whatever happened to cate?

Whatever happened to CATE?

Anna Haigh Ben Clark

In briefWhat we learned from CATE:

• The difference between eTaxonomy and Taxonomy (and why that is important)

• Figuring out what to do on the web (and why that is hard)

• Pitfalls for the unwary (don’t repeat our mistakes)

So what is e-Taxonomy?“We have no doubt that the Internet will play a crucial role in the evolution of taxonomy . . .” House of Lords Select Committee on Science and

Technology, 2008

“The role of taxonomy as an information science will increase greatly, most likely as a primarily web-based science” Taxonomy in

Europe in the 21st Century (Report prepared for the board of directors of EDIT)

“Imagine an electronic page for each species of organism on Earth . . .” Edward O. Wilson

Its easy, right?Defining the problem that we’re trying to solve is important

“If you build it, they will come” is a fallacy

“If you build it, will they come?”

Defining the problemUntil recently publishing looked like this:

• Setup costs are large

• Small runs are expensive

• Errors can’t be corrected

• Quality control is paramount

• Experts are required

The internetThe web solves this:

• Setup costs are (quite) small

•Distribution is (nearly) free

• Re-publication is trivial

• Collaboration is easy

• “Many eyes make all errors shallow”

So what is e-Taxonomy?e-Taxonomy is part of a more general “Participation – Collaboration” pattern

• The starting point is the first revision

• The intent is that the revision should be complete and accurate

• This requires ongoing effort

• Collaboration with your users is an option which we explored

Photo: Peter Boyce

Given that definitionSuccess would be a web revision which:

• Provides an up-to-date classification of the Aroids

• Is a useful reference for people who want to know about the Araceae

• Sustains itself by attracting users who help to maintain it

Photo: Peter Boyce

What should we do?• Talk to stakeholders

• Our “committee of experts” gave the project credibility

• They did not generally use the site themselves

Our Other Users

Participation• 6,000 different people visit CATE Araceae

•1,500 have visited 50+ times

•100 have registered

• Only three have made edits to CATE

• The 90-9-1 rule of online engagement

GregSent: Thursday, September 09, 2010 5:50 AMTo: [email protected], I have joined the site and was wondering what I can do to help? Cheers,Greg RuckertNairne,South Australia

Taking it further

What happened to CATE?•Getting taxonomic content online is important

• Sustaining a taxonomic resource is just as hard

• Sustainability means distributing effort across people

• People need curation, just like content does