I'm the originator of ICZNwiki. I'm also an ICZN Commissioner, a curator of malacology at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, and the Vice-President for the Center of Systematic Biology and Evolution at my institution.
I decided to start ICZNwiki because I was getting frustrated with years of online discussion about the Code. The questions raised on ICZN-List, Taxacom, and Paleonet, have stimulated much better understanding of the Code and its strengths and shortcomings, but sometimes didn't seem to be leading anywhere.
As stated on the iczn-list on 29 October 2007, in an exchange about Article 32.5.1:
- Laurence Raty: "So we agree to disagree. ;-)"
- Martin Spies: "Not necessarily. I try to treat such debates as joint efforts to get as close as possible to the 'truth', and am willing to continue as long as others also think that we're getting closer."
I hope that the incisive analysis, pedantic pondering and clueful questioning from the listservs can be harnessed toward building toward a better fifth edition of the Code.