In <w80L2.17309$134.180477 at tor-nn1.netcom.ca>, on 03/29/99
at 07:38 PM, "David Lloyd-Jones" <icomm5 at netcom.ca> said:
>My goodness, if this discussion group is devoted to advertising software we
>might as well all go home.
Hmm. I haven't seen any flashing neon signs nor mention of the yellow pages
....
Were it about something other than a tool of the trade I would agree with
you. However, such an announcement (especially for a freely available
distribution) serves that portion of the scientific community which either
1) keeps an open mind about the quality of their work (is my app the best
for what I [want to] do?) or 2) is searching for such apps (I fall into this
catagory). While I spend time looking for software as well as I can, Any
input/information is welcome.
Personally, I am quite content to see _these specific_ announcements made.
Those I recognize as unimportant are a simple keystroke to /dev/null.
>One would have thought people would say what they were doing, and
>incidentally perhaps what software they were using, as a way to saying what
>they tought they might have found out.
If I understand this correctly, you are saying that researchers should let
their work speak for itself, with at best a mention of the tools they use
(such mention is a poor approach, IMO, since the input to these programs and
their use in the specific problem are paramount to the success of the
research). I simply do not agree that this is the best or only way to "be a
scientist." There is more to (some of) us and our connections to the
world. And that should include some flexibility.
Kenward Vaughan
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kaynjay at igalaxy.net
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