Interested Members of the Forum,
Have found it extremely encouraging, as well as a very intriguing commentary on human nature that the suggestion of developing a Taxonomy of Toy Soldier Collecting has apparently taken on a life of its own.
I have absolutely no intention whatsoever of either including or excluding any member of the forum who would like to actively contribute to the project, or for that matter sit in active observation of the project. Although I have not contacted Wadepat directly in regard to the matter I feel relatively certain that he is of like mind. As has already been observed by other real veterans of this forum (I’m a mere neophyte) the evolution of a taxonomy may be of a positive benefit both to the entire hobby, as well as each one of us. That having been said here is an initial status report I have sent.
“I have been able to complete an iteration of a rough draft taxonomy converting the list of candidate parameters to a matrix in Excel format. As you will see the structure in this context is not as disciplined as the classic case, i.e. ‘classification of organisms in an ordered system that indicates natural relationships’ (Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, etc.). However, I think you can also see that the format can work in developing an individual profile by using the matrix as a ‘shopping’ or selection list. If, in turn, a statistical sample of individual profiles were taken using the frequency of common choices, I would think that the distribution would show certain trends becoming apparent.
Would welcome any comments/critique, as well as ideas for additional parameters, an alternate approach, the deletion or reassignment of entries, or a better way to structure the taxonomy.
If your individual computer software does not include the Excel program, my apologies. Please let me know and I can hopefully work out an alternate means of sending the information. I’m just hoping that I can find a means of sending what I have by e-mail attachment. Will look forward to hearing from you.”
At this point, due to my limited computer literacy, I have not yet been able to determine an effective way of transmitting an Excel spreadsheet online. Have been reduced to sending categorized lists of candidate entries. As I use a Mac and want to be able to communicate with all computers, would welcome any professional guidance as to formatting and transmitting draft spreadsheets as they are developed. I also have realized, and added, several fundamental initial omissions, to wit; ‘Students as an Avocation’, Size Range of Collections, Status of Collection, i.e. ‘actively collecting, maintaining status quo, considering auction, etc.
The following is a current candidate list of major classification categories :
PRINCIPAL/PRIMARY COLLECTOR AVOCATION
COMMENCEMENT/SPAN/CONTINUITY OF COLLECTING
INITIATING INFLUENCE(S)
PRINCIPAL ACQUISITION SOURCE(S)
APPROXIMATE CURRENT SIZE OF COLLECTION
STATUS OF COLLECTION
COLLECTION THEME(S)
SCALE OF FIGURES
RANGE AND COMPLEXITY OF DETAIL
STYLE AND TECHNIQUE OF CONSTRUCTION
TYPE OF MATERIALS/MEDIA
TYPES OF FINISH
PACKAGING
DISPLAY FORMATS
Best regards,
Jim
