In their Eos article (16 March 2004), Daniel Baker and his colleagues acknowledged that one of the key achievements of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) was the establishment of data centers. I am sure that the authors are well aware of the importance of these data centers. I am concerned, however, by statements such as: ...researchers can redefine the 'data center' concept .... I am also concerned that some readers may interpret the overall proposed concept as one that is moving beyond the need for data centers, i.e., the concept of ...free access to all available data through the Internet and World Wide Web. That is, all data providers and data users will exchange the data directly, establishing a worldwide fabric (or grid) of geophysical data.