[Taxacom] Draft Checklist of the Nonmarine Arthropods of Alaska now online

[John Noyes]

Agreed Rich. If everyone with a pet group stopped whining and just got on with solving  the problem then it could be licked easily in two or three years. People have been whining about this since taxacom started. If the whiners had stopped whining and got on with it then we would have had decent catalogues of all groups of organisms years ago. Even a group that includes more than 20,000 species can be provided with an on-line catalogue in two or three years if someone pulls their finger out and gets on with it. It is easy, very easy. All it needs is a little organisation and the will to do it. 

John

John Noyes
Scientific Associate
Department of Life Sciences
Natural History Museum
Cromwell Road
South Kensington
London SW7 5BD 
UK
jsn at nhm.ac.uk
Tel.: +44 (0) 207 942 5594
Fax.: +44 (0) 207 942 5229

Universal Chalcidoidea Database (everything you wanted to know about chalcidoids and more):
www.nhm.ac.uk/chalcidoids 


-----Original Message-----
From: taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu [mailto:taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu] On Behalf Of Richard Pyle
Sent: 28 August 2013 17:36
To: 'Roderic Page'; 'TAXACOM taxacom'
Cc: ECN-L at listserv.unl.edu; ENTOMO-L at listserv.uoguelph.ca
Subject: Re: [Taxacom] Draft Checklist of the Nonmarine Arthropods of Alaska now online

> I for one find it extraordinary that in the early 21st century our 
> field
has failed
> to get its act together and provide the simple, basic services most 
> users require of taxonomic names. A simple list of names, linked to 
> variations (spellings, synonyms, etc.) and appropriate literature, so 
> that anyone can check a name (or set of names) and see relevant supporting evidence.

If I had a nickel for every time I've heard someone whine about this (and every time I've whined about this myself), I'd probably have enough money to fund the ultimate solution.

So.....shall we keep whining about it?  Or, should we try to find ways to harmonize the myriad efforts that are trying to solve the issue?  And there are MANY efforts that are trying to solve the issue (some of which have been mentioned in this thread, and some that have not).  I actually don't think that the problem is lack of funding, lack of vision, or lack of technical solutions.  The problem seems to be lack of adequate coordination. Granted, most of the efforts are stretched so thin that they don't have the time/funding/luxury/option of trying to be better coordinated. Fair enough.


But complaining about something that is blindingly obvious to everyone doesn't help much.  It's not that we're not doing stuff.  Many of us are doing stuff.  Good stuff. Often VERY good stuff.  It's just that we're not coordinating our stuff very effectively.

As Chris Thompson would say.... Oh, well....

Aloha,
Rich


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