Editing a Journal such as Chamaerops is not
an easy task and combining that task with running and expanding
a successful business like The Palm Centre makes it all the more
difficult. At times it must seem like a thankless task and so, when
Martin Gibbons our Editor asks for contributions from the membership
of EPS as he did in Issue No. 39 - Summer 2000 it's time to pull
out all the stops and find something to write about. At this point
I must apologise to our members whose native languages are other
than English and who may lose something of the flavour of this piece
in the translation. So my friends, what shall I write about? Why,
the Internet of course!
When Chamaerops Summer 2000 was stuffed through
my letterbox I was in bed with a respiratory infection and frost
lay on the ground. Yes, it was January 15th 2001. Not exactly a
good time for outdoor gardening so something else was required as
a subject and so whilst checking on-line for new e-mail the Internet
slotted into place as the subject matter.
Now, I'm sure that all EPS Members who are
Internet enabled and have a command of English will be familiar
with our web site at www.palmsociety.org and our Editor's palm business
at www.palmcentre.co.uk and jolly good they are too, but what other
resources are available on the Net? The short answer to that is,
who can say? Nevertheless, in a very short time it's possible to
amass a great deal of information from around the world about Palms,
the subject in question.
I believe that in a journal such as Chamaerops
there is room for a variety of palm related subject matter, be that
of the learned botany variety, the 'guess what I grew in my back
garden' variety, or palm related retail therapy. There are some
excellent palm articles and papers on the Internet as well as web
sites of other palm societies and some excellent retail sites. Should
we include other retail sites in our journal? Yes, I think we should,
on the grounds that this enhances the knowledge of our members and
it isn't exactly advertising, is it?
So what little treats have I found for you
to sample? Let me list just a few of the many items that appealed
to me.
I hope you find something to interest you at the
above locations and I look forward to reading other members' articles
or letters related to their own experiences of palm related web
surfing. If you find a palm society or business web-site with a
guest book or comments box, how about filling it in with your comments
and sign off with your name and the legend ..... a member of The
European Palm Society - Website at www.palmsociety.org
Finally one last point, do you remember when, here
in the UK, car registration numbers like ABC 123 or XYZ 789 were
available for just a few pounds and now they cost an absolute fortune.
Well my friends the same, will be true of Domain Names. If you wish
to secure a top level Palm Genus domain name for yourself, your
business or organisation you'd better get a move on because domain
names are going fast. Firms like GetDotted.com http://www.getdotted.com
and Domain Express http://www.domainexpress.co.uk allow you to search
for, purchase and register domain names for reasonable fees and
offer domain hosting or domain parking on a similar low cost basis.
You could use the name for your own web site or simply as an e-mail
address such as AngelaHouseman@butia.com (ficticious). Some months
ago I purchased the name Trachycarpus.com as .com, .net, .org &
co.uk are the top level domains and go the quickest. Why, I hear
you ask, did I want my own domain name and more particularly Trachycarpus.
That's not an easy one to answer in any detail but in conclusion
I offer the following lame excuses:
A. I wanted it!
B. I'm a palm enthusiast.
C. I belong to the European Palm Society.
D. Why shouldn't I.
E. There's no law against it!
Cyberpalms
