This is what I think:
There is nothing the least bit unusual that a classification system of anything would need to be, or benefit from,being refined over time.
Change is simply a positive response to ongoing thought, and may be necessitated by the need to refine the system, or because that which is being classified is changing, or because our understanding of things changes. This is certainly not only the case of the AIS system, it is also the case in the botanical world, rather notoriously so.
There is no reason whatsoever that if an iris meets the criteria for IB and also a SPEC-X then it cannot be classified as both, or either.
There is no reason to think that if one seedling is classed one way its sibling---which it may or may not resemble closely--must also be classified the same way. They are discrete and unique botanical entities.
There is no good reason to reclassify things every time something changes. People who have an interest in these issues keep up with the changes. People who don't keep up with them but who care about the issues need to educate themselves. Nothing in life is static, especially information.
The purpose of the AIS classification system is to effect cogent communication. It is an attempt by the collective to derive and achieve concord towards an accurate descriptive vocabulary to be used in discussions of a broad, numerous, various and ever expanding body of unique cultivars reflecting highly personal tastes and responses to a collective aesthetic vision which rewards distinctiveness. It also defines what at any given time is understood to be the ideal of a certain class, so that that ideal may be understood and discussed, as a standard for evaluation and comparison, and as a goal.
This is not a compost heap, it is a quasi-casuistic dungpile. My suggestion to anyone who seeks enlightenment here is: Read the resources that AIS has published for you; buy or borrow the Check Lists so you can see what they actually contain before carrying on in an angry and paranoid manner; prioritize owning the basic literature beyond the AIS publications and read that too; abandon the idea that there is some boogeyman in the rainbow drama, and base your education and opinions on verifiable facts.
AMW
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