Galaxy Zoo Talk

The Language of Galaxy Zoo

  • Rick_N. by Rick_N.

    If people can find enough uses of a word in published sources, then it can be put forward to a major dictionary as an official new word. I have often read the word (a noun) 'zooite' and would like to put it forward as a new word. Of course, any copyright issues would have to be sorted with the Zookeepers, but it might be a fun thing to achieve.

    First we have to define Zooite. "A participant in the online astronomical project Galaxy Zoo".

    When searching the Forum, the first ref that comes up is Galaxybabe, August 07 2007
    http://www.galaxyzooforum.org/index.php?topic=98.msg15261#msg15261

    First published:
    GalaxyBabe on the 16th August 2007 on a BBC website:
    "Recruiting Zoo Research Assistants ('Zooites')
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/dna/place-lancashire/plain/A25835880

    First use in book (august 2010 first edition):
    "A Grand and Bold Thing: An Extraordinary New Map of the Universe Ushering In A New Era of Discovery" Ann K. Finkbeiner
    Chapter 10. (I don't have a copy)

    Michael Nielsen's "Reinventing Discovery" (2012).
    Quoting from Page 135: "when some Zooite (as the participants call themselves) has noticed something unusual" or
    "draws on a marvelous article written by one of the Zooites".

    An article from Skymania:
    http://www.skymania.com/wp/2008/11/space-fans-find-new-breed-of-galaxy.html/
    "They call themselves Zooites and have formed a close-knit community."

    An article from The Guardian:
    http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2009/jan/15/internet-astronomy
    "One "Zooite", Richard Proctor, a telecoms consultant, spotted the spreadsheet"

    Another article from The Guardian:
    http://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/mar/18/galaxy-zoo-crowdsourcing-citizen-scientists
    "There are more than 250,000 active "zooites" of all ages"

    Universe Today
    "Holy Galaxify Batman! Galaxy Zoo Allows Users to Put Their Name in Big Lights"
    http://www.universetoday.com/97293/holy-galaxify-batman-galaxy-zoo-allows-users-to-put-their-name-in-big-lights/

    Universe Today
    "Hunt for Supernovae With Galaxy Zoo"
    http://www.universetoday.com/37392/hunt-for-supernovae-with-galaxy-zoo/

    Time magazine.
    "How to Classify a Million Galaxies in Three Weeks"
    http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1975296,00.html

    HASTAC
    "Crowdsourcing the Stars: Galaxy Zoo Needs You!"
    http://www.hastac.org/blogs/cathy-davidson/crowdsourcing-stars-galaxy-zoo-needs-you

    Physics World.com
    "Sociology of the Galaxy Zoo"
    http://blog.physicsworld.com/2009/09/29/sociology-of-the-galaxy-zoo/

    Blog and Forum entries include:
    http://blog.galaxyzoo.org/tag/zooites/ - July 18 2014
    http://www.galaxyzooforum.org/index.php?topic=275811.0 - Zooite Guide to Strong Gravitational Lenses

    Various others:
    http://supernova.galaxyzoo.org/faq - marked as a supernova and quickly show it to many other Zooites.
    http://hubble.galaxyzoo.org/story - The Story So Far

    Posted

  • elizabeth_s by elizabeth_s in response to Rick N.'s comment.

    If you can find the first the time the term was used more power to you. LOL : 😃 It has been around for awhile "insert rolled eyes" Is it important!

    Posted

  • Rick_N. by Rick_N. in response to elizabeth's comment.

    First use is important as it gives a reference to the person who coined the word (a proper noun). In a way it seems appropriate that Alice is first referenced, but I do seem to remember it being used before Jan 2009. It's certainly been used a lot since.

    Research is required. Then, with the Zookeepers permission, we can all have a dictionary-referenced title!

    Posted

  • elizabeth_s by elizabeth_s in response to Rick N.'s comment.

