more on open science

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Rodney Van Meter <rdv () sfc wide ad jp>
Date: July 9, 2009 8:45:40 AM EDT
To: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: more on open science

In a different vein, but still related to how science is changing:
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v460/n7252/full/460152a.html

Editorial
Nature 460, 152 (9 July 2009) | doi:10.1038/460152a; Published online  
8 July 2009


How to stop blogging
Topof pageAbstract
Organizers have only two options for their meetings: open or closed.

Is the scientific conference in its death throes? Researchers have  
long anguished about the hyper-competitive culture that leads  
attendees to suppress their most interesting unpublished results. Such  
protectiveness can only be worsened by the increasing dissemination of  
results beyond the conference hall by bloggers.

Those who attempt to regain control of communications face outcry.  
Certain corners of the Internet have been erupting in argument in the  
past weeks following an announcement by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory  
in New York that it will henceforth require scientists who blog to ask  
the permission of presenters before firing up computers or mobile  
phones and publicizing their findings.

<snip>

So, what is the answer? Nature has made the case that blogging by  
researchers is good. Critical discussion of worthy results should not  
in principle be restricted to walls of a conference hall or even the  
pages of a journal. Any meeting to which anyone can register is fair  
game for all available communications technologies — and any rules  
that cannot be policed will be ignored anyway.

<snip>



I think the whole text is available for free, it's short but worth  
reading.  Interesting, though, for a journal that makes its money by  
keeping its content behind a subscribers-only wall...



                --Rod






-------------------------------------------
Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now
RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/
Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com