TAXA COMmunication, Re: Museum Acronyms

[Peter Rauch]

TAXA and COM:  See my comments, and a note from Richard Zander
at end. Peter

> >>> Posting number 17718, dated 24 Jul 2002 10:36:08
> Reply-To:     Richard Jensen <rjensen at SAINTMARYS.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: Museum Acronyms
> ...
> Isn't "taxacom" an acronym for "taxonomic communication?"
> ...

Close, but no cigar (bad for your health).

> >>> Posting number 17731, dated 25 Jul 2002 08:13:18
> Reply-To:     Jim Croft <jrc at ANBG.GOV.AU>
> Subject:      Re: Museum Acronyms
>
> >Isn't "taxacom" an acronym for "taxonomic communication?"
>
> It used to be a shorthand label thingy for 'taxonomic
> computing', a sacred venue for erudite discussion of matters
> bioinformatical...  a wondrous synergy of shared data, common
> technology and collective wisdom...  but purity of noble purpose
> was sullied long ago...  :)

Not "TAXO"nomic "COM"puting; see Richard's authoritative
etymology at bottom.

> >>> Posting number 17732, dated 25 Jul 2002 08:41:25
> Reply-To:     Jim Croft <jrc at ANBG.GOV.AU>
> Subject:      Re: Museum Acronyms
> ...
> Taxacom will never do it (I do not think Taxacom has ever
> actually 'done' anything) but an individual or small team in a
> major museum might.
> ...

Jim, I suppose you meant what you said above in a very specific
context --esp. given what you said earlier in Posting 17731
about TAXACOM-- but I'll defend TAXACOM's "do-ings"
nevertheless... :>)

TAXACOM has "not ever actually 'done' anything" some 17785 times
as of today, having done so for the past 12-plus years. You can
review each and every bit of it at:

http://usobi.org/archives/taxacom.html

You have not ever actually 'done' anything at least 128 times
during that period, and we all have valued every bit of it. :>)

(What percentage of those 17785 postings do you suppose actually
did "do" anything worthwhile?)

Here's the last word on TAXA COMmunications, except to reiterate
what Jim Croft said-- "...but purity of noble purpose was
sullied long ago."

> On Sun, 28 Jul 2002, Richard Zander wrote:
> > Date: Sun, 28 Jul 2002 09:05:58 -0500
> > From: Richard Zander <Richard.Zander at mobot.org>
> > To: 'Peter Rauch' <peterr at socrates.Berkeley.EDU>
> > Subject: RE: "Taxacom" name etymology?
> >
> > Peter:
> > My wife, Pat Eckel, invented the name for her proposed
> > Botanical Latin translation service, and I begged it from her
> > for the Bulletin Board System I had going then at the Buffalo
> > Museum of Science. Jim Beach then asked if he could use it for
> > his listserver, and we said fine. It is just "taxa" plus
> > "com(munications)."
> >
> > Pat still does Latin translations for botanists at
> > pmeckel at sciencebuff.org
> ...
> > Richard
> > __________________________
> > Richard H. Zander
> > Missouri Botanical Garden
> > P.O. Box 299
> > St. Louis, MO 63166-0299, USA
> > email <richard.zander at mobot.org>