I am attempting to hornswoggle, er... *recruit* biologists and biology
students at Auburn University to join the nets, ie. participate in the
information exchange made possible by network access. This is largely
an informal effort, although I may make a short presentation outlining
the usefulness of network access in a graduate seminar, "Professional
Aspects of Biology", which I have been privileged to attend and
occasionally participate in this term.
I'm seeking advice, examples, anecdotes, etc. of how network access
has influenced your study and research in the field of biology. Also
of interest is pitfalls, wishlists, opinions, organizational decisions,
grumps, wins, etc. (This should be taken *very* broadly; if access to
rec.medieval.masonry makes it easier to slog through discouraging
setbacks, or if you were able to find lodging or facilitate a move thru
email correspondence, I think that counts). While I have a number of
arguments and opinions why I think network access is desirable to
biologists, I'd prefer to present something other than _my_ personal
experiences and opinions...
To illustrate what I'm looking for, I mention a few related questions:
* Locally, there is no organizational level recruitment -- there is
not, for example, a short presentation given at large as part of any
orientation for student/faculty/staff. Current policy is that
individuals or departments which seek information about computing
facilities contact Academic Computing, who provide some information.
Question: Is this the way it is everywhere else?
* How important is net access to the performance of your research? If
you had 5 minutes or less to tout the virtues of (bio/local/use/etc)net
access, what would you cite? What would you point to as the best place
to start digging for more? Is the time and effort spent in getting an
account on some network connected machine and learning some minimal
familiarity with the os and associated net-utilities (mailer, news
reader) as great a payoff as (say) learning some word processor? [I
obviously think it is, but I am not (currently) faced with the very
severe time constraints of attempting to obtain a degree, or teaching,
or conducting research].
Though this is already a bit longer than I intended, I'd like to take
this opportunity to publicly thank the BIOSCI crew (Dave Kristofferson,
et.al.) and the many convivial correspondents who have contributed to
the wealth of information-rich postings (this would include the posing
of intriguing questions). Your efforts have made it considerably
easier to advance the case that the networks are/will be an essential
part of biological research. Thank you.
Email or post (I would appreciate it if respondents indicated where
they read this request); I'll summarize if interest is expressed.
D.R.
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David Roller | Internet = dr at ducvax.auburn.edu | "Because we're
Auburn University | Bitnet = dr at auducvax | all in this
Sys Mgr, Postmaster | Voicenet = (205) 844-4512 | together."
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