AOU vs SSAR

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Posted by troy h on January 10, 2003 at 19:22:01:

In Reply to: What's the problem??? posted by chrish on January 10, 2003 at 10:57:58:

chris

i see a couple of huge differences in these situations:

1) AOU is "bigger" than SSAR, and has a much broader following amongst non-professionals. correct me if i'm wrong, but the AOU pubs a "popular" journal as well as pubbing a scientific journal. with herps, you've got the SSAR trying to pub a standardized list, but how many people actually see it? how many non-professionals? SSAR pubs J. Herp. and Herp Rev, but who pubs the "popular" reptile mag? Reptiles Magazine . . .

2) Bird field guides actually adhere to the published lists . . .

3) however popular herping has become, it still pales in comparison to the numbers of birders out there. as you are very much aware, one can go to Santa Ana or High Island and bird watch by watching the birders - you see a huge group of birders, go ask "what you got" . . . even in the heighday of alterna hunting, you still had fewer than a 100 herpes in the Trans-Pecos

4) in herping, you have basically two groups: field people - who are more or less educated (= birders) and keepers who are typically much less educated (on average). there is no comparable second group in birding. it is the educated birding group that accepts and drives the standardization of the lists, and the field people in herping (the educated ones) have already accepted the latin.

just some thoughts

troy

Follow Ups:

Re: AOU vs SSAR chrish 01/12/03 (11)
- Re: AOU vs SSAR Kenny Wray 01/13/03 (10)
  - Re: AOU vs SSAR chrish 01/13/03 (9)
    - Re: AOU vs SSAR TW Taggart 01/18/03 (6)
      - collins list question troy h 01/20/03 (5)
        
        Re: collins list question TTaggart 01/20/03 (4)
        
        The burden of evidence... WW 01/21/03 (0)
        
        reanalysis based on a shift in a philosophical concept??? troy h 01/20/03 (2)
        
        Re: reanalysis based on a shift in a philosophical concept??? TW Taggart 01/21/03 (1)
        
        on emoryi/"slowinskii" in east Texas troy h 01/21/03 (0)
    - the average joe . . . troy h 01/14/03 (1)
      - Re: the average joe . . . TTaggart 01/14/03 (0)
Birders vs. herpers Tom Lott 01/11/03 (3)
- how about . . . troy h 01/14/03 (1)
  - This reminds me.... ww 01/14/03 (0)
- Terrestrial Arboreal Alligator Lizard...That Is Classic! np James Wilson 01/12/03 (0)