[Taxacom] taxonomic names databases

[Tony Rees]

It's a good question, on which I have some views (which differ somewhat
from Richard's), however I would be interested to see what others may
suggest too... a lot depends on, I would suggest:

  - to what group you are interested in contributing (also whether extant,
fossil, or both)
  - what aspects most interest you e.g. names/nomenclatural aspects,
taxonomy/phylogeny, ecology, geographic distribution...
  - whether you wish to contribute summaries of "mainstream"
views/published literature or personal opinions/new interpretations (the
latter may be less welcome than the former)

Among my criteria for selecting a relevant vehicle for contributions would
be (1) state of completeness already - since why re-do work unnecessarily
if others have already done much of it, and (2) current impact/usage of the
system - in other words if you put effort in, who will utilise it. In terms
of the latter aspect, I would tend to favour databases already contributing
to Catalogue of Life (for maximum impact/take-up), which are mainly
"controlled units" of endeavour with their own individual contact points,
or perhaps PaleoBiology Database for fossils (which is more open access I
understand). Just some thoughts...

Regards - Tony

Tony Rees, New South Wales, Australia
https://about.me/TonyRees