Just a little clarification on the history. I started the list (then IRIS-L) in February 1996. I set it up and moderated it for the first few years. I've noticed that in recent years people have talked about Mike Lowe being the founder or cofounder, and there's not really any basis for singling him out amongst the half dozen or so of us who were interested in starting it. He gave some money (there was a $200 bill to create it), but I believe Bill Smoot gave more and others contributed as well. Perhaps Mike publicized it to AIS or something.

 

As Linda has stated, it was not intended to be an AIS project, and I don't think it ever had any such status, although AIS did let members know it was one of several venues for iris activity on the internet.

 

Bob, I share your caution about recommending the AIS create a forum. If it does, I would encourage them to make it open to all, not just AIS members. A critical mass of participants is an absolute necessity, and the number of nonmembers (around the world) who want to talk about irises is orders of magnitude larger than the AIS membership. This model has worked for SRGC, and their forum has brought in new members.

 

Unfortunately, I don't really see another iris forum being able to draw people away from Facebook or even away from the SRGC forum and other broader plant forums. Most people only have time for one or two venues, and they will tend to go where they get the most interaction for time spent. One of the reasons that social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, G+, etc., are popular is that you can keep in touch not only with people who share one hobby, but friends and family everywhere. And an all-plants forum like SRGC is rewarding if your gardening interests extend beyond irises.

 

For a venue to start from nothing and take off (like this list did, in the beginning) it basically has to be THE place to go, not just another place to go. Who has time for yet another place, especially if its reach is narrower than the sites one is already using?

 

Tom

 

 

 

From: "Linda Mann" <101l@rewrite.hort.net>
Sent: Saturday, January 09, 2016 5:36 AM
To: iris@hort.net
Subject: [iris] Re: COMP: hort.net Last time I checked with Chris, who does the computer stuff at Mallorn
that takes care of hort.net, he said iris talk archives were still
getting more than 10,000 search hits/month. Hardly a dead group. And
that was in comparison/contrast to some of the other hort.net groups.
Of course, some of that traffic is from those of us who've been sharing
information there for over a decade and are using the archives as a
memory aid for info we want to share on Facebook ;-)

I vividly remember how I learned about the hort.net forum (originally
iris-list) - it was 1996, & I had finally gotten internet phone service,
went online, thought "now what am I going to do, now that I'm finally
here". Did a search for irises, found a brand new forum started by Mike
Lowe and Tom T Little (now Tom Waters) and joined. I think that was the
second month they were in operation.

On 1/8/2016 11:39 AM, Char Holte wrote:
> Do any of you remember how you originally
> got on the original web site? I think it was offered when we joined AIS.

In spite of what some participants have thought, although the list at
hort.net was started by two AIS members, it was not originally intended
to be an official AIS forum.

Is it now an official AIS forum?

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

Linda Mann
east TN zone 7b

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