From the virtual desk of the Editor

It is an immense pleasure to be the founding editor in chief of this new born Indian Dermatology Online Journal (IDOJ) which happens to be the first publishing cyberventure of the Indian Association of Dermatologists, Venereologists and Leprologists, better known as IADVL.

We hope to participate in evolving this fledgling journal into a journal with a difference. IADVL has an official journal which has a current acceptance rate of 16% which is an impressive number proving the high quality of publications which go through the rigours of final acceptance. However it also means that for every 16 articles accepted the work of 84 authors and their teams is rejected. We realize that the strength of Indian dermatology lies in the vast clinical exposure that our community has owing to the staggering population of the country. Moreover private practitioners outnumber academicians by a ratio of more than 9:1 and it is these private practitioners who see the maximum number of interesting cases by the virtue of sheer numbers. The journal is aimed at encouraging them to share and document their cases, their experiences and their opinions. As Indian dermatology marches smartly into international limelight I am convinced that our visibility will be directly proportional to the amount of literature that we share with our international colleagues,. What better medium would we find to disseminate dermatology knowledge and information THAN the World Wide Web?

I request browsers of this site to become regular readers, regular readers to become contributors and the contributors to become flag bearers of IDOJ and the parent organization IADVL on the international platform. I encourage dermatology community worldwide to do the same and to become members of IADVL which is emerging as a major international force. Membership to this organization will also entitle you to participate in an electronic discussion group, Acad IADVL which is a teaching and learning platform for dermatology in dark skin owing to our population which is essentially Fitzpatrick type IV and V type and is attracting more and more attention due to the widespread phenomenon of migration.

Last but not the least, IADVL owes a word of gratitude to Prof. T.G. Gopinathan, retired professor from Calicut, Kerala, India and a symbol of the popular Indian adage ‘Old is Gold’ whose brainchild this journal is.

‘Suswagatam’, Welcome, to IDOJ and its activities. And Viva IADVL !

Shyam Verma
Editor In Chief, IDOJ
Director, International Society of Dermatology
Vadodara, India