    Oh I see! I will see what I can find. I do remember Alice using the term and the rest of using it after. 😃 can you give me a time frame to work on it. thanks LIZ

    Posted

  • GeoffRoynon by GeoffRoynon

    If Search still works on the "old" GZ Forum you could try searching by date for "Zooite".

    Posted

  • elizabeth_s by elizabeth_s in response to GeoffRoynon's comment.

    Yes indeed that was my though also . so here I go 😃

    Posted

  • elizabeth_s by elizabeth_s in response to GeoffRoynon's comment.

    Ok so far I got it down to 2008. anyone else?

    Posted

  • Rick_N. by Rick_N.

    This article online has it:
    John Hopkins University
    Amateur Hour Spring 2008 Vol. 5, No.2
    http://krieger.jhu.edu/magazine/sp08/f1.html
    "The mania and mix of motivations come out on the site's online forum, maintained by a particularly devoted subset of volunteers who call themselves "zooites" (they've nicknamed the professionals "the zookeepers"). "

    Posted

  • ElisabethB by ElisabethB moderator

    First we have to define Zooite. "Someone who takes part in the online project Galaxy Zoo".

    Is the word Zooite restricted to someone who participates in Galaxy Zoo ? For me it is someone who takes part in a Zooniverse project. 😄

    Posted

  • Infinity by Infinity moderator

    Just having a look back...

    Actually the first written use on the GZ forum would appear to be 8 August 2007 by galaxybabe; http://www.galaxyzooforum.org/index.php?topic=567.msg16029#msg16029

    But that isn't to say that is the date of first use in other reference sources of course.

    Posted

  • zutopian by zutopian

    I would like to know the definition of zooite. Well, it is someone, who takes part in GZ or another Zooniverse project, but what does this actually mean? I guess following.: A zooite is someone, who is a voluntary crowdsourcing worker and a human computation worker, likewise a human subject in research, isn't s/he?

    Posted

  • Rick_N. by Rick_N. in response to Infinity's comment.

    "Reposting from here: http://www.galaxyzooforum.org/index.php?topic=2861.0 as zooite rocket tells me the redshift of both centres is 0.044 so it's a merger."

    The first written use on the GZ forum would appear to be 8 August 2007 by galaxybabe; http://www.galaxyzooforum.org/index.php?topic=567.msg16029#msg16029

    Impressive research Zutopian. August 8th is pretty early.

    However, if you look at main page of the forum itself, it has at the top:

    "Astronomy at Galaxy Zoo".
    Zooite help on galaxies and astronomy here.

    Has that been on the board since the forum first started?

    Posted

  • Rick_N. by Rick_N.

    http://www.galaxyzooforum.org/index.php?topic=98.msg15261#msg15261

    GalaxyBabe August 7th:

    "I'm sure there aren't 80,000 zooites posting here, I don't know how many have registered maybe 1%?"

    Posted

  • Infinity by Infinity moderator in response to Rick N.'s comment.

    I assume you mean 'Impressive research Infinity' 😃 And the board you mention was a later addition on the forum and all the threads in it post-date galaxtbabe's usage. I'll see if I can find any other references.

    Posted

  • Rick_N. by Rick_N.

    Yes of course: impressive research Infinity!

    First coined less than two weeks after the forum started. I'm wondering whether a Zookeeper mentioned it somewhere. But if not, then GalaxyBabe is the mostly likely candidate.

    Posted

  • Budgieye by Budgieye moderator

    I think that Zooite is a confusing word. Zoo means "animal" as in zoo, zoology and zodiac. We used Zooite to describe people , like me, who were posting in a non-official capacity, as in

    Zooite Guide to SDSS Spectra
    http://www.galaxyzooforum.org/index.php?topic=274815.0 and

    Zooite Guide to Strong Gravitational Lenses
    http://www.galaxyzooforum.org/index.php?topic=275811.

    so it was clear that Zooites were not speaking as official scientists and Galaxy Zoo staff.

    But I don't really like the word. It is confusing for outsiders.

