Re: Iris CD-Rom & Registrar's Database

I surely agree with John that we are lucky to have the info we have 
on the iris register, and thank him and his confederates for getting 
all that info on-line.  THANK YOU!  I'll be happy to wait (and pay?) 
for whatever comes.

Patricia Brooks


--- In iris-talk@y..., John Jones <jijones@u...> wrote:
> 
> 
> Iris Moose wrote:
> > 
> >
> 
> > 
> > I would offer that placing all the digital data that has been
> > accumulated into the master database, as it is today, be prepared 
immediately for
> > the first release.  This would allow all registered cultivar 
names to be
> > accessible right away.  Perhaps John Jones could also elaborate 
on the
> > data that is actually prepared at this time. 
> 
> The '89 and '79 databases are at this time only configured into 3
> fields. It was more important at the time to get the information 
into
> electronic form quickly than to get it in the best form for the long
> term. At that point I did not know what the best format would be. 
The
> '69 and '99 will be formated with 7 fields and then we will go back 
and
> reformat the '89 and '79.  (Yes it is easy to put the '69 and '99 
in the
> same form as the '89 and '79 for temporary use on the website so we 
can
> have all four decades together.)
> 
> Remember that there are two databases on the website - the 
Checklist and
> the Name databases. The Checklist database has the full 
reegistration
> information for each entry. The Name database, lists the name of 
every
> cv registered through the 1999 R&I. I hope to soon have the names 
from
> the 2000 R&I to add to it. The Name database has only the name and 
the
> year of the book the cv was registered or introduced in. It also has
> some award information. Now before anyone goes off on, "Well why 
didn't
> they do such and such instead..." let me reiterate that you are 
lucky to
> have this at all. It was prepared by a private individual for their 
own
> use, and they were kind enough to let me have access to it.
> 
> > Does this also include
> > hybridizer
> > name and year for each of these cultivars?  
> 
> See above
> 
> 
> > 
> > I believe John mentioned there are only seven fields in the 
database
> > at this
> > time.  This sounds like it would be a fairly simple job of 
building a
> > stand-alone program in either Visual Basic or File Maker that 
could be
> > used
> > to search and study the records on everyone's home computer.  This
> > would
> > also allow the most advanced search capability of the data that is
> > available
> > to date.
> > 
> > It would probably take about a month to prepare the program and
> > another two
> > weeks to run a beta test of the program.  If a volunteer is found 
to
> > do the
> > programming then there is practically no expense to the Iris 
Society.
> > The
> > actual cost of a CD with a disk label and jewel case insert would 
not
> > exceed
> > $1.50.  I would easily pay $25 for this product before spending 
the
> > proposed
> > $15 for the slower and more limited website access.
> 
> And the labor and time for making the CD, packing and shipping? 
Keeping
> track of payments, checks etc. What about an update policy? What 
happens
> if a virus is inadvertantly inserted on the CD. Who has the 
liability if
> it crashes someones system? You think I am being paranoid? When was 
the
> last time you heard of a restaurant being sued because someone 
spilled a
> cup of hot coffee on themselves?
> 
> > I also think the argument concerning a decline in the sales of the
> > printed
> > checklist is a bit silly.  AIS is not out to make money.  
Publication
> > of a
> > checklist is a mandatory stipulation of being the International
> > Cultivar
> > Registration Authority (ICRA) for Iris. 
> 
> Silly? How about needing to recover the cost of printing? I would 
admit
> I have no idea how much an eletronic version would impact the sales 
of
> the printed version. It will, but how much. Someone figure that out 
for me.
> 
> 
> > construction by the AIS should continue.  However, perhaps access 
to
> > the
> > site should free and the more detailed information on an 
electronic
> > checklist CD should be purchased through the AIS as the printed
> > checklists
> > are right now.  
> 
> The online version contains the same information as the printed 
checklists.
> 
> > 
> > Publishing a CD at this time as the one I mention above would also
> > satisfy
> > the current appetite of registration information many of us have.
> 
> Iassume you mean appetite for "more convenient" access as the all 
the
> information is available in printed form.
> 
> > This
> > would also allow at least a year of further work to be 
accomplished on
> > the
> > current project of digitizing the registration information. 
> 
> Why is that? You mean that if I got the '59 Checklist done in 5 
months
> you would want to wait another 7 months before you could get it? I 
don't
> think so.
> 
> > It would
> > probably also relieve some of the stress involved with trying to 
get
> > the
> > information completed too hurriedly causing errors and other 
possible
> > delays.  
> 
> Stress?  I have no stress about this. We are taking the time to do 
the
> job as correctly as we can. The individual volunteers are 
encouraged to
> be accurate not fast.
> 
> 
> > =================
> > 
> > I have no idea what kind of database or file system the Iris 
Registrar
> > now
> > utilizes. 
> 
> 3 X 5 Card index. And he is not inclined to give that up. Does that 
give
> you a perspective on the complexity of the task I am facing?
> 
> > However, he must not have a comprehensive database of iris
> > registrations since all this work is currently being done.  Has a
> > designer,
> > programmer, and the Registrar ever sat down together to plan and
> > implement a
> > logical database for the Registