# PPG meeting notes 2023-01-31

- 100 + people engaged so far
- googlegroups seems to work fine in China (at least people received/sent emails ok)
- Format/template for proposals
- Joel has a draft template in place in the issue functionality in github
- Capturing discussion, maintaining in perpetuity
- Need a format that won't disappear
- Could use the github "issue" tracking functionality. Any user with a github account can comment on each proposal (each issue).
- Need some instructions for the discussion? Maybe it'll work ok without guidance
- This format wouldn't work well for actually voting, in part because anyone could vote--it wouldn't be restricted to PPG
- For PPG members who are averse to git, someone else could make comments on their part
- method for proposals
- joel's template (refine, expand)
- individuals make the proposals
- have Harald's list in the background somewhere, and keep track of which proposals are made so that none slip between the tracks
- Method for "voting"
- Have a voting mechanism in googleSurveys or somesuch
- ask the community for how the basics will work -- will it be majority-rule?
- google form and a parallel spreadsheet for folks that can't google
- Method for handling "dissenting opinions"
- Do this in the publication? What threshold would qualify as being worthy of mention. A "dissenting opinion" component (would need to figure out who would write that?)
- Some flagging system to highlight areas where there is more disagreement

- Species-level stuff
- Have "regional editors"? Someone is the lead on each genus, and then there's a committee to make sure that nothing goes too far off the rails?
- Do we want some sort of circumscription information included somehow?
- Do we need some over-arching "philosophy" for treating cytotypes, etc?
- Need to decide what sort of data to include with the species-level taxa

## How to run PPG

- How to determine membership in "core team"
- organic vs. voting
- keep it with the four of us for the "update" part; find way of expanding for the species level work?

- Responsibilities of "core team"
- Actually maintain database
- but not taxonomic decisions (that is done by community)

- Granularity of taxonomic decisions
- How do we decide what is suitable for a vote?

## Next steps

- notify mailing list of github system for tracking proposals [Eric]
- setup system for voting
- work on "update" template (ie, for proposals for higher taxa) [Carl]
- work on instructions document [Joel, others?]
- work on protocol for discussion timing, etc. -- when would we vote
- work on proposal to the group, outlining the github approach, voting, etc, and asking for comments [Eric]
- get the database in shape [Joel]

## to-do by next meeting

Eric: draft email about workflow and voting system

Joel: work on database, github documentation, send template to Carl

Carl: help with template and instructions