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Date: Mon, 10 Oct 2005 23:43:45 +0200 (MEST)
From: [unknown]
To: phylocode@ouvaxa.cats.ohiou.edu
Subject: Re: Multiple definitions? was Re: Stormbergia dangershoeki
> --- Urspr=FCngliche Nachricht --- > Von: "Jaime A. Headden" <qilongia@yahoo.com> > Datum: Mon, 10 Oct 2005 13:42:41 -0700 (PDT) > > David Marjanovic (david.marjanovic@gmx.at) wrote: >=20 > <The ISPN or CPN will need to invite _lots_ of authors to contribut= e to > the Companion Volume, even those who don't plan to use phylogenetic > nomenclature*, to make sure that we get names and definitions > a) that as many people as possible (!) will be able to live with, > and b) that will not collapse under > their own weight within the next 20 or 30 years (...at least).> > > Then you have the partisanship to consider: Will I or will I not > include someone I am opposed to? Will I coin the name myself and pu= t > it in without anyone else knowing? Will I toss a definition out bec= ause > I think the name should be different? Will I put my own naming theo= ries > to practice to edit the submissions? Will I use this opportunity to > "fix" centuries of problems like "Ceratopsia" into "Ceratopia" or > simply do away with *Ceratops* altogether and use "Triceratopsia"? > Will I invite only my friends to the party, or can > know-nothing-BUT-up-and-coming students be allowed to contribute? The worst-case scenario -- and judging from my limited knowledge it i= s=20 entirely possible -- is that the Companion Volume will be compiled in= =20 _exactly this way_. (Explanation for outsiders -- *Ceratops* is probably a nomen dubium, = but=20 many higher taxa are named after it [in an apparently grammatically= =20 incorrect fashion], of which most have been in common use for over 10= 0=20 years.) > perhaps the definitions and name applications will resemble somethi= ng > like a platypus (everything works together, but does it work with > everything else?) :-D Ingenious metaphor! > A name, after all, is just a name, though the scent still as sweet. Not when you need to relearn it all the time, and especially not if= =20 different people use different names for the same taxa and vice versa= .=20 Stable definitions are worth a lot. It will not be possible to forese= e all=20 problems, so it is a good thing that the Committee can a posteriori e= mend=20 names and definitions if requested, but both the Companion Volume and= =20 subsequent practice should strive to reduce the Committee's workload,= if=20 only because size, time and working speed of the Committee are limite= d. --=20 Highspeed-Freiheit. Bei GMX superg=FCnstig, z.B. GMX DSL_Cityflat, DSL-Flatrate f=FCr nur 4,99 Euro/Monat* http://www.gmx.net/de/go/dsl