[Taxacom] OMG! DNA only descriptions! - Round Two

[Richard Pyle]

> Art. 8.5.3.3. The following are examples of *inadmissible errors*: (...) A
> publisher discovers errors in a work and *reissues it* to correct those errors,
> *but* instead of registering the new edition, *uses the original ZooBank
> number*; the revised edition is not available because it was not separately
> registered.

This is a bit confusing and misleading.  There may be dozens  (hundreds?) of "editions" of an unpublished work prior to the first edition of the work that fulfills the requirement for publication under the Code.  This is true for paper publications as well (draft manuscripts, reviewer copies, galley proofs, etc.).  The existence of these prior unpublished (in the sense of the Code) works does not in any way impact the availability of a work that is eventually published in accordance with the Code.  From the perspective of the Code, these previous unpublished editions do not exist, and therefore have no impact whatsoever on the existence of a later published work.

For example, a ZooBank LSID is created for a work intended to be published electronically.  That LSID appears within the galley proofs, which itself is not published in the sense of the Code.  The work is later issued in a way that is Code compliant.  The existence of the LSID within the galley proofs (un unpublished work) does not therefore require that the published edition must be registered anew.

This is a simple example of a very complex problem that will be fixed in the 5th Edition; but the point is that the last example under Art. 8.5.3.3 (quoted above) can be very misleading.  In a situation such as the one that has been described in this thread, we DO NOT WANT people to create a new registration record in ZooBank.  That would only apply for a truly different work (like a corrigendum, which itself must contain all the elements necessary for conferring nomenclatural availability), but which itself is a completely different work from a previously "published" (but technically non-Code-compliant) work.

But the fact that these examples exist underscores that the separation of requirements in two separate places (i.e., both within the work itself and within the ZooBank registration record) leads to myriad complexities, which are unintended consequences of the Amendment to the Code to allow for electronic publication.  I'll stay off my usual soapbox on this point (for now).

Aloha,
Rich


Richard L. Pyle, PhD
Database Coordinator | Associate Zoologist | Dive Safety Officer
Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum
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