Hi Elspeth, if I remember correctly the original idea was to include something for "specimen is marked as a type". This could definitely be captured during digitisation (usually e.g. indicated by a red stamp on the specimen) We have an ods term for it: ods:isMarkedAsType but no DwC term. It could be assumed that if typeStatus is present in the dataset and null that it is not a type, but that is a hack and not necessarily always correct. I am not much in favor of hacks in a standard, so I would opt for 4. include as a recommendation only. At the same time we could also propose a new DwC term for it (could be done as part of the DwC-DP review). If such a new term gets accepted, we could change the recommendation to a requirement for MIDS2 but of course it will take time for existing datasets to add such a new field. We could also propose a DwC extension with ods terms, but I would rather like to see inclusion in DwC-DP. Kind regards, Wouter On Thu, 6 Nov 2025 at 13:01, Elspeth Haston <EHaston@rbge.org.uk> wrote:
Dear all
A reminder for our meeting today at 1500 UTC. See below for the link to the meetings on Thursdays.
At our last meeting we revived discussion about the TypeStatus https://github.com/tdwg/mids/issues/26
Please have a look at the discussion in the comment for this issue in GitHub and provide feedback to help us decide on the best option for managing the Type Status in MIDS.
It is currently not mapped in DwC. There is not a good way to map it in SSOM without it being required. Our options are:
1. Include it at MIDS2 which will make it very difficult for collections to reach MIDS2 unless they have a value here. 2. Exclude it completely. 3. Include it at MIDS2 and see if we can implement a hack in the mapping to allow a null value to be acceptable. 4. Include is as a recommendation only, not as part of the normative Information Elements.
It would be good to get more feedback and discussion from the Task Group. You can add your comments into the GitHub issue or you can come along to the meetings to make your points vocally (these are best) or you can e-mail me directly and I’ll add your comments to the GitHub issue. It will be great to hear from you.
Best wishes
Elspeth
-----Original Appointment----- From: Sent: None To: TDWG Minimum Information about a Digital Specimen (MIDS) Task Group Mailing List;
Subject: TDWG MIDS Task Group - Ratification process update When: 06 November 2025 15:00-16:00 Europe/London. Where: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89460818743?pwd=gySuYnBWcbbtTJbl9vXSpyDqaDE0jk.1
Dear all
We will be continuing our weekly meetings on Thursdays but will be joined at some of these meetings by members of the expert panel who will be reviewing the documentation.
Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89460818743?pwd=gySuYnBWcbbtTJbl9vXSpyDqaDE0jk.1
Meeting ID: 894 6081 8743
Passcode: 914802
We now have a fantastic team of people who have agreed to join our expert panel to review MIDS as part of the ratification process.
There will not be a meeting on Thursday 23rd October during TDWG at which there will be a few MIDS presentations, including a summary for the TDWG session at the end of the conference.
We hope to see you at any meetings that you can join. This should be a super interesting time as we review MIDS as a functioning draft to see how it actually works for the community. Please keep an eye on the GitHub issues as work is being done and contribute where you can. https://github.com/tdwg/mids/issues
The website development has been going well - thanks to Ben for all his work - https://tdwg.github.io/mids/index.html
You can check on what has been happening in our weekly meeting notes here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/19ET0p6641ZNzNQG4qNs_jje0LokoKJ9Ls5bhFdUw...
Best wishes
Elspeth, Cat & Mathias
Co-convenors of the MIDS Task Group
Topic: TDWG MIDS Task Group
Time: Oct 16, 2025 15:00 London
Every 7 days, until Jul 30, 2026, 42 occurrence(s) Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89460818743?pwd=gySuYnBWcbbtTJbl9vXSpyDqaDE0jk.1
Meeting ID: 894 6081 8743
Passcode: 914802
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