Perhaps someday (I am not saying now, cause its premature), a Forum can be set up under the aegis of AIS where there are 'rooms'  for the various member section groups (if they so choose) to set up forums of their own. I dont mean threads  but actual separate forum rooms. The advantage being, if you want to talk iris, here is the place to go where you will find groups on all kind of iris topics, just enter the forum room of your choice that you want to visit.

As a benefit it would be come known as THE place to go if you were an irisarian. And you can move freely from one forum room to another, thereby encouraging people to visit multiple rooms, cause they are already inthe mansion.. I believe that because Facebook is so big, its benefit will become its eventual downfall. There is just so much commercialism and personal exposure people are willing to tolerate when they want to talk in social media.

The disadvantage is that as in HIPS you need to be a paying member to get in the forums. While it would be nice to have it open to the world, it just doesn't work well that way, as you get people who don't care a hoot about iris, wandering in  and  selling  snake oil, Nigerian dating adventures, and the like. Even those more benign who just want to post pictures of their cute lil chihuahua. They wouldn't know an iris rhizome from a sweet potato if they stumbled over one.

So how can that work with a gathering place of multiple forum rooms? I don't know. I am guessing that getting in would entail  membership in at least one iris society affiliated with AIs will get you a pass to see any forum room. I just don't know the technical details, but someday we may be forced to seriously consider such a solution.

 

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Date: Fri, 8 Jan 2016 14:09:07 -0500
To: i*@hort.net
Subject: Re: OT-CHAT: [iris] Active?
From: 1*@rewrite.hort.net

Hort-net serves the world. I am thinking of a forum like HIPS's that serves members. I am also worried that because it has diminished so much Hort-net may not continue.  Frankly all plant societies are in some jeopardy themselves unless they turn around the slow decline that has existed. The plant societies that are prospering are those connected to native plants and those preserving diversity. The AIS is the only Iris society sponsoring research but that is little known. The internet itself provides an enormous information resource and the AIS and other Iris Societies have been late to the table in establishing themselves as an information resource. The Iris Encyclopedia has been an effort to regain Iris Society importance as the place to go for information. But it faces stiff competition from Daves Garden, All Things Plants, and even Wikipedia to name a few of the sites that now provide comprehensive plant information. The old phrase united we stand divided we fall applies to the Iris societies perhaps more so than any other plant societies that are less complex structurally. --BP

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From: "Laetitia Munro" 9*@rewrite.hort.net
To: "iris hort" i*@hort.net
Sent: Friday, January 8, 2016 1:39:23 PM
Subject: RE: OT-CHAT: [iris] Active?

Why would you want an AIS forum if you have the hort.net forum? I thought the Hort.net served the AIS community.

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Date: Fri, 8 Jan 2016 11:52:35 -0500
To: i*@hort.net
Subject: Re: OT-CHAT: [iris] Active?
From: 1*@rewrite.hort.net

I have been having the debate with myself as to whether to advise AIS to create a Forum. One of the reasons I have not in the past was out of respect for the HIPS forum. Also when it was successful I never found the time to visit and participate. I would have the same problem with an AIS forum. The HIPS forum was for members and as a life member and founder I should have spent the time, but I just can not do everything. Creating an AIS Forum for members would create special problems. It would be desirable to have it available for both e-members and print members but this means designing yet another portal. An AIS forum would allow for a much broader array of topics but would it detract from HIPS or the PCN forums? I would love to hear more opinions about this.==BP

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From: "Laetitia Munro" 9*@rewrite.hort.net
To: "iris hort" i*@hort.net
Sent: Friday, January 8, 2016 10:00:45 AM
Subject: RE: OT-CHAT: [iris] Active?

Hello All. Don't usually participate in these discussions but I felt I should add my two cents as well. This is Laetitia the webmaster from the HIPS site, where   I believe we are also having the same problems of lack of participation  with our HIPS forum.

It used to be a busier place, and a great way to network with like minds. Because the Forum was down for months, I believed that had something to do with current lack of participation. Then we went into the holiday/winter/dormant iris season so I thought, perhaps there is less interest, because people have other more pressing things to attend to. I never thought it was Facebook robbing us of our audience, but now that you mention, it,  its possible. I also go on Facebook for iris discussions, but to me they are two entirely different venues. However Facebook to me is like WalMart, while an Iris Discussion board is a  boutique. Do I hate Walmart? No, I go there all the time,  as well as to my favorite boutiques. I want them both. In other words, there should be room for more than one Iris discussion board. I also know some irisarians who would never use Facebook, because it such a public 'commercial' and spam laden place.

