[Taxacom] eol in NYT [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

[Jim Croft]

> ... a new
> and better outlet for taxonomic products, so the funders/consumers of
> taxonomic information can be offered a ** better return on their
> investment **.  They will have better access to the data they need and
> will be able to access it in more usable forms.  
> In principle, this improvement in the final product will make investment
> in taxonomy more attractive.  

*This* is the compelling reason to support projects like EOL, GBIF, TDWG
and the rest of the alphabet soup.  The focus on lists of
names and coffee-table web pages for each species is going to prove to be 
a distraction; they, and other products we have not even thought of yet,
will arise from a sound architecture and information management platform
(and the data we are able to put in it).

>From meetings and discussions on this topic it is becoming increasingly
apparent that most people who want stuff from our community do not really
want a product.  They want data from which they can make a product.  

jim



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