The Impact of the Internet on Mycology

Online Poster, presented as a conventional poster at the Mycological Society of America/ American Bryological and Lichenological Society joint meeting, San Juan Puerto Rico, June 8-12, 1998

* THOMAS J. VOLK, Dept of Biology and Microbiology, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, La Crosse WI 54601 volk.thom@uwlax.edu web page http://TomVolkFungi.net

and

* KATHIE T. HODGE, Dept. of Plant Pathology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 kh11@cornell.edu. web page http://www.keil.ukans.edu/~fungi/

Abstract

The internet has changed the way we do mycology. It has promoted fast and easy communication between researchers through electronic mail and newsgroups. This poster, for example, was prepared by the co-authors exclusively via e-mail. One of the newest tools for reaching a broad range of people and educating them about mycology is the World Wide Web, which can include video and still images as well as text. Many researchers, teachers and amateur mycologists, especially in developing countries, do not have access to books or journals in the field of mycology. Increasing numbers of web sites are available that provide up-to-date information and illustrations from nearly every aspect of mycology. Keys and databases are increasingly available, including such valuable resources as herbarium and nomenclature databases. One problem is the lack of peer review on the internet; anyone with a computer can put up a web site, leading to much misinformation that can be interpreted as fact. This presentation will discuss some advantages, problems and the future of the internet as a source of information. The Mycological Society of America's web page [http://www.erin.utoronto.ca/~w3msa/], Kathie Hodge's Mycological Resources on the Internet [http://www.keil.ukans.edu/~fungi/], and Tom Volk's Fungi [http://TomVolkFungi.net] will be used as a basis for discussion.


E-MAIL AND MYCOLOGY

Remember when e-mail was the internet? Times change, but e-mail is still the most useful of internet protocols. Lightning fast, secure, widespread, inexpensive or free for most academic users, and intermediate in formality between a phone call and a letter, e-mail has found a place in our daily routines. We prepared this poster by e-mail!

New improved e-mail! Today, with the right software, we can participate in e-mail discussion groups, automatically filter incoming e-mail into topic-specific mailboxes, send formatted text, and send files and applications as e-mail attachments. The downside? Spam- unsolicited junk mail, often in large quantities. See the box of spam for coping mechanisms.

E-Mail not quick enough for you? There are also electronic chat boards, where you can talk live with other people interested in the same topics.


Quotes from outrageous requests

A major advantage of putting up a web page is the great deal of email you receive from all over the world. One minor downside of having a web page is a great deal of email from all over the world-- asking for help. We answer an average of 100-200 requests for information per month. Here are some of the more interesting requests:

To whoever it may concern,
I need help with my Science Project. If you have any infomation on mycology please send it to me. Plus do you have any pictures of mycology please send it to me.

*********

Aloha,
I recently had a fugus know as fusarium growing on my arpit hair. This was determined by a culture. My doctor seems to think it is harmless. If you might know of this fungus could you let me know what I might do to stop it from growing on my hair. My doctor recommended just shaving it off. I did a number of times but it just keeps coming back.

*********

(The tail end of a long rambling e-mail, with follow-up):
Any comments or response is welcomed: who else would I want to get a massage from right now, anyway? ...

Dear Kathie, please excuse my Freudian slip. The word "massage" should, of course, be "message." Yet, you know that. I know that. It's just that the surrealist portions of the Universe could care less!...."that primal feeling through which human regulation comes under the sway of daemonic rhythm, dissolving the vitreous resistance of law in the undulating ether of the cosmic pulse." (Klages)

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THIS ORANGE COLORED LICHEN IS THE NUCLEAR WASTE COLLECTOR FROM THE SPLEEN OF MOTHER EARTH. THESE ORGANISMS ARE THE DETECTIVES OF MOTHER-EARTH'S POLICE FORCE. THEY CAN BE LIKENED TO THE WHITE CELLS WITHIN THE PHYSICALEMBODIMENT THAT INITIATE A DEFENSIVE SEARCH & RESCUE SIGNAL FOR THE DISEASEMENTS THERIN.

HELP, I AM NOT A MYCOLOGIST NOR A BOTANIST. I AM A PSYCHIC! IN ONE OF OUR REMOTE VIEWING SESSIONS, THIS INFORMATION WAS GIVEN. I HADN'T THE SLIGHTEST IDEA AS TO WHAT TO DO WITH THIS INFO, NOR DID I KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT "TAMARINDS", AS THIS LICHEN WAS ANCIENTLY KNOWN.

I SIMPLY TYPED UP THE INFO AND SENT IT OUT TO THE 800 PEOPLE ON OUR INTERNATIONAL NETWORK IN APRIL OF 1997. I HOPED THAT SOMEONE WITH SUCH KNOWLEDGE WOULD RESEARCH AND EXPAND UPON IT.

THIS MORNING I RECEIVED AN E-MAIL LETTER FROM THAILAND, INVITING ME TO ATTEND A BIO-TECH MYCOLOGY CONFERENCE.

NOT ME! I AM MERELY A FACILITATOR FOR MY HIGHER GUIDES TO EXPAND UPON THEIR MISSION. SO NOW, WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?

IF YOU WILL E-MAIL ME YOUR FAX NUMBER, I WILL FORWARD THE CONTENT OF THIS ORIGINAL THESIS. PLEASE DO NOT DISBELIEVE THAT WHICH YOU PERSONALLY CANNOT DISPROVE. ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE AND IN THIS INSTANCE MY PERCEPTIONS HAVE INSPIRED ME TO BELIEVE IN THE PROBABILITIES.

SHARING LIGHT, LEE GUILMETTE CHIN

*********

"Hey Tom,
Thanks for the info. In putting the cart before the horse fashion, I did eat some of the false morels already last Sunday. And as you may have guessed without the boiling procedure you mention. Good news is I am here to talk about it I guess. If there were no immediate affects, do I fear some yet to come? The person I found them with said he had eaten them before so I thought "what the hell.""

*********

From an apparently disgruntled student:

"i REALLY DON'T LIKE FUNGUS.
i REALLY DON'T LIKE FUNGUS.
i REALLY DON'T LIKE FUNGUS."

(this was the entire text of the email)

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From Korea:
"Subject: Thank you, Tom!
Tom, could I call you Tom?
I'm very thankful for your reply. Frankly speaking, I'm poor in English.
I wish you could understand me even though there are some mistakes in my English.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I sincerely thank you!
I wish I was not bothering you.
I wanna be a friend of you.
I hope that I could be taught by you from time to time."

*********

From a high school student:
"I need to know What is Homeostasis? Could you include the folowing: Plasma membrane, Cell Transport, diffusion vs. Osmosis, Active vs Passive Transport, and ATP and the cell?? Also how do cells grow and reproduce? This is the last one What is the difference between a plant and an animal cell?? I would apreciate it if you could get this to me tomorrow morning?? If you can't could you get it to me by tomorrow night?? "


WEB PAGES

Please see some example of web pages in mycology at our web sites.

The Mycological Society of America's web page http://www.erin.utoronto.ca/~w3msa/
Kathie Hodge's Mycological Resources on the Internet http://www.keil.ukans.edu/~fungi/
Tom Volk's Fungi http://TomVolkFungi.net

Uses and flexibility of web pages


WEB PAGE DEVELOPMENT

HTML is child's play! See this annotated web page.

Software for page building