[Taxacom] Wikispecies has gone to the dogs,
best to disregard it now
Adolf Ceska
aceska at telus.net
Thu Apr 30 02:22:31 CDT 2015
2015
I have been using a great database for storing photos, microphotos and drawings of collected objects that should enhance our herbarium collection database. This jpeg database has been brilliantly programmed and it uses all the system design conventions computer programmers have ever developed. Furthermore, it has an email attached to it that the users can interact and discuss identification problems. It would have been an ideal tool as an extension of a regular herbarium database system. The problem is that it was designed and developed without any major participation of the herbarium data management people. I am in the same situation as you are, whenever I call for fixing some obvious blunders in the system, I am being ignored. Everything I say is just my usual rhetoric, not worthy of a response.
Adolf Ceska
-----Original Message-----
From: Taxacom [mailto:taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu] On Behalf Of Stephen Thorpe
Sent: Wednesday, April 29, 2015 8:06 PM
To: Scott Thomson
Cc: Taxacom
Subject: Re: [Taxacom] Wikispecies has gone to the dogs, best to disregard it now
You have misattributed to me a lot of "you would have ..." The one who edited the page has no idea what he is doing, that's the whole point! The rest of what you say is just your usual rhetoric, not worthy of a response.
Stephen
--------------------------------------------
On Thu, 30/4/15, Scott Thomson <scott.thomson321 at gmail.com> wrote:
Subject: Re: [Taxacom] Wikispecies has gone to the dogs, best to disregard it now
To: "Stephen Thorpe" <stephen_thorpe at yahoo.co.nz>
Cc: "Taxacom" <taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu>, "JF Mate" <aphodiinaemate at gmail.com>
Received: Thursday, 30 April, 2015, 2:48 PM
If I
had fixed it immediately you would have accused me of trying to hide it. So how do I win in that. So I have left it for now and will let the one who edited the page fix it. In good time so that if people wish to see it as you linked it, they can. I do not have control over Wikispecies, that's not how Wikimedia works. As for Wollumbinia and Myuchelys, I should sink them both into Birlimarr and stop all the arguments that name is from 1999, so predates both names.
There is more politics to all that than you know, and its lately giving me headaches too. Not the usage of Wollumbinia, about 4 or 5 people on the planet take your view on that, including Wells, Wellington and Hoser who all have motivations. But other issues with the names and the impact of Conservation Biology on taxonomy in Australia. I dont plan on having that much influence on Wikispecies, I dont feel the need for that. My interest is in turtle taxonomy and paleontology. Now the interesting thing here is I actually conceded your point here, and I have told you you have some valid points, but it does not matter. If I had disagreed or agreed the response would be the same you would have found a way to fight back, I get your angry about Wikimedia, but this is not helping you.
Cheers, Scott
On Wed, Apr 29, 2015 at
11:23 PM, Stephen Thorpe <stephen_thorpe at yahoo.co.nz>
wrote:
Scott,
this is precisely the sort of control over a Wikimedia site that nobody, least of all you, should have. Anyone should be able to correct the mistake by PeterR, without having to first "seek approval". You might well get this particular example sorted out (though you don't appear to have done anything as yet), but would you be so objective if I were to point out that Wollumbinia has priority over Myuchelys? I think not. But it is cool - you can have control over an irrelevant Wikimedia side project that you yourself told me that Jimmy Wales thought had been taken down years ago. I doubt that your activities will have any real influence on anything.
Stephen
--------------------------------------------
On Thu, 30/4/15, Scott Thomson <scott.thomson321 at gmail.com>
wrote:
Subject: Re: [Taxacom] Wikispecies has gone to the dogs, best to disregard it now
To: "Stephen Thorpe" <stephen_thorpe at yahoo.co.nz>
Cc: "Taxacom" <taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu>, "JF Mate" <aphodiinaemate at gmail.com>
Received: Thursday, 30 April, 2015, 2:00 PM
I
would say your correct on that one Stephen, I will let him
know.
