More GBIF questions (was: ITIS)

[Thomas G. Lammers]

At 02:41 PM 6/24/04, Neal Evenhuis wrote:

>This does not mean we allow taxonomists to dictate the Code (Tom's
>"wagging the dog" bit above).

That's not what I meant.  Of course "taxonomists dictate the Code" -- they
created it and they are responsible for it.

My point was that it should not be modified for ad hoc purposes, for the
convenience of a single user-group, but rather on the basis of what is best
for science as a whole.  Modifying the Code to accommodate "informatics"
types is putting the cart before the horse: the informatics types should
modify THEIR procedures to bring them in line with what taxonomists do and
have done for years.


Thomas G. Lammers, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor and Curator of the Herbarium (OSH)
Department of Biology and Microbiology
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901-8640 USA

e-mail:       lammers at uwosh.edu
phone:      920-424-1002
fax:           920-424-1101

Plant systematics; classification, nomenclature, evolution, and
biogeography of the Campanulaceae s. lat.

Webpages:
http://www.uwosh.edu/departments/biology/Lammers.htm
http://www.uwosh.edu/departments/biology/herbarium/herbarium.html
http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Resort/7156/lammers.html
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