[Zoobank-list] quality control, "the real challenge", etc.

[Richard Pyle]

Doug wrote:

> Rich Pyle and I aren't all that different in not wanting to
> tolerate (or *reward*) incompetence and fraud; the difference
> is that he apparently would be satisfied if registration alone -
> the simple existence of a public record - will cause the
> incompetents and frauds to suffer shame if/when their misdeeds
> are exposed (after the fact), and that these people will
> eventually go away as a result of this exposure. I, on the other
> hand, assume that most acts of incompetence and fraud are
> *intentional*, and nothing will deter that sort of person -
> other than refusing to accept their work in the first place.

Let me ask you the same question I've been asking others, which nobody seems
to be able to answer adequately:

GIVEN that current rules of nomencalture do not forbid self-publishing, what
is *currently* preventing these "intentionally" incompetent and fraudulent
(non?)taxonomists from wreaking havoc right now?  Sure, it happens a little
bit -- but not enough in modern times to represent a major impedement to
taxonomic progress.  What aspect of the registered=available paradigm would
*increase* this problem?  The *only* factor I can think of is that the
current Code represents such an intellectual hurdle to comprehend, that many
would-be frauds are simply unaware that they are now free to engage in these
intentionally fraudlent/incompetent activities -- and that by simplifying
the process and exposing it to the web, they would suddenly realize what
they've been missing out on all these years.  Do you have a better
explanation for why the floodgates would open than that?  Because that
explanation seems a bit weak to me.  Maybe printer toner or postage to mail
five copies out is just too expensive?

> At any rate, every one of these exchanges lets me see a little
> more of what (and how) people think - I'm starting to think
> that we might benefit from a large table comparing how
> different models work - fleshing out some of the details. Hmmm.

I think what we need is a web page to compare the different proposals of how
registration would work, with a fair and honest assessment of the perceived
benefits and costs of each approach.  I've been too busy these past few
weeks, and will continue to be too busy for the next couple of weeks.  But
towards the end of this month, if nobody else has set up a side-by-side
comparison of the alternative approaches, I will do it.

Aloha,
Rich