What's in a name? Or a namer's name? A reply to Dubois (2008)

Dubois recently suggested that Linnean taxa should be quoted with the year of publication only, rather than with the author +/- year of publication. This would reduce the perceived artificial nomenclatural inflation produced by new synonyms. We do not consider this inflation a problem and recommend the maintenance of the current methodology. This has several advantages over that suggested by Dubois, including easy identification of taxa introduced by splitters, which are known by name, not year of publication; managers of systematic facilities expect to see their institute's papers cited; most systematists are dead, but recognition of their efforts is fitting; and a complete reference of author and year supports the best scholarship. Present and future systematists would be better served if Dubois' recommendation was not implemented. (C) 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 96, 709-711.