    Posted

  • Rick_N. by Rick_N. in response to Budgieye's comment.

    'But I don't really like the word. It is confusing for outsiders.'

    Not sure I know how to repond to that. After all we have zookeepers, which has little to do with feeding lions. We take part in Galaxy Zoo, which is part of Zooniverse. 'Zooite' is a commonly-used word; you've used it yourself here in GZ Talk recently. You don't think then that it could be used in a more formal way? It does seem to have passed into day-to-day usage. I think at least its derivation is interesting to find out about, but then I'm interested in etymology.

    Posted

  • Rick_N. by Rick_N.

    This is the earliest book using the word zooite I've yet found:

    "A Grand and Bold Thing: An Extraordinary New Map of the Universe Ushering In A New Era of Discovery"
    Ann K. Finkbeiner
    Hardcover: 226 pages
    Publisher: Free Press; First Edition edition (August 17, 2010)
    Language: English
    ISBN-10: 1416552162
    Chapter 10.

    It is a book about the story of the SDSS and predates M. Nielsen's by two years.

    Posted

  • Capella05 by Capella05 moderator

    I have always thought if referred to the users who were active on the forum and not necessarily everyone who classified?

    I will also admit, I am not very fond of the term Zooite - and when talking about the Zooniverse Projects to other people, I prefer to refer to myself as a 'Volunteer'. Am I the only person who thinks the phrase 'and they refer to themselves as Zooites' slightly condescending?

    Personally, I get the impression that the Zooniverse is trying to move away from the phrase 😃

    Posted

  • Rick_N. by Rick_N.

    Personally, I don't find it condescending in any way. I'm glad to be part of that group of people who from their participation in GZ became known as Zooites. I can't see why you would find it condescending. Surely you should be proud of it, or is that overly-pompous?

    "The Zooniverse is trying to move away from the phrase". Is that official? I can read it in a GZ blog post late in June. It gets used on Talk often enough. Somehow, I can't think it will disappear overnight.

    I'm not trying to defend its use - merely trying to find out its usage, which I find an interesting process. This is supposed to be a 'fun' thread after all.

    All that aside, I hope your ankle is on the mend.

    Posted

  • elizabeth_s by elizabeth_s

    LOL when I think about the term zooites I think about Galaxyzooitis http://www.galaxyzooforum.org/index.php?topic=5089.0

    Posted

  • Rick_N. by Rick_N.

    For Galaxyzooitis: 'Seek immediate galaxedical advice'. Galaxedical? Is that free?

    I have this peice of online text posted by GalaxyBabe on the 16th August 2007 on a BBC website:

    "Recruiting Zoo Research Assistants ('Zooites')

    Is there a law of unintended consequences? Because 50,000 people registered with Galaxy Zoo within days, the team were bombarded with emails from frustrated users about how slow the site was - or couldn't get images at all."

    It also has this, which seems curious:

    "The official Galaxy Zoo Forum was launched on 25 July. The 'zooites' (as the analysers have affectionately been nicknamed by the team) can start new threads, ask questions and upload pictures direct from the SDSS website."

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/dna/place-lancashire/plain/A25835880

    This is the earliest published ref I've yet found.

    Posted

  • elizabeth_s by elizabeth_s in response to Rick N.'s comment.

    I think I have read this one in the past. 😃 good work Rick N

    Posted

  • jules by jules

    I do quite like the term "Zooite" and it did seem to help foster a community spirit back in the day when Galaxy Zoo was all there was. Now though (to me at least) it seems a little anachronistic. With the exception of Old Weather none of the projects that I'm involved in seem to use the term. On Solar Stormwatch, for example, we are occasionally "Stormwatchers" and "Moonites" has been used on Moon Zoo but mainly we are "volunteers".

    There's a bit of research here concerning which Talks / forums use the term and more specifically which people! That might yield some interesting results. You've really started something here Rick!

    Posted

  • GeoffRoynon by GeoffRoynon in response to jules's comment.

