Dear Annelidans, For what it's worth from a non-taxonomist, I share Jim
Blake's concern about ephemeral publication of items which need to be
permanently recorded. If, in 20 years' time, I need to document a taxonomic
change made in 1996 on a Web page or in an electronic discussion group, will
it still be around to check? Taxonomic literature has the longest useful
lifetime of any form of scientific publication, and ephemeral publication is
not the way to go for the sake of future workers who need to document
decisions made by workers in the past (like the late 20th century). If we
can find a method of permanently archiving such items, then perhaps they
should be accepted. Until then, I think it most unwise. Taxonomic literature
is difficult enough to locate!
Paul
Paul C. Schroeder
Dept. of Zoology
Washington State University
Pullman, WA 99164-4632
USA
Telephone: 509-335-2766
FAX: 509-335-3184
E-Mail: schroede at wsu.edu
