[Zoobank-list] Zoogle versus ZooBank, ECat, Species2000, ITIS, uBio, etc.

[christian thompson]

Colleagues:

Selling names is nothing new. Over the last half dozen or so years, various groups have been doing or trying to do this.

What is truly disappointing is a scientist / systematist is now trying to independently build what the community is trying to do together: Taking, in essence, a quick shot at Google billions for himself.

To quote Newsweek: As for that Google ant, which Fisher named earlier this year, it's a bid for the search engine's attention. Fisher wants the company to partner with him in creating a database of all known animal life. The project's prospective name? "Zoogle." 

For years Species2000 has had as its goal what Brian Fisher declares he wants to do if Google will give him the money. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) with its Electronic Catalog of Life is trying for the same; as it the Integrated Taxonomical Information System, Wood Hole is doing a great job in building a universal theasurus of names, and now recently declared in Nature is the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature with its ZooBank. But in reality, the only organization with the ability and resources to do Zoological names is Thomson with the Zoological Record and for plants, Kew. However, all these groups are working together, sharing their names and resources. But accumulating million and half names is not an easy task even if you have billions.

What has been the failure of Systematics and apparently continues to be is that systematists can't seem to work together like other scientists. And, hence, we fail to achieve large scale projects. So, now Brian continue with Zoogle. You would have thought those in San Francisco would have learnt after the failure of All Species project a few years ago.

So, the community should be clear on Zoogle. Do not support it; tell the press it is not realistic. And if Google wants to support the gathering of names, then tell them to support people who work together, to support the cooperative international efforts being lead by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility; GBIF needs all the financial help it can get. And we do not need another failure like ALL Species. 

Zoogle is a nice name, but the community does not need it.

Sorry, Brian ...



F. Christian Thompson
Systematic Entomology Lab., USDA
c/o Smithsonian Institution
MRC-0169 NHB
PO Box 37012
Washington, DC 20013-7012
(202) 382-1800 voice
(202) 786-9422 FAX
cthompso at sel.barc.usda.gov e-mail
www.diptera.org  web site