[Taxacom] Wikispecies is not a database

[Stephen Thorpe]

[Rod Page]> The widespread existence of homonyms is one consequence of
> distribution without centralisation.

[reply] Preventing homonymy (and even simultaneous synonymy) is one of  
the things Wikispecies can do very well indeed. Those authors who  
bother to check for homonymy (plenty don't - I know one taxomist who  
called a genus Moorea after someone called Moore without even thinking  
that someone might have already named another genus after another  
Moore!) only have limited options to check. For genera, Nomenclator  
Zoologicus is very patchy for recent years. Monitoring Wikispecies  
could have prevented the recent clash between:

Lin, Y.; Li, S. 2009: First described Patu spiders (Araneae,  
Symphytognathidae) from Asia. Zootaxa, 2154: 47-68.

and

Miller, J.; Griswold, C.; Yin, C.M. 2009: The symphytognathoid spiders  
of the Gaoligongshan, Yunnan, China (Araneae: Araneoidea): systematics  
and diversity of micro-orbweavers. ZooKeys, 11: 9-195.

I agree that there is a need for UP-TO-DATE centralised information on  
taxonomy, and Wikispecies is by far the cheapest and simplest option...

Stephen




Quoting Roderic Page <r.page at bio.gla.ac.uk>:

>
> On 8 Aug 2009, at 01:24, Bob Mesibov wrote:
>
>> Rod Page wrote:
>>
>> "Hmmm, let's imagine the web without Google. Imagine how much fun
>> that would be. I'd suggest that if we don't have a decent
>> aggregation of what we know, then we can kiss the field good buy
>> (or, maybe we've done that already...?)"
>>
>> Please don't confuse a search engine with the data sources being
>> searched for. And let me rephrase what you wrote this way:
>>
>> "If we *only* have a decent aggregation of what we know, then we can
>> kiss the field good bye."
>
> I was using Google to convey the idea that if we ONLY have
> distributed, independent data sources, then we are in big trouble. To
> use Geoffrey Bilder's happy phrase (http://tinyurl.com/abobqq )
> "distributed begets “centralized" . The web is great in that it is
> distributed and decentralised (i.e., pretty much as taxonomy is), but
> in order to make it widely usable, we need centralised services
> (search engines, indexes, domain name services, etc.).
>
> The widespread existence of homonyms is one consequence of
> distribution without centralisation.
>
>>
>> If 80-90% (pick your estimate) of the world's life is undiscovered
>> or undocumented, then 80-90% of the world's life isn't in taxonomic
>> data aggregations and can't be found through Google. You won't find
>> information about a single new, undiscovered species on the Web. If
>> taxonomists stop discovering and documenting life and sit in their
>> offices manipulating Web-based data, then we can indeed kiss the
>> field goodbye.
>
> Why can it not be a case of data aggregation AND discovery?
> Furthermore, if you think there are no undiscovered species on the
> web, then you haven't been using eBay!  
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7572052.stm
>   (tongue somewhat in cheek)
>
> Regards
>
> Rod
>
>
>
>> --
>> Dr Robert Mesibov
>> Honorary Research Associate
>> Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, and
>> School of Zoology, University of Tasmania
>> Home contact: PO Box 101, Penguin, Tasmania, Australia 7316
>> (03) 64371195; 61 3 64371195
>> Website: http://www.qvmag.tas.gov.au/mesibov.html
>>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------
> Roderic Page
> Professor of Taxonomy
> DEEB, FBLS
> Graham Kerr Building
> University of Glasgow
> Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
>
> Email: r.page at bio.gla.ac.uk
> Tel: +44 141 330 4778
> Fax: +44 141 330 2792
> AIM: rodpage1962 at aim.com
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> Home page: http://taxonomy.zoology.gla.ac.uk/rod/rod.html
>
>
>
>
>
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>
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