But what I am writing about now relates to an annoying part of the meeting. It seems ASM has sold my name/address to various entities since I have been receiving a significant amount of junk/trash advertising things associated with microbiology. I am sure ASM gets some $$$ out of this, but at what cost to the world? The last thing I want is more trash and there seems to be no way to say no to this.
And on top of it, many science related publications also seem really keen on wrapping themselves in plastic.
In this case I am showing Nature Methods and the ASM Microbe and even the HHMI magazine wrapped in plastic. Bad Nature. Bad ASM. Bad HHMI. Sure there may be reasons for this (e.g., maybe they have an insert), but there must be non plasticy solutions. And fortunately the news from the JDRF has no plastic. Good JDRF. Here's to sciency publications getting a little greener.
Is it the first year you get this junk? It is my annual reminder that the meeting is there!! Luckily, I found a good use of the cards I receive as they serve as a perfect collectible for my 3-yr-old who would, otherwise, destroy my Science Magazines...
ReplyDeleteI won't cry if they destroy Science --- what's is one more person who cannot read it since it is not free/open? ;-)
ReplyDeleteI have not gone to the big ASM meetings too often in the past since I generally hate big meetings. However, my kids like the cards too ...
Yep.. and their rejection letters are quick and blunt too :(
ReplyDeleteHOLY HELL! I could not believe the stack of mailings I got for this meeting, too. What really bugs me is that I very specifically marked that I make no purchasing decisions in my lab. All that advertising is falling on completely deaf ears.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I was at your "Open Science" forum and really enjoyed it. Cheers!