Cyberpalms

by Vince Carr, Northolt, UK

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!