    Quote: "Moonites" has been used on Moon Zoo

    Better than "lunatics" 😃

    Posted

  • jules by jules in response to GeoffRoynon's comment.

    I'm sure that's been used too! 😄

    Posted

  • Rick_N. by Rick_N.

    Thanks for the interest: any thread that draws in moderators by the half-dozen must have some relevance.

    Firstly, we have more than enough material to present to a dictionary (The OED seems appropriate!). There is: First use on forum, first published use, 10 or so 'worthy' online articles, two books and hundreds of forum, blog & talk uses. So no problem proving its use as a current word in the English language.

    Secondly, I'd be surprised to see it being used ouside of GZ. Its hard to imagine a volunteer (citizen scientist?) on Condor Watch (my current favourite) calling themselves Zooites. So its usage is limited. Is there a word for a Zooniverse participant- a Zoonie? Only kidding.

    Thirdly, I'm not about to list everyone who uses or has used it. My original task was to gather info which has been done. If anyone wants to take it further, that would be most welcome.

    Fourthly, if it is anachronistic, or unliked or condescending then that's how it is. It is still in current usage, which etymologically is all that matters.

    Fifthly, if one of GZ's founders makes it clear that they do not want it putting forward, then its all speculation anyway.

    So, that's how I see things at the moment. 'Zooite' could be submitted tomorrow and there is a large chance it would be accepted.
    However, there's no rush so it makes sense to see how things progress and what turns up.

    The same could be done for several other Zoo-related words that have a 'generic' meaning. How GZ vocab has entered into English usage would be a study all by itself. How many times has Voorwerp, Peas etc been used in published material? A lot..

    "The Linguistic Impact of Galaxy Zoo: the Etymology of Citizen Science". Any takers?

    Posted

  • jules by jules in response to Rick N.'s comment.

    "The Linguistic Impact of Galaxy Zoo: the Etymology of Citizen
    Science". Any takers?

    Nope! But I'd give it a damn good read!

    It's an interesting proposition though - just googling "zooite" leads to some interesting (and unexpected) hits. Especially an image search. 😃

    Posted

  • elizabeth_s by elizabeth_s in response to jules's comment.

    Oh well now you have done it I will have to check that out LOL 😃

    Posted

  • Rick_N. by Rick_N.

    I've contacted Ann (galaxybabe) and have started the process of finding out about the usage. She is an editor now of the h2g2 site that first published in 2007. If anyone knows her from forum days, it might be a chance to renew old friendships? I didn't join the forum 'til september 2007, so I'm not familiar with the earliest times. 'Just chat' didn't start til september: was there an earlier thread for people to chat on?

    Galaxy babe http://www.h2g2.com/user/U128652

    Googled Zooite image: this came up!

    Gz meetup

    Posted

  • galaxybabe by galaxybabe

    waves
    Just joining the discussion 😃

    Ann Croft aka galaxybabe

    Posted

  • elizabeth_s by elizabeth_s

    Hello nice to see you again. I hope all is well. 😃

    Posted

  • jules by jules

    Well hello! See what you started?! 😄

    Posted

  • Infinity by Infinity moderator in response to galaxybabe's comment.

    Good to see you here Ann! 😃

    Posted

  • Rick_N. by Rick_N.

    First use of 'Voorwerp'?
    fjgiie August 22, 2007, 11:16:46 am

    http://www.galaxyzooforum.org/index.php?topic=387.msg33337#msg33337

    "Nee, Ik spreek geen nederlands, but I'm from the Low Country part of South Carolina 😃
    Ha, ha, Hanny's voorwerp is a take off of Hoag's Object. If Art Hoag had an Object,
    then Hanny should have a Voorwerp!"

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoag's_Object

    1st use: Voorwerpje Wednesday 5th July 2009: Zooniverse Blog

    1st use: Voorwerpen Sunday 16th December 2007 : graham d http://www.galaxyzooforum.org/index.php?topic=9037.msg89762#msg89762

    Posted

  • elizabeth_s by elizabeth_s

    I knew at the time fjgiie had this picture as his atavar .
    What does this input to where the term zooite started?

