writers of shorthand. Were you aware that you can extend Quikscript into a shorthand system with some simple steps?

In my case, I have added my own extensions to Ford, such as representations of words and phrases, and have added on some conventions from Gregg as well.

IMO the distinction some draw between "shorthand" and "script" for example can make it needlessly difficult for beginners to get started.