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The Theropod Archives Revisited



Dear Theropod Devotees (and to all others with at least a passing interest):

First, a thank you to those who responded to my inquiry into the legality of offering PDFs of older works online. (Special thanks to Sarah Werning and Dennis Ruez for directing me toward more accurate information regarding copyrights.) Suffice it to say, the responses I received off-list were overwhelmingly positive, every email containing words of encouragement or offers to assist. Clearly there is a great deal of support for the concept. Some of you may recognize wording on the site as having been derived from your feedback. I took each of your responses into consideration, and I believe the product is of higher quality as a result.

I have come full circle in my thinking with regard to this project, ultimately deciding to forge ahead with just some slight tweaking to the original plan. Given the recent debate aired on the DML over copyright issues, I want to make it clear that I respect copyright law and understand why intellectual property rights need to be protected. It's the growing complexity of it all that I struggle with. The reality of it is, without substantial outlays of time and money you simply can't be sure what's safe to post and what isn't. Regrettably, I have precious little of either resource, and even if I did, I have learned that no amount of diligence affords total protection. I hope it's apparent to all that the focus here is solely on education. Rather than being crippled by uncertainty around the current state of our copyright laws, I have opted instead for an approach that I believe demonstrates my willingness to abide by the rules, acknowledges that I might occasionally miss the mark, but promises my full cooperation should anyone take issue with one of the Archive's offerings.

A brief note of explanation: The introductory text for The Theropod Archives identifies it as a "registry." I have worked for a number of years in the health and human services arena, where I first learned the concept of a central registry. The medical industry maintains registries for all kinds of unpleasant things (the first I worked with collected data for every cancer tumor diagnosed in the U.S.); however, it occurred to me that applying the registry model to The Theropod Archives makes a certain amount of sense. My goal is to build a reasonably comprehensive collection of theropod-related research papers, and to do what I can to improve access to these works for students of paleontology. I believe the registry concept lends credence to the endeavor, and makes it apparent that I have more in mind than simply growing my personal collection of papers.

If you like the direction I've taken with this effort and would like to contribute, there are a number of ways in which you can assist:

1) Send theropod papers, please! Depending on their age, I may not be able to offer them directly through the Web site, but I can at least alert people to their existence in PDF format, and provide a solid reference. I actually have A LOT of papers that I've yet to list on the site, but I don't mind receiving the occasional duplicate. For older works in particular, it may be the case that your scan is superior to my own. It's a luxury to have choices available.

2) Some papers are currently available only in translation, with links typically pointed at the Polyglot Paleontologist Web site. (Where this is the case, it will be made clear in bracketed notes following the reference.) Obtaining these publications in their original languages is a priority, particularly since the translations often exclude figures and plates. Similarly, I hope to replace any "in press" or "early online" editions with PDFs of the final print copy.

3) Please notify me if you encounter any broken hyperlinks or cross-linked files. Much of my linking has been done in the wee hours - often the only time I have available. I try to be careful, but it's quite possible the occasional mistake has crept in.

4) Send corrections should you find any of my bibliographic references to be inaccurate.

5) Let me know your likes and dislikes. If there are things you feel I can do to improve the site, I will give due consideration to your suggestions when planning future updates.

One thing I do NOT need (yet) is to be made aware of freely available PDFs. I have an extensive list of sites to review for additional links, and will work my way through them as time allows. Once I exhaust the list, I may put out the call for help. Also, while not addressed on the Web site, I have decided against listing theses and dissertations, primarily to avoid the potential misuse of unpublished names.

A modest start, but as of today, there are 280 registered PDF files in the Theropod Archives. 166 are available for download - 46 directly, 120 through links to external Web sites. Having established this core set of offerings, all subsequent entries will carry the date they were added to the Archives. Hopefully the use of date stamps will help users keep up with each new round of additions. I may also make use of a special icon or color-coding to identify new content.

Finally, there are two potential enhancements I have been mulling over. The first is to provide links to abstracts for papers I can't offer via the site. The second is to provide additional links for works where supplemental data have been made available by the publishers. Should you perceive utility in either feature, please let me know as it may sway my decision.

Given this lengthy intro, I'd say it's about time for the payoff. The Theropod Archives Web site can be found at http://home.comcast.net/~theropod-archives/. Please address correspondence regarding the site to theropod-archives@comcast.net. (I will continue to use my regular email address, rjtaylor68@comcast.net, for general DML correspondence.) I hope you enjoy the site, and please let me hear from you!

Kind regards,

Rob Taylor