Thread subject: Diptera.info :: Diptera DataBase

Posted by Tony T on 12-06-2007 01:30
#3

An excellent idea.
I think you could follow the way things are done on BugGuide.net. Take a look at the Taxonomy page for Tabanus:

http://bugguide.n...11452/tree

Then click on Browse and you will see thumbnails of the species arranged alphabetically
Click on the 1st species (Tabanus abdominalis)
Click on Info; this is where any information on the species such as identification, similar species, distribution, behaviour, references in both print and electronically can be placed. This is still incomplete for most species.
Click on Images, then click on recent images. Here you will see all the photos for this species with collection data. Click on a thumbnail for a larger photo.

The way BugGuide works is it lets people post an image, usually in ID Request. Once the species is correctly identified an Editor moves it to the species page. A few individuals are Editors and each can make a species page and edit a species page. Regular contributors cannot make a species page and they cannot edit a species page.
The advantage of this system is that the workload is spread over several knowledgeable people; there is too much work for a single editor to do.

Each species has its own page with everything that is known about the species under headings: Taxonomy, Browse (for images), Information, Images (in chronological order of submission).
Each Genus has the same headings, as does each Family.
Check out all the data on the Family Tabanidae (the Real Flies):D

In any system you choose I think there must be some easy way that one of the editors can move a submitted photo to its proper species page.

A major problem with Diptera.info is that most of the photos of individual species are not in the Gallery. One should be able to click on, for example Anthomyiidae, in a list of Fly Families and get thumbnails of every Anthomyiid photo submitted to Diptera.info. This is where the idea of editors comes in, they can tag an image and move it to the family page without any consultation with the photographer. A photographer who submits a photo to Diptera.info does so with the understanding that the image (if of good enough quality) will be moved to its species page. Or, if the photo is of poor quality and/or shows nothing of usefulness for identifying the species it will be deleted.