[Coral-List] Speak Up!

James Hendee jim.hendee at noaa.gov
Fri Feb 24 10:20:13 EST 2017


Greetings,

    I'm sure you've noticed this, too, that there are a lot of the usual
voices that speak up on Coral-List, which is great because they almost
always bring up good points or new ways of looking at things, or they
point to new or relevant research.  However, we currently have at least
*9,330 subscribers* to Coral-List, and I'm sure there are a ton of
opinions, viewpoints and excellent good ideas out there that aren't
being expressed.  SPEAK UP, for cryin' out loud!  You're not a dummy! 
Your opinion counts, and boy do we ever need new and good ideas at this
perilous stage of coral conservation.  If you just want to ask a
question, speak up!  Of course we would all appreciate it if you did
your homework before asking a question (including talking to your
wonderful librarian!), but you should not be intimidated by the "Big
Names" that speak in this forum.  Hey, I say dumb stuff all the time
(just ask my colleagues!), but now and then I come up with a good idea. 
It's worth the effort.  We need young minds to look at things afresh! 

    I should also mention that I personally see value in posting new
coral conservation related abstracts of recent and new publications.  I
know some of you think that doing that is "shameless self-promotion,"
but I would encourage you to look at the bigger picture.  So what if the
bum is a shameless self-promoter, if the work is good enough to be
published in a peer-reviewed journal, it almost always is good enough
for us coral researchers and conservationists to know.  Let's face it: 
we can't read every journal article in every good journal, so reading an
abstract informs us and helps us decide if we want to know more.  If
reading a short abstract brings home to knowledge you can use, then it
spreads the awareness of the bigger picture.  So get with the program!

    Okay, I'm done ranting.  Carry on...

    Cheers,
    Jim
    Coral-List Admin



More information about the Coral-List mailing list