    Posted

  • Rick_N. by Rick_N. in response to elizabeth's comment.

    I was, am, trying to expand the thread to include other GZ-related words. The origin of 'Voorwerp' interests me and rather than start a whole new thread, this seems as good a place as any to pursue that.

    Having found the originator of Zooite, I think it would be good to include Voorwerp as a next step, in keeping with the idea of a study: "The Linguistic Impact of Galaxy Zoo: the Etymology of Citizen Science".

    I've emailed fjgiie to see if he would like to join in the discussion. I hope that's ok with everyone.

    Posted

  • elizabeth_s by elizabeth_s in response to Rick N.'s comment.

    Oh thank you. that is fine with me now that understand your goals. 😃 thanks

    Posted

  • Rick_N. by Rick_N.

    Fred J. Gray (fjgiie) was a moderator on stardust@home (small world). His fellow moderator on stardust@home was a dutch friend Wolter van den Brink. It was through their interaction, that the word 'Voorwerp' came about.

    To be completely clear, I emailed fjgiie over the weekend (he lives in Hampton, South Carolina) who explained to me how he had come by the term 'Hanny's Voorwerp'. I've already ref'd the first posting of the word on the GZ Forum, so following on from that, I will summarise his email:

    He had thought about Hoag's Object (see forum ref) and how clever it would be to have a Hanny's Object in Dutch. That is where Wolter, who lives in Holland, helped. He could pm or email Wolter and he could speak Dutch and English so Wolter was the translator and not only a translator but a native speaker which was important. As they were both mods on the same project, they could communicate easily. Wolter said we could use Object as Dutch for object but when Fred pressed him he said voorwerp would be formal Dutch for object. Wolter helped with the Dutch in that posting in the Forum.

    Hanny's Voorwerp came about because Hanny posted it on the GZ forum asking what is was. The science team didn't know and investigations started. 'Voorwerp' came about as a word because Fred and Wolter were trying to be clever/amusing. Fred was clever, as his title is now part of astro history.

    Posted

  • Capella05 by Capella05 moderator in response to Rick N.'s comment.

    Hi Rick,

    Perhaps you should change the title of the discussion, so it is clear to everyone what you are trying to achieve?

    😃

    Posted

  • Rick_N. by Rick_N. in response to Capella05's comment.

    Yes, that's a good idea; it would make things clearer. How about simply 'The Language of Galaxy Zoo'? It's becoming a thread to put words and ideas in to do with GZ-related language. It started when I wasn't able to source these words for Wikipedia- there are no studies on GZ lang., so I couldn't cite anything. Hopefully, the thread will go someway to enabling a source. Perhaps it can even be moved to the 'Science Powered by Citizens' section where it might be more appropriate?

    Obviously I can't do that, so hopefully a mod will. This thread has already been successful, as I'm now able to cite two refs for Zooite on Wikipedia. Thanks,

    Posted

  • Capella05 by Capella05 moderator

    Thread moved.

    Posted

  • Rick_N. by Rick_N. in response to Capella05's comment.

    Thanks for moving it. Were you going to change the title as well?

    Posted

  • Capella05 by Capella05 moderator

    I never realised you could not change the title!

    Will do it now 😃

    Posted

  • elizabeth_s by elizabeth_s in response to Capella05's comment.

    Where too? Oh and a title change as well. Thanks for the update. :😃

    Posted

  • Rick_N. by Rick_N.

    Selected books including Hanny's Voorwerp (will be added to):

    M. Nielsen (2011) - Reinventing Discovery: The New Era of Networked Science. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-14890-8.