Cheers,
Scott
On Wed, Apr 29, 2015 at
10:16 PM, Stephen Thorpe <stephen_thorpe at yahoo.co.nz>
wrote:
Well I
did actually give you one example! One long time editor who,
barely speaks English, and who has just been promoted to
admin status, doesn't know the difference between a
synonym and a homonym, and nobody is reviewing his edits.
http://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Austrophthiracarus_longisetosus
Stephen
--------------------------------------------
On Thu, 30/4/15, JF Mate <aphodiinaemate at gmail.com>
wrote:
Subject: Re: [Taxacom] Wikispecies has gone to the dogs,
best to disregard it now
To: "Taxacom" <taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu>
Received: Thursday, 30 April, 2015, 12:56 PM
To be honest I really
don´t care for the fight. I only care to know
what it is meant by Wikispecies not being
reliable. If somebody can
just give us the
facts that would be OK. Otherwise we can bury the
thread here and now.
Jason
On 30
April 2015 at 01:19, Stephen Thorpe <stephen_thorpe at yahoo.co.nz>
wrote:
> I was waiting for your response,
Scott, since you are one of the major players in the
dispute, i.e. your hands are dirty! You can turn it into
an
ad hominem argument against me if you wish, but it
doesn't change the facts of what I said, namely
that
Wikispecies is no longer a reliable site, and should be
diregarded. Now you can go back to your Wikispecies
agenda
of trying to rewrite the history of reptile taxonomy.
>
> Stephen
>
>
--------------------------------------------
> On Thu, 30/4/15, Scott Thomson <scott.thomson321 at gmail.com>
wrote:
>
> Subject:
Re: [Taxacom] Wikispecies has gone to the dogs,
best to disregard it now
> To: "JF Mate" <aphodiinaemate at gmail.com>
> Cc: "Taxacom" <taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu>
> Received: Thursday, 30 April, 2015,
11:14 AM
>
> I did
not relise this had
> been crossposted
to Taxacom as well as ICZN
> List.. My
response over there was:
>
> --------------------------------
> Stephen that is low, Wikimedia cannot
defend
> themselves here and you
have
> cherry picked
> one item that agrees with your
statement. I am not going
> to
> argue with you here, since it is not
the
> ICZN lists business, however
if
> you are
>
going to say you have been blocked maybe you should say
why
> you
> have
been permanently banned from the
>
English Wikipedia and Wikispecies and
>
are on
> blocks for Meta-Wiki and Wiki
Commons. Thats 4 sites, in my
> 8
years
> as an editor in Wikimedia
although I
> am sure there are others,
and worse, I
> personally have not seen
anyone else get a ban
> like that so
quickly. Your
> hatred of
> wikimedia is very evident in what you
have said in recent
> times,
> it extends clearly from the treatment
> you received. Hence anything you say
> anywhere on Wikispecies or any other
Wikimedia
> Project needs to be
taken
> with a grain of
> salt and is clearly dipped in acid. I
have told you
> before
> you need to let this go for a while,
> let it calm down. I even said I would
> propose the removal of the bans, but you
have
> to stop and let it go and fix
> the damage
>
first.
>
> Now
please, let it
> go this is not the
forum for it.
>
-------------------------------------
>
> In response to
Jason, it is a
> playground fight. I
was not involved in it,
> made sure I
stayed out of it, but I have had to
>
watch it. Not pretty.
>
> Cheers, Scott
>
> On Wed, Apr 29, 2015 at 7:19 PM, JF Mate
<aphodiinaemate at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Maybe you
>
should copy and paste the actual example/s as succintly
> as
> > possible.
Otherwise it just looks
> like a
playground fight.
> >
> > Jason
> >
On 30/04/2015
> 8:03 AM, "Stephen
Thorpe" <stephen_thorpe at yahoo.co.nz>
> > wrote:
>
>
> > > There has been a
"military
> takeover" of
Wikispecies, by people who know
> >
> not what they are doing (see, for
> example, this article
> > > http://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Austrophthiracarus_longisetosus
> in
> > >
which homonymy has been
> confused with
synonymy!) I have been excluded and
>
> > blocked from editing the site in
> future. The following comment, posted
by
> > > another editor who is
alarmed by what
> is happening (please
excuse his
> > >
> English) is illustrative of the current
situation, so I copy
> it below
> > from
> >
>
> the Wikispecies Village Pump:
> > >
> >
> Reducing time for working at
>
Wikispecies
> > >
> >
> > At
Wikispecies about 2 million taxon pages are missing.
