[Taxacom] Metadata for names of living things (addendum)

[Kenneth Kinman]

Hi Andy,   
       I was just reading some of the feedback regarding the rank names
in connection with your project.  It seems that the rank "Class" is
objectionable to some, as it has been suggested that it has the
potential of confusion with other usages of the term "class" in computer
science, etc.  

      I would still prefer the traditional English term Class, but if it
is deemed inappropriate for any such reasons, I would tend to support
the Latin "Classis" as a substitute (as it is only a minor variation in
spelling and does have some precedent for such usage).  I would be less
inclined to suggest using "Taxoclass", which I assume is a neologism,
and which I predict would have more potential for generating confusion,
perhaps even more than "Class" itself.    
    
      Thus I would have no objection to the main ranks of Empire,
Kingdom, Phylum, Classis, Order, Family, Genus, and Species (plus
intermediates between them if needed).  However, I predict that
substituting the Latin "Regnum" for Phylum would be particularly
confusing for a lot of end-users (including those whose primary language
is not English, but who would probably be more acquainted with English
than with the equivalent Latin rank names).   
                  ------Ken Kinman