Commercial ads

[Doug Yanega]

>If I want to read advertisements on USENET, I can go to one of the
>numerous *.marketplace newsgroups.  Isn't it enough to have one's
>snail-mailbox full of junk mail?  Now we're going to tolerate having our
>electronic mailboxes full of junk mail, too?

If I'm not mistaken, the effective charter for Taxacom permits relevant ads
already. Given that there has been no prior formal ban on members
advertising products or services before, this seems like an *inordinate*
fear of junk mail. How much junk mail is there on Taxacom presently? Almost
none, correct? Then *WHY* on earth would this suddenly, magically change
now? I sincerely doubt that anyone on this newsgroup reads
"comp.*.marketplace" newsgroups when they're curious about things like
newly-released monographs, CD-ROM keys, GIS software, phylogenetic
software, and the like. Let's ask the question of the members (those still
reading this thread, at least): if there are any of you who have had
something in one of the above categories to advertise - or something along
the same lines - and who *have* posted an ad in one of the marketplace
newsgroups, come forth and admit it. I've never seen an ad for any such
thing there, in the few times I've looked, and I'm not about to spend my
time rooting around in the comp.* hierarchy looking for new
neighbor-joining algorithms or such, unless the people writing and selling
this specialized software tell me "Yes, that is where such things are
advertised on a regular basis". There are *NO* newsgroups in the sci.*
hierarchy devoted exclusively to advertising scientific products, for
instance; relevant ads are simply posted to each group. Do people coming
out with new taxonomy-related books post in "rec.arts.books.marketplace"??
I've never seen an ad for one there.
        Those who have been on this list for some time now may recall that
I am aggressively opposed to off-topic commercial advertisements anywhere
on the Net. But if someone releases a new CD-ROM key to Mediterranean
amphipods, or Brasilian molluscs, or New Guinea asclepiads, or whatever,
then I can't imagine a more appropriate place to hear about it than right
here. We *all* hate junk mail, I suspect, but that is not the question
here. If you object vehemently to one taxonomist telling other taxonomists
"Hey, I've just put out a new [piece of software/book] you might find
useful" then you are denying one of the best possible reasons for having a
taxonomists mailing list in the first place. I hope we can drop this thread
FAST and get back to business - maybe a word or two from the list manager
himself would calm things down. Jim??

Doug Yanega       Illinois Natural History Survey, 607 E. Peabody Dr.
Champaign, IL 61820 USA      phone (217) 244-6817, fax (217) 333-4949
 affiliate, Univ. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Dept. of Entomology
          http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu:80/~dyanega/my_home.html
  "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
        is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82