FAQ
A contribution of The Cephalopod Page
| Question: |
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| Can you send me material for **** ? |
| Answer: |
| Such requests will be answered but the reply will likely be a question such as 'Have you been to the library yet and if so what have you found?'. Students who are working on reports need to understand that while I'm happy to answer specific questions, I'm not going to do their research for them - in other words, I'm not the easy way out. I occasionally get vague requests such as 'send me everything you have on cephalopods'. This sort of question is perhaps understandable from grammar school students (who ironically usually ask very good questions) but not from high school and college students. The reality is that I have over 500 articles plus a dozen books on cephalopods, limited time, and money. Even if I were to spend several days and a small fortune in photocopying and shipping charges and copy all this material most people would find it unreadable. Questions about the skeletal system of octopuses from high school or college students doing reports will get a similar answer of 'hit the books first and then ask me after you have done some work' (I usually suggest some books). Please keep in mind that The Cephalopod Page receives tens of thousands of hits each year and I receive many email messages, phone calls, etc because of it. No one is paying me to maintain the page or to answer all the email that it generates. Having said all that, I have to admit that I enjoy talking and writing about cephalopods and will continue to keep my email address on "The Cephalopod Page (TCP)" as well as answer every message that I receive. Dr. James Wood |