    Stephen P. Maran (2012 3rd edit.) - Astronomy For Dummies. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN: 978-1118376973

    Michael A. Seeds, Dana E. Backman (2011) - Foundations of Astronomy. Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning. ISBN: 9780538733533

    Marc J. Kuchner (2011) - Marketing for Scientists: How to Shine in Tough Times. Island Press. ISBN: 978-1597269940

    Chris Lintott , Brian May, Sir Patrick Moore (2012) - The Cosmic Tourist: The 100 Most Awe-inspiring Destinations in the Universe. Carlton Books. ISBN: 978-1847326195

    Nitin Agarwal, Merlyna Lim, Rolf T. Wigand (2014) - Online Collective Action: Dynamics of the Crowd in Social Media (Lecture Notes in Social Networks). Springer. ISBN: 978-3709113394

    Sir Patrick Moore, Chris North (2012) - The Sky at Night: Answers to Questions from Across the Universe. BBC Books. ISBN: 978-1849903462

    Posted

  • Rick_N. by Rick_N.

    Lostlens pointed this out to me: "Overview of Parasitology - PARA-SITE parasite.org.au/para-site/introduction/introduction-essay.html By definition, parasites are those animals which occupy the last niche, i.e. live in .... forms are known as trophozoites (trophe = nutrition; zooite = minute animal)".

    Thanks to him for that.

    Posted

  • Rick_N. by Rick_N.

    Having found the derivation of Ann's 'Zooite' and Fred & Wolter's 'Voorwerp', it's time to move on to the Green Peas. Hanny started a thread on the 12th of August 2007 called 'Give peas a chance' for amusement to collect green objects. It turned out to be a very successful thread! http://www.galaxyzooforum.org/index.php?topic=3638.0

    However, when did the phrase 'Pea galaxy' come into being?

    Geoff Roynon posted this in 'Give Peas A Chance':
    "This is the "pea" galaxy where all the peas live!" (August 28 2007). A very early candidate!
    http://www.galaxyzooforum.org/index.php?topic=3638.msg39262#msg39262

    In Nightwatch's thread 'What is this green colored thingy?',Zookeeper Kevin posted this:
    "Peas are galaxies with enormously powerful emission lines." (December 13, 2007)
    http://www.galaxyzooforum.org/index.php?topic=8926.msg88388#msg88388

    Back in 'Give Peas A Chance', Rick (myself) posted this:
    "found another 9 'Pea' Galaxies (Olll Oxygen-Rich Emission Line) today". (December 15, 2007)
    http://www.galaxyzooforum.org/index.php?topic=3638.msg89149#msg89149

    Decide for yourselves! Any other contributions for the first use of the phrase 'Pea galaxy', please post.

    Posted

  • Rick_N. by Rick_N.

    Books that include GPs (selected):

    M. Nielsen (2011) - Reinventing Discovery: The New Era of Networked Science. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-14890-8.

    Ann K. Finkbeiner (2010) - A Grand and Bold Thing: An Extraordinary New Map of the Universe Ushering In A New Era of Discovery. Free Press. ISBN-13: 978-1416552161

    Nitin Agarwal, Merlyna Lim, Rolf T. Wigand (2014) - Online Collective Action: Dynamics of the Crowd in Social Media (Lecture Notes in Social Networks). Springer. ISBN: 978-3709113394

    Michael Way, Jeffrey Scargle, Kamal Ali, Ashok Srivastava (2012) - Advances in Machine Learning and Data Mining for Astronomy. Chapman and Hall/CRC.
    ISBN: 978-1439841730

    Jack Hitt (2012) - Bunch of Amateurs: A Search for the American Character. Crown. ISBN: 978-0307393753

    Posted

  • GeoffRoynon by GeoffRoynon in response to Rick N.'s comment.

    Fame at last 😉

    Posted

  • elizabeth_s by elizabeth_s in response to GeoffRoynon's comment.

    😃 LOL here, my vote you got it. Now please do not let it go to your head. 😃

    Posted

  • Rick_N. by Rick_N.

    I conclude the only GZ language left to be considered are the terms 'Galaxy Zoo', 'Zookeepers' and 'Zooniverse'. It seems like there are only a couple of people who would know all the details... How did the term Galaxy Zoo come about, please?

