From: Jack Correia <jcorreia@fiona.umsmed.edu>
  To  : rasmb@bbri.eri.harvard.edu
  Date: Tue, 23 May 95 09:40:22 -0500

Re: Informal Database

        I agree with Greg we probably all want it to be informal and 
trusting.  But just ask yourselves what the critical in The Critical Tables 
means?  Our business is about critical evaluation of data.  The CRC and the 
critical tables have value even today because of standards established by 
critical evaluation.  When data is suspect or uncorrected for some ion 
effect, a footnote in the Table tells you!  Raw data and undocumented 
numbers have no place in either of those documents.  If we as a scientific 
users group as going to set up a database of anything, why would we not try 
to maintain the same critical standards we were all trained under?  I think 
the issue is the degree of informality and the degree of documentation!

jack