birding-aus

rant against twitching

To: Carl Clifford <>
Subject: rant against twitching
From: David Stowe <>
Date: Wed, 21 May 2008 17:56:23 +1000
Hi Carl
I did study latin back in school but i have no idea what
"...a case of sic transit gloria mundi.." means!
I assume this doesn't really have anything to do with the broken down car belonging to Anthony Mundines mother?
Bad joke i know but i'd love to know the correct answer!
Cheers
Dave

PS - I do agree with your point and think that is a big reason.


On 21/05/2008, at 5:33 PM, Carl Clifford wrote:

It is not just Amateur Ornithology in Australia in which it has been observed that there is a decrease in the amount of papers and similar "hard copy" writings. It appears to be occurring in all areas of Science where there has been a substantial amount of publication of works by non-professionals, e.g. Astronomy, Botany, Entomology, etc. In these areas there have long been the equivalents of "twitchers". In Astronomy you have the Catalogue Marathoners, who attempt to see as many stellar objects as possible listed in a star catalogue. They even have the equivalent of the Twitchathon, the Messier Marathon, in which one attempts to see as many of the objects in the Messier Catalogue as possible in one night.

I think the main culprit is the Internet. It is now so easy to publish the results of personal research, observations and such, via a blog or website that a considerable number of enthusiasts in many disciplines, who formerly would have published are adopting this media, to the detriment of "hard copy". The internet allows ones thoughts and work to be available to a, potentially, wider audience, without such frustrations as long lead times, picky Editors, having letters disagreeing with what you have said and there is even the possibility of an income from advertising on your blog/site.

What the answer is for publications such as Australian Field Ornithology is, I don't know. It may be a case of "if you can't beat them, join them" and go on line, or it might, sadly, be a case of sic transit gloria mundi. Personally, I do not like the prospect of the decline of printed magazines and journals. I might be a computer and tech nerd, but I do prefer to read print on paper.

Cheers,

Carl Clifford
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