Aroideana - and help to get it

From: mossytrail at hctc.com (mossytrail) on 2007.12.07 at 03:00:09(16773) > Dear correspondent, > > I am very glad that this has reached me [an interesting > letter on the contents of Aroideana - ed], and I have to > say that, as editor I cold not be more aware of the fact > that Aroideana has very little to offer much of the > society's membership. How to correct this is another > matter. +More > > The Newsletter is getting > better and better, I think, while in Aroideana we remain a > place of good quality taxonomic material and very little > else. > So, is your > sharing of experience on either topic actively in your > computer even as we correspond ? Bashful about writing? I > can do it for you if you give me an article in rough form. > Not interested in these topics? Well, what the hell are > you interested in, and why I haven't I been told about it > directly, with an offer for a contribution as part of the > communication? Well! I don't know who's been complaining about what, but I maintain my membership for professional reasons -- to stay abreast of Aroid research in ANY line of enquiry, taxonomic and otherwise. I always assumed the main purpose of Aroideana was precisely to be an outlet for this kind of specialized work; otherwise we would publish in BioTropica, Actum Botanicum, or any number of more generalized journals. To me, the newsletter is just icing on the cake -- it is fun to read about collecting expeditions; but the point of those expeditions is to find the new species described in Aroideana. And I must say, when I contributed my first article 5 years ago, I was pleasantly surprised I did not have to pay a per-page printing fee. I learned at university that most journals charge the authors. Nor am I sure I know what you mean when you say "taxonomic material and very little else." In the most recent issue, there were 17 articles, of which only 3 were taxonomy; 4 were about floristics, 3 were about horticulture, and the remaining 7 about a variety of other topics. It seems to me those with a serious interest in some particular subject, are already doing work on it and writing about it. So if there is something some reader wishes to see covered, the best advice I could give would be to start by writing about what you yourself have learned; someone else reading that article may then be inspired to jump off from there. Jason Hernandez Naturalist-at-Large

From: dburch23 at bellsouth.net (Derek Burch) on 2007.12.07 at 13:03:42(16776) Dear Jason, You are the reader that every editor dreams of having and keeping! And I hope that there are a number of scientists who share your views, and are members of the Society(!). I do hear rumblings, though, including suggestions that a number of members are lost after a year or two when they find that there is not enough interest in the hard copy things which they receive from IAS. I hope that my letter and your reply will start some more discussion by members of the board, particularly those who know the dynamics of the membership, and the allocation of funds to our various activities. For my part, I don't particularly want the extra number of deadlines that more issues per year would bring, but on the other hand I grieve each time the lovely colour images that come in to me have to be reproduced in black and white. Thank you for your response _ I hope that a few more members of the board will come out of hibernation long enough to consider Aroideana. Regards, Derek +More -----Original Message----- From: aroid-l-bounces at gizmoworks.com [mailto:aroid-l-bounces at gizmoworks.com] On Behalf Of mossytrail Sent: Thursday, December 06, 2007 10:00 PM To: aroid-l at gizmoworks.com Subject: Re: [Aroid-l] FW: Aroideana - and help to get it > Dear correspondent, > > I am very glad that this has reached me [an interesting > letter on the contents of Aroideana - ed], and I have to > say that, as editor I cold not be more aware of the fact > that Aroideana has very little to offer much of the > society's membership. How to correct this is another > matter. > > The Newsletter is getting > better and better, I think, while in Aroideana we remain a > place of good quality taxonomic material and very little > else. > So, is your > sharing of experience on either topic actively in your > computer even as we correspond ? Bashful about writing? I > can do it for you if you give me an article in rough form. > Not interested in these topics? Well, what the hell are > you interested in, and why I haven't I been told about it > directly, with an offer for a contribution as part of the > communication? Well! I don't know who's been complaining about what, but I maintain my membership for professional reasons -- to stay abreast of Aroid research in ANY line of enquiry, taxonomic and otherwise. I always assumed the main purpose of Aroideana was precisely to be an outlet for this kind of specialized work; otherwise we would publish in BioTropica, Actum Botanicum, or any number of more generalized journals. To me, the newsletter is just icing on the cake -- it is fun to read about collecting expeditions; but the point of those expeditions is to find the new species described in Aroideana. And I must say, when I contributed my first article 5 years ago, I was pleasantly surprised I did not have to pay a per-page printing fee. I learned at university that most journals charge the authors. Nor am I sure I know what you mean when you say "taxonomic material and very little else." In the most recent issue, there were 17 articles, of which only 3 were taxonomy; 4 were about floristics, 3 were about horticulture, and the remaining 7 about a variety of other topics. It seems to me those with a serious interest in some particular subject, are already doing work on it and writing about it. So if there is something some reader wishes to see covered, the best advice I could give would be to start by writing about what you yourself have learned; someone else reading that article may then be inspired to jump off from there. Jason Hernandez Naturalist-at-Large _______________________________________________ Aroid-L mailing list Aroid-L at www.gizmoworks.com http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l

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