“You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.”
I believe horse manure works best bob.

Thank you, Robert, for communicating to the IAU that their actions, this century, are not going over very well with the public. If they get into a childish fight with a respected scientist, they are likely to look … well … childish.

It is one thing for scientists to look unkindly on Pons and Fleishman for publicizing their cold fusion before it can be verified. It makes them look like they are charlatans, trying to live well on the French Riviera on the dime of some company that they conned into believing their non-discovery.

It is something else to deny respected, hard working scientists their due when they make great discoveries merely because the press likes some of the names they have been calling some of their discoveries.

As much as we agree, calling them names is pointless and counterproductive. I also do not approve of this for commenters on Behind the Black. It can get you banned if it continues.

Yesterday I had a very productive email correspondence with one of the members of the IAU working group that approves nomenclature. By being polite but firm and very honest, I was able to make her understand how badly the IAU looks by its holier-than-thou position. More important, she was willing to listen. Had I called her names in my initial email to her, she would have dismissed me out of hand and thus never heard my arguments in detail.

You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.