On Mon, 15 Nov 2004 03:57:08 +0000 (UTC),
name_and_address_supplied{at}hotmail.com (Name And Address Supplied)
wrote:

>"John Edser"  wrote in message
news:...
>
>> It seems obvious to me that 
>> the professionals who regularly post here
>> investing their time and effort, are doing 
>> so because of their need to look outside 
>> of their own peer reviewed square.
>
>Personally, I gain very little from this discussion group, which is
>why I tend to disappear when my workload demands that I make better
>use of my time. I think the real use of this forum is that it provides
>a quick and easy way for the non-professional (evolutionary biologist)
>to learn about evolutionary biology. Potentially, this newsgroup
>*could* also facilitate informal discussion and exchange of ideas
>between professional biologists. However, I think a great deal of
>professionals who might otherwise contribute are put off by the
>aggressive posting of cranks.
>
>So, the flow of ideas here is largely top->down, i.e. educational
>rather than contributing directly to evolutionary research. This is
>where my motivation for participation lies - I am an educator as well
>as a researcher. When I see flagrant misrepresentation of evolution
>theory in messages on this newsgroup, I worry that those who take an
>interest in, but are largely ignorant of, evolution theory are going
>to be misled. I step in briefly to point out such faults when I see
>them.
>
>I may be wrong, but I suspect that most of the experts who post to
>this newsgroup are also motivated by 'Education' rather than
>'Research'. I also perceive no barrier to good ideas posed by the
>current peer review system. With both these points in mind, I don't
>see what a separate amateur peer review system is going to achieve. If
>the likes of John Edser desparately want to get their ideas in print,
>then they should, like legitimate researchers, submit these ideas to
>the existing peer review system; or else they can seek out a vanity
>publisher.

I would guess you are exactly correct in your suspicions.  This group,
as well as virtually all news groups, now are mostly educational sites
for non-specialists.  Even the bionet groups have largely lost their
role in acting as sounding boards and information exchange agencies
for professionals.
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