As for now the Historic Iris Forum will continue, and  with the Spring coming, and one's thoughts turn more to gardening, 'boutique' Forum discussion boards  will become more active. We'll see. We need both WalMart and the boutique; snuffing out one would rob the world of a valuable communication tool. I guess we'll see.

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Date: Fri, 8 Jan 2016 09:17:46 -0500
To: i*@hort.net
Subject: Re: OT-CHAT: [iris] Active?
From: 1*@rewrite.hort.net

I do agree with Shaub that diversity allows for people to have what they want. It would be crazy to fight Facebook. But each of us finds what best suits our needs. As I said ,I have considered the Forum model and would be willing to advocate to adding that to our AIS selections so long as I would not be embarrassed by its lack of use. I would not consider eliminating Iris Talk but sadly it seems to have little support anymore and I have no control ober that decision. Iris Talk is provided by Chris Lindsey who runs Hort Net. At some point Chris may decide to give up on it if it does not get the audience. Currently I do not know how he finances it. Unfortunately the world changes and what some of us perceive as good things disappear if the rest of the world does not care. I am not trying to sound an alarm who knows how long something will last, including the iris society. But if too few value something it is hard to sustain it.

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From: "Shaub Dunkley" 4*@rewrite.hort.net
To: i*@hort.net
Sent: Thursday, January 7, 2016 11:02:15 PM
Subject: Re: OT-CHAT: [iris] Active?

I was being rather polemical to see if I could stir up a little conversation. Beating up that AIS dare use it and that AIS does not have a forum. But it's true I have close to no experience engaging with Facebook and don't care for the model. But it has a place and a function. Not just THE place and THE function. Neither would a forum be THE place as well. World of Irises brought in the same.

So Facebook and World of Irises are what they are, I'll not criticize one's right to enjoy them. But  I keep hearing people say "everybody that used to be here (and with whom we talked) have gone to Facebook". So I go to Facebook and I haven't figured out where that conversational equivalent is. Is it there and I don't know how to find it? Does one have to Sign Up to get to it? This is all part of the bigger shift in culture as to how we talk and engage. Iris folks will on large follow the same behaviors as similar demographics. More flash, less words. Or if there are words we make it in snippets and platitudes.

You can lead a horse to water but ....  I'm just concerned people who used to care for discussion are either too busy or too jaded about the whole thing to talk even if we gave them the perfect vehicle. It will not be long before some of our best dialogues will be had with artificial intelligence that are more excited about the human narrative than the humans are. Reap as you sow.

Shaub
On 1/7/2016 8:46 PM, Robert Pries wrote:

I totally agree with everyone so far. I much prefer Iris Talk to Facebook. But look at where the AIS members are, mostly on Facebook. A few years ago I asked John how many people are on Iris Talk. If I remember correctly that was about 80. Presently we have 4 in this discussion. I can tell you as a Facebook Administrator a post on Facebook gets at minimum 80 people viewing it and often it is passed on to 1500 more people. I would not give up on Iris Talk since I find it easier to communicate ideas. But it seems that is not what the majority of people wish today. It also seems most do not wish to be confronted with ideas, pictures yes, but thoughtful discussion No! It is sort of a new brand of illiteracy! It is good to hear from Colleen again!----Bob

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From: 0*@rewrite.hort.net
To: i*@hort.net
Sent: Thursday, January 7, 2016 6:10:08 PM
Subject: Re: OT-CHAT: [iris] Active?

Well, I guess I'm in good company, then. My thoughts re: Facebook mirror yours, Shaub. Plus I think the whole "like" business is ridiculous. In no way do I become a better person if 100 rather than 10 people "like" me.

 

Just my 2 cents worth,

Dorothy Stiefel

Spencer, NY 

 

P.S. Hi, Linda. You are right. Very long time, no talk!

 

===================================================================== 

 

In a message dated 1/6/2016 9:35:08 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, 4*@rewrite.hort.net writes:

sigh. I am one of those people who refuses to use Facebook. I read the
'terms and conditions' of that dubiously intentioned place and cannot
understand why people would want their organization's core discourse to
get sucked into that for-profit black hole. The central idea is to have
people create content at no cost to Facebook. Content to promote profit
making. Drifting to the lowest common denominator - fast-food
'McDonald's' discourse.

--

Bob Pries
Zone 7a
Roxboro, NC
(336)597-8805

This email has been sent from a virus-free computer protected by Avast. www.avast.com

--

Bob Pries
Zone 7a
Roxboro, NC
(336)597-8805

This email has been sent from a virus-free computer protected by Avast. www.avast.com

--

Bob Pries
Zone 7a
Roxboro, NC
(336)597-8805

--

Bob Pries
Zone 7a
Roxboro, NC
(336)597-8805

This email has been sent from a virus-free computer protected by Avast. www.avast.com