Taxacom: demystifying gender agreement ( was Re: Removals ofoffending scientific names)

[Douglas Yanega]

On 6/26/23 10:09 AM, George Beccaloni wrote:
> Hopefully the ICZN isn't a dictatorship... If not, perhaps it should 
> consult taxonomists worldwide and give them a vote about continuing or 
> abandoning gender agreement.

This is a false dichotomy.

It is not a binary choice, between "no gender agreement at all" and "the 
status quo".

In plain fact, there is so much resistance to the status quo, that this 
is not likely to be one of the favored alternatives the Commission puts 
forth. Likewise, given that it would create more instability than *any* 
of the other options, "no gender agreement at all" is not *really* a 
viable option, either.

This mailing list is composed of many taxonomists worldwide, and I and 
other Commissioners are raising the issue here and now, and offering 
OTHER options to the community for your feedback. Why are you not 
discussing *any* of these other options, and fixated instead on two 
options we are NOT likely to be pursuing?

I asked the question to Les Watling earlier, and I will reiterate it:

If you never in your life had to personally research the linguistic 
properties of names again, would you be willing to continue using gender 
agreement?

Reducing the problem to a matter of semi-automation is possible, if we 
build authoritative consensus lists. We know how to do it (you have 
*yourself* done the essential part, for cockroaches), and we are willing 
to do it. Would you not consider this a satisfactory way to address and 
resolve your complaints?

Sincerely,

-- 
Doug Yanega      Dept. of Entomology       Entomology Research Museum
Univ. of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0314     skype: dyanega
phone: (951) 827-4315 (disclaimer: opinions are mine, not UCR's)
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