[Taxacom] data quality vs. data security: a survey

[Stephen Thorpe]

Dear Tony,
That still doesn't answer my question, the answer to which I need not use to extrapolate to any particular conclusion. The question was this: in this case (Apteropanorpa), does AFD have ANY advantages over Wikispecies? NOT, is it better or worse overall, but does it have any advantages over Wikispecies in this particular case. I am just interested in the answer. Is there a possible circumstance in which someone would rightly choose to answer a question like this (How many species of Apteropanorpa are there?)  with the answer 1, citing AFD as the source, when they were also fully aware of the Wikispecies page? Of course you would actually give the answer 4 and cite Palmer, Trueman & Yeates (2007), but that would still mean that (in this particular case) Wikispecies was more useful than AFD. The conclusion, if any, that I draw is that it is easier (and cheaper) to make Wikispecies more useful than many existing closed sources like AFD, as many of them seem inherently difficult to keep up-to-date. Hopefully, this conclusion may facilitate two things: (1) development of secure databases that are easier to keep up-to-date and correct errors without delay; and (2) greater utilisation of Wikispecies as at least an interim tool, for at the moment my impression is that it is still greatly undervalued by the scientific community (certainly there is very little contribution of information to it), who seem to prefer to wait an indefinite amount of time for (1) to become a reality ...
Cheers,
Stephen

________________________________________
From: Tony.Rees at csiro.au [Tony.Rees at csiro.au]
Sent: Friday, 12 February 2010 3:49 p.m.
To: Stephen Thorpe; TAXACOM at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
Cc: execsec at nzor.org.nz; crosbyt at landcareresearch.co.nz; rgg at clear.net.nz; Alan.Flynn at maf.govt.nz; Jo.Berry at maf.govt.nz; CooperJ at landcareresearch.co.nz
Subject: RE: data quality vs. data security: a survey

Dear Stephen,

Extrapolating from a single example is basically meaningless. I will leave it to others to explain why, if they so desire.

- Tony


-----Original Message-----
From: Stephen Thorpe [mailto:s.thorpe at auckland.ac.nz]
Sent: Friday, 12 February 2010 12:51 PM
To: Rees, Tony (CMAR, Hobart); TAXACOM at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
Cc: execsec at nzor.org.nz; crosbyt at landcareresearch.co.nz; rgg at clear.net.nz; Alan.Flynn at maf.govt.nz; Jo.Berry at maf.govt.nz; CooperJ at landcareresearch.co.nz
Subject: RE: data quality vs. data security: a survey

thanks Tony, but it is equally easy to pick a counterexample to disprove anything you want! :)

>and you would conclude the opposite (maybe)...

What was I concluding? That Wikispecies is better than AFD? No, actually! I was concluding (at most) that Wikispecies CAN BE better than AFD (or other similar closed edit source), but really not concluding anything but wondering if people value (perceived) data security over data quality, and your counterexample doesn't alter that ...

So, I ask again: in the particular case of Apteropanorpa (Physeter is irrelevant), does AFD (as it is) give you anything over an above what Wikispecies (as it is) gives you?

Stephen
________________________________________
From: Tony.Rees at csiro.au [Tony.Rees at csiro.au]
Sent: Friday, 12 February 2010 2:41 p.m.
To: Stephen Thorpe; TAXACOM at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
Cc: execsec at nzor.org.nz; crosbyt at landcareresearch.co.nz; rgg at clear.net.nz; Alan.Flynn at maf.govt.nz; Jo.Berry at maf.govt.nz; CooperJ at landcareresearch.co.nz
Subject: RE: data quality vs. data security: a survey

Stephen,

It is easy to pick an example to prove anything you want. Compare these two pages;

http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/abrs/online-resources/fauna/afd/taxa/Physeter

http://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Physeter

and you would conclude the opposite (maybe)...

Regards - Tony


-----Original Message-----
From: taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu [mailto:taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu] On Behalf Of Stephen Thorpe
Sent: Friday, 12 February 2010 12:11 PM
To: TAXACOM at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
Cc: execsec at nzor.org.nz; crosbyt at landcareresearch.co.nz; rgg at clear.net.nz; Alan.Flynn at maf.govt.nz; Jo Berry; CooperJ at landcareresearch.co.nz
Subject: [Taxacom] data quality vs. data security: a survey

I would be interested in readers opinions on this simple question:

taking the particular example of the genus Apteropanorpa, does the closed edit database AFD (http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/abrs/online-resources/fauna/afd/taxa/Apteropanorpa/checklist#selected) give anyone anything useful that the corresponding Wikispecies page (http://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Apteropanorpa) does not?

Note that the AFD info is 11 years out of date, but is seen by some as having somehow got "more secure" content.

My view is that the AFD info is either seriously misleading/wrong OR it is neither of those things but tells you nothing useful! It depends if it tells you when it was last updated (and I haven't checked, but I don't see anything obvious). If it doesn't, then the reasonable interpretation by a user would be that there is only one valid species of Apteropanorpa, which is wrong. If it does say that it was last updated in 1998 or something (was it even around then?), then it tells you something true, i.e., that in 1998 there was only one known (valid) species of Apteropanorpa, but that information seems to me to be of little or no practical use...

I am granting for the sake of argument that the AFD info is somehow "more secure" (closed edit), but the question is: would anyone have any good reason to use the AFD info over the Wikispecies info? Note that the question is NOT which would you prefer if both were kept equally up-to-date and reliable, but which would you prefer as things actually are ...

Comments welcome,

Stephen
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