Originally posted by Peter Kirk
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And, not only did I not mention the BTS (I wouldn't if for no other reason than that I fully recognize the service and function it performs), I didn't mention or criticize ANY formal organization. It's the loose cannons that I have an issue with. The dealer, for instance, who insists that "species 'A' is really species 'B,' but the paper hasn't been published yet." The person who has been breeding tarantulas for twenty years and thinks that makes him a taxonomist. The armchair biologist who firmly believes that every color form of some species is really a different species.
And while there are a number of amateur arachnologists who regularly turn out reliably good papers and have developed an international reputation for the fact, they are largely outnumbered by the masses of ignorati to the point where they no longer want to be considered "enthusiasts."
No. My criticisms stand. I said what I meant, and I meant what I said. But please don't read more into them than what's in black and white on your computer screen.
And make no mistake, I of all people certainly didn't intend the dissertation as an offense to the BTS, or any other organization, nor to anyone who is doing real science in arachnology.
We had to get rid of the kid.
The tarantula was allergic.
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