    I remember giving a talk, with Alice, to the B.A.S. back in the day and being asked where the term GZ had come from, to which I had to reply that I didn't know the exact circumstances, but that it might have something to do with the phrase 'a zoo of galaxies'. The person who asked the question wasn't impressed.

    http://www.bristolastrosoc.org.uk/

    Posted

  • Capella05 by Capella05 moderator in response to Rick N.'s comment.

    I will leave that up to Zookeeper 😃

    What about all the terms that we have incorrectly assigned to objects?

    For example - "lens".

    I have always found it odd that 'Zooites' refer to the lensed galaxy as being the 'Lens' when it is, in fact, the foreground galaxy doing the lensing? Perhaps that comes from the descriptions used when classifying a image? It would make sense why a particular term is incorrectly applied?

    Just me mumbling.

    Posted

  • Rick_N. by Rick_N.

    Interesting fact... Galaxy Zoo was originally going to be called 'Galaxy Safari' (Zookeeper Chris). I haven't found out why it was changed, as yet.

    Posted

  • ElisabethB by ElisabethB moderator in response to Rick N.'s comment.

    That would make a great quiz question !

    Posted

  • Rick_N. by Rick_N.

    I very vaguely remember hearing years ago that one reason the name was changed was because it conflicted with Safari, AppleMac's browser. If a person searched for 'safari', the browser and all its associated web posts would swamp any Galaxy Safari links. Purely speculation of course.

    Posted

  • Rick_N. by Rick_N.

    Zooite submitted to O.E.D at the request of Ann. Might take some time to find out one way or another if it is accepted.

    Posted

  • Rick_N. by Rick_N.

    In the review of Citizen Science "Ideas for Citizen Science in Astronomy" by Philip J. Marshall, Chris J. Lintott, Leigh N. Fletcher, the language of GZ and Zooniverse is given a few lines:

    "The binding together of these community is reflected in the language they use: Zooniverse volunteers refer to themselves
    as 'Zooites,' for example. It is interesting to note that approachable project names are almost universal in citizen science, and perhaps function as ice-breakers in their nascent communities." (page 50)

    After considering my query on the Github website, Philip Marshall agreed that GZ language does have some importance. He also gives me an acknowledgement in the paper! As discussed on the Github page, if GZ had been called something like 'A Census of SDSS galaxies and their Chirality', it might not have been so successful. Moreover, the more approachable or 'catchier' the name of the project is, I venture the more likely that younger participants will be engaged.

    The recently re-submitted review is available here: https://github.com/drphilmarshall/Ideas-for-Citizen-Science-in-Astronomy/blob/master/review.pdf

    Posted

  • DZM by DZM admin

    I'd be interested to find out if "Zooite" has caught on among participants in the other Zooniverse projects. I definitely like having a term that identifies someone as a member of the Zooniverse at-large, especially because so many of our awesome volunteers participate in several projects!

    Posted

  • Rick_N. by Rick_N. in response to DZM's comment.

    When it was recently submitted to the OED, Zooite was defined as i)a participant in GZ ii) more broadly, a participant in Zooniverse. However, I would venture that not many taking part in, for example, Plankton Portal would regard themselves as Zooites. As we've seen in this thread, opinions vary about the use of the word anyway: some are ok with it, others dislike it. I think it's a handy way of describing the grouping of people who take part in GZ, but I'm unsure/doubtful about whether it applies to the whole caboodle.

    Posted

  • leonie_van_vliet by leonie_van_vliet

    Came about a Zooite.. by browsing through this page,

    Goodness me! Hoping no one ever calls me that. With kind greeting to all participants and moderators.

    Leonie van Vliet... 😃

    Posted

  • Rick_N. by Rick_N. in response to leonie van vliet's comment.

    "Goodness me! Hoping no one ever calls me that."

    It was never compulsory.

    Posted