The Darwin Core standard contains several non-normative documents that describe how Darwin Core terms can be used in various contexts such as simple text [1] and XML [2]. Members of the RDF/OWL Task Group [3] have authored a guide describing how Darwin Core terms can be used in RDF. This guide has been subjected to extensive review by the Task Group and has been recommended by the Task Group as an addition to the Darwin Core standard under the Darwin Core Namespace Policy [4]. If ratified, the guide will be another non-normative document that is part of the standard, and a parallel guide to the existing text and RDF guides. The purpose of this email is to initiate the required 30 day public comment period before the proposed addition advances to the Executive Committee for ratification.

Before commenting on the proposal, please begin by reading the cover page at https://code.google.com/p/tdwg-rdf/wiki/DwcRdf . The cover page includes the rationale for the guide, links to the proposed guide itself, supporting ancillary documents, and a history of the development of the guide. To comment, post to the tdwg-content email list (tdwg-content@lists.tdwg.org). Please use a descriptive subject line that differentiates your comment from other comments that deal with different aspects of the proposal. Comments will be tracked on the RDF/OWL Task Group's issue tracker [5]. The comment period will continue through at least 2014-12-26, but may be extended if discussion is ongoing.

Steve Baskauf TDWG RDF/OWL Task Group co-convener

[1] http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/guides/text/index.htm [2] http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/guides/xml/index.htm [3] https://code.google.com/p/tdwg-rdf/ [4] http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/namespace/index.htm [5] https://code.google.com/p/tdwg-rdf/issues/list