Annotating Features (was Re: GenBank errors)

[Julie Lawrence]

As the Authorin project manager, I feel obliged to respond to
Tom Schneider's comment regarding the fact that the "replace" 
information is incorrectly being placed in note qualifiers instead
of in the feature location:

> Somebody or bodies evidently don't understand why the feature table was
> invented. Perhaps it is the original authors using authorin? It could be that
> authorin does not force the user sufficiently.  I would suggest that the note
> be very difficult to use, and that warnings be put in place that appear every
> time telling the authorin user to try to use something else first.

GenBank's systematic problem with the locations that should have a "replace" 
format is not a result of entry of incorrect data via Authorin.  In fact, 
the Macintosh version does "force" the user to enter a "replace" type
location for feature keys that require such a format; the IBM version is
somewhat less constraining.  

I'll leave the description of the difficulties leading to the 
"replace" location problems to my colleagues at LANL.

Julie Lawrence
Assistant GenBank Manager
(415) 962-7309
julie at genbank.bio.net