I am re-writing this petition since I was rushed when I wrote it. I am serious about the ethcial issues presented here, so am working on a better version with more polished writing.

This is a petition against being shut out from doing astronomy research with the collaboration that I greatly contributed to. Please follow me on my blog atastrostuart.blogspot.com while I polish my writing. I am polishing what I wrote in too much of a hurry. I was rushed to get it out to people in time, and had to focus my best writing on my paper on planet migration, and also write a "white paper" for NASA. Now that my paper on planet migration has been submitted, and the white paper is in, I am preparing for NASA's Kepler conference. So please stay with me!

In the meantime, if you're up for technical reading see my "Hot Big Planets Kepler Mission" white paper. Or just see my blog, astrostuart.blogspot.com.

--From earlier: 

We petition that no scientist be banned from research he helped start without cause. We petition that all groups not only give credit where credit is due, but to also insure the opportunity to finish what has been started. No one should ever be arbitrary cut off from their work, their data, or cut off from their colleagues. The “right of participation” must be considered an essential reward for contributing to a project.

We petition scientific organizations and scientists working with global telescope observatory to require this “UCSB observatory” to return its first scientist, Stuart F. Taylor, to the global science group.

We challenge the publishers in astronomy to return Dr. Taylor to his rightful participation in the publications he has been blocked from being a part, starting with petitioning the journal PASP to refuse to publish the paper describing this UCSB-affiliated observatory until Dr. Taylor is no longer blocked from participating with the group in writing this paper. Because Dr. Taylor was the first to start the writing for a paper describing this global network observatory, called “LCOGT”, and has for years expressed his intent to be part of writing the observatory paper, it is especially wrong for this observatory to never give Dr. Taylor any credit in any paper from the observatory, and in this paper, to relegate Dr. Taylor's name to the list of acknowledgements. We challenge PASP to not accept the misrepresentations of his contributions by an observatory which has so badly obstructed him, as described on his blog, astrostuart.blogspot.com.

We challenge the astronomy community to write up ethical guidelines that include prohibiting singling out one member for exclusion. There must be a better set of rules to protect the participation of each scientist in order that no science group every discriminate against one person with impunity in the manner done by the UCSB-affiliated observatory.

We specifically seek three actions to reign in the UCSB-affiliated observatory called “LCOGT”:

1. Require science journals to require “credit where credit is due” in a fair manner subject to the same importance of review that the scientific results are put through, but in an open manner such that no scientist is ever again shut out of a project without recourse.

2. Challenge the leaseholders of this observatory to disallow arbitrary and abusive treatment of the members of the science group, and to insure that all contributors be given just opportunity to participate and earn further credit. Recourse must be given to any member of the group who is not respected or who is subjected to the kind of personal discrimination or personal hostility shown by this observatory (see blog).

3. Demand UCSB to replace its current affiliation agreement to have necessary control over “companies” that use the university's name in an “affiliation” but which have no commitment to ethical standards. This has been made necessary due to how UCSB has negligently committed to allow the Director of this “UCSB-affiliated” LCOGT observatory to personally act in any way he chooses without any involvement of UCSB. This observatory director has acted without any review by any of his or UCSB's Human Resources employees or any others in obstructing Dr. Taylor's freedom as a scientist to continue his work. Universities must better supervise their “private” affiliated organizations follow the normal standards of the profession, such that scientists that are thus a part of the UCSB community are not arbitrarily expelled from the community in a manner that destroys their career.

We petition that the science community adopt procedures to protect participation. No one should intentionally be denied participation as a means of denying credit. Participation should be sought from all who seek to help. It can be said that "Participation is the purpose of science." Participation is so important that perhaps, even, "Participation is the purpose of life."

Please go to http://astrostuart.blogspot.hk/2013/07/participation-challenge-to-lcogt.html to support my effort to take back participation in science.