Useful life of CDROM

[Murray Fletcher]

Gary Rosenberg wrote:

> Given the problems of permanence, tracking versions and their dates of
> publication, and ensuring that text and images appear identical to all
> users, I think allowing electronic publication of taxonomic acts is
> premature. Was a work published on the date stated, or did the author
> forget to change the date when the last update was made? How many versions
> of the CD-ROM must I wade through to find the one in which the taxonomic
> act occurred?
>

The same situation arises with publication on the web. Issuing an updated
CD-ROM raises the same issues as updating a web page. Solving the date problem
with one will solve the date problem with the other.

In my checklist and key to the Australian Fulgoromorpha (accessed from the ASCU
site URL below), I have listed on the title page the date of original
publication and date of the most recent update. I have chosen a slightly
different colour shade for the date of the update. On each page where there is
updated information, the new information is in the second colour with a note
appended such as "[update: 17 July 1999]". There is a need to have a method of
differentiating precisely which information has been updated. For example, a
distribution list may list three localities with the date of publication of the
first two differing from that of the third and hence the third locality, and
only the third locality, needs to be linked to the Update note at the end of
the list. Enclosing the relevant information and the date of update within
square brackets may be a better option than using a different colour since
different browsers and screens may not differentiate the colours well. The
whole concept is no different from inserting a reference to the work of another
author to credit particular items on the page anyway.

It should be possible, assuming the author is conscientious about updating the
date when updating the information (or even better to have an automatic dating
system applying to all pages which would force the author to clearly
differentiate any new information from earlier information to avoid readers
applying the later date to a whole page), to follow the dates of publication of
all parts of the updated work just as the current system allows us to follow
the development of taxonomic work by referencing the published work of other
authors with dates of publication. New information published elsewhere can then
be incorporated without affecting priority of either the new information or the
original material on the page.

Once we have an internationally accepted protocol for dating such updates we
might be able to start seriously considering publication of new taxonomic
information on the web, or on CD-ROM. It is certainly easier and cheaper to get
some decent full colour reproductions of species on a web page than in a
printed page.

We would still have to solve the problem of permanency of record with website
URLs changing at the (in)discretion of the ISP. A downloaded printout of the
website deposited in appropriate public libraries perhaps [bows head and waits
for expected rain of verbal blows; update: 17 July 1999]

Murray Fletcher

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * *
Dr Murray J. Fletcher
Agricultural Scientific Collections Unit
NSW Agriculture - OAI
Forest Road
ORANGE NSW 2800
Australia

Phone: 61-(0)2-63913943
Fax: 61-(0)2-63913899
Email: murray.fletcher at agric.nsw.gov.au

ASCU Website: http://agric.nsw.gov.au/Hort/ascu

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * *