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Posted by Serpwidgets on August 02, 2002 at 00:04:30:
Maybe this will put it in context:
Who defines words? Webster's. They do change and add things in the dictionary, and we know it's not from a concensus of every English-speaking person out there.
Instead, what they do is claim authority and then proceed to define words, and we accept them as the authority on those definitions, and even point out that "Webster says:" and that is that.
It's easy to get caught up in our ideals and believe that everything that is "official" is derived from some undeniable truth or unstoppable force. But in fact 'official' comes from some person or group of people making a decision and saying, "this is what is going to be" and enough people go along with it that it becomes accepted as the "official" standard.
Even our own country (for those of us in the USA) came about through that very process. :)
Another example is the stamp/comic publications that standardize prices for any given stamp or comic book, and many other collector's items. Basically they listen to the market, publish their "official" price list based on that, and then the market abides by it. Try selling a stamp at a convention for 10 times its catalog value... everyone who comes by your table will look at the stamp, look it up in their book, and if they are polite they will only laugh in your face. :)
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IMO this is a realistic scenario:
A group of well-respected cornsnake breeders could agree on a list of definitions for genes/morphs. Those definitions would then be used to publish (maybe by someone else who wants to do the publishing end of it) a small annual booklet entitled something like, "The Official 2002 Standard of Corn Snake Morphology," and sell it for a few bucks so that 'everyone' will buy one.
It could be updated every year. Once the original morphs are established, it should be relatively easy to keep up with anything "new."
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Would you pay $5-$10 a year to help establish "official" standards and clean up the morph mess out there? I most certainly would. :) When I was a stamp collector I bought that stamp book every year. ;-)
I don't think many people who want to sell cornsnakes at shows are going to sit there and tell someone who's holding a book--which has all of those big names standing behind it--that "oh that book doesn't mean anything, those people don't know anything about cornsnakes." Too many people will laugh in their face. :)
And besides, it's "Official." It even says so on the cover. :-)
IMO the result would be the same as the dictionary, or a stamp collector's annual book. It will set its own standard, and people will quickly jump into step.
