I don't see a simple answer to whether or not folks should speak up during a talk; it is up to the speaker, and speakers should tell the audience at the outset whether or not they want comments or feedback during the presentation. For me, it depends on the group. If it is a small group, I usually say at the beginning of the talk that I welcome simple, short comments or questions. I want to know if am mistaken about a plant I am showing. The speaker can ask the questioner to hold a question for after the talk if it is complicated. For a large group, it is unfortunately not possible. I think a speaker is free to ignore annoying members of the audience, and people who can't behave should be asked by the person in charge of the program to leave. I consider ringing phones, and answering phones to be disruptive. I also think that people should not be admitted to the hall after the program has begun. It is very difficult to get a program started with a stream of people dribbling i nto the hall, stumbling over the folks who arrived on time. The latecomers can wait until the break to enter.
There is no single, absolutely correct pronunciation for many botanical names. Even the experts routinely disagree, and experts in different countries follow different rules. As an undergraduate, I agonized about pronunciation. My professor, Bill Stern, told me that the only utility of names is that we know whether or not we are talking about the same plant. The rest of it is just self-absorbed posing. _______________________________________________ Alpine-l mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.science.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/alpine-l
