More GBIF questions (was: ITIS)

[Neal Evenhuis]

At 1:33 PM -0500 6/24/04, Thomas G. Lammers wrote:
>At 01:19 PM 6/24/04, Doug Yanega wrote:
>>But - and I think Richard and I agree here - not as a static entity;
>>in order to best interact with the informatics people, the Codes
>>themselves will require some revisions to reflect the nature of the
>>changes in how we all do business.
>
>Oh, yes, by all means, let's put the cart before the horse.  Let's allow
>the tail to wag the dog.  That should serve everyone nicely.  While we're
>at it, perhaps we can make illegitimate any name that won't fit
>conveniently on a 3 X 5-in card when typed in pica ...
>

I cannot speak for the other codes, but we at ICZN do in fact keep
our fingers on the pulse of changes in the way zoologists do their
work and have made changes to previous and current editions the Code
to reflect that and plan to continue to do so in the future.

This does not mean we allow taxonomists to dictate the Code (Tom's
"wagging the dog" bit above). Rather, by understanding the workings
of taxonomy and taxonomists and listening to our colleagues, we make
prudent decisions on changes that allow taxonomists to do their work
in a more efficient manner while still protecting the stability of
names.

As an example of this "pulse monitoring", we set up a discussion list
(iczn-list) in August 2002, which was announced on Taxacom. The list
is subscribed to by virtually all the ICZN Commissioners and the ICZN
Secretariat. It is open to anyone interested in zoological
nomenclature, to those who may have questions about interpretation of
certain aspects of the ICZN Code, or to those who may have
constructive criticism of the ICZN Code and how it can be improved.

Anyone interested in joining can do so by sending an email to:

<join-iczn-list at lyris.bishopmuseum.org> and leaving the subject and body blank.

Thanks,

Neal Evenhuis
President, ICZN