> Instead of really
>
> > contributing to
>
Wikispecies, that is adding new pages, there is a
playing
> > > around with an AWB and
modifying or
> deleting things that do
no harm, like
> >
> > the double square brackets of taxon
names on hundreds
> of thousand
pages.
> > > And proudly is
> told of "contributions". That
are no
> contributions. There
> > is
> > >
nothing professional in it.
>
Wikispecies is the only Wiki that expects to
> > > have users from the
scientific
> community. Observing what
is done at
> >
> > present, will not attract such
users. It will lead to a
> number of
closed
> > > Wikis for groups
> of organisms, as first ones are already
existing, so
> > that
> > > such
>
unprofessional actions are not possible.
> > > I'll considerably reduce
my
> working time here under the
present
> >
>
> circumstances. Kempf EK (talk) 16:18, 28 April
2015
> (UTC)
> >
>
>
_______________________________________________
> > > Taxacom Mailing List
> > > Taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
> > > http://mailman.nhm.ku.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/taxacom
> > > The Taxacom Archive back to
1992 may
> be searched at:
> > > http://taxacom.markmail.org
> > >
> >
> Celebrating
> 28 years of Taxacom
in 2015.
> > >
> >
>
_______________________________________________
> > Taxacom Mailing List
> >
> Taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
> > http://mailman.nhm.ku.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/taxacom
> > The Taxacom Archive back to 1992
may be
> searched at:
> > http://taxacom.markmail.org
> >
> >
Celebrating 28 years
> of Taxacom in
2015.
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Scott
Thomson
> Museu de Zoologia
> da Universidade de São Paulo
> Divisão de
>
Vertebrados (Herpetologia)
> Avenida
Nazaré,
> 481, Ipiranga
> 04263-000, São Paulo, SP,
> Brasil
> http://www.carettochelys.com
> ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1279-2722
> Skype: Faendalimas
> Reptile
> Names (my
blog) http://reptilenames.wordpress.com/
> Mobile Phone: +55 11
996 48 5668
> Mobile in Australia +61 402 357 553
(0402 357
> 553)
>
_______________________________________________
> Taxacom Mailing List
> Taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
> http://mailman.nhm.ku.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/taxacom
> The Taxacom Archive back to 1992 may
be
> searched at: http://taxacom.markmail.org
>
> Celebrating 28
years of
> Taxacom in 2015.
>
_______________________________________________
Taxacom Mailing List
Taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
http://mailman.nhm.ku.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/taxacom
The Taxacom Archive back to 1992 may be
searched at: http://taxacom.markmail.org
Celebrating 28 years of
Taxacom in 2015.
_______________________________________________
Taxacom Mailing List
Taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
http://mailman.nhm.ku.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/taxacom
The Taxacom Archive back to 1992 may be searched at: http://taxacom.markmail.org
Celebrating 28 years of Taxacom in 2015.
--
Scott
Thomson
Museu de Zoologia da
Universidade de São PauloDivisão de
Vertebrados
(Herpetologia)
Avenida Nazaré,
481, Ipiranga04263-000, São Paulo, SP,
Brasilhttp://www.carettochelys.com
ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1279-2722Skype:
FaendalimasReptile Names (my blog) http://reptilenames.wordpress.com/Mobile
Phone: +55 11 996 48 5668Mobile in Australia +61
402 357 553 (0402 357 553)
--
Scott
Thomson
Museu de Zoologia da
Universidade de São PauloDivisão de Vertebrados
(Herpetologia)
Avenida Nazaré,
481, Ipiranga04263-000, São Paulo, SP,
Brasilhttp://www.carettochelys.com
ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1279-2722Skype:
FaendalimasReptile Names (my blog) http://reptilenames.wordpress.com/Mobile
Phone: +55 11 996 48 5668Mobile in Australia +61
402 357 553 (0402 357 553)
_______________________________________________
Taxacom Mailing List
Taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
http://mailman.nhm.ku.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/taxacom
The Taxacom Archive back to 1992 may be searched at: http://taxacom.markmail.org
Celebrating 28 years of Taxacom in 2015.
More information about the Taxacom
mailing list