On Tue, Aug 24, 2010 at 9:29 AM, John Wieczorek <tuco@berkeley.edu> wrote:
On Tue, Aug 24, 2010 at 9:20 AM, Mark Wilden <mark@mwilden.com> wrote:
On Tue, Aug 24, 2010 at 7:28 AM, John Wieczorek <tuco@berkeley.edu> wrote:
Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary.
This sounds like an incorrect usage of the term "best practice," to me. It can't be a "best practice" to do something that is impossible, and if a controlled vocabulary doesn't exist... As you indicate, this has a requirement that hasn't yet been met.
It is not a requirement, it is a recommendation.
I meant "required" in the logical sense. If 50 different groups are each using their own vocabulary, it isn't really very controlled, in my view. In order for there to be a truly useful controlled vocabulary, it is required that everyone use the same one.
It is not impossible, just make a vocabulary. Well, hopefully with some community buy-in and open access. GBIF's vocabulary registry (http://vocabularies.gbif.org/) comes to mind as a solution.
That sounds good. ///ark Web Applications Developer Center for Applied Biodiversity Informatics California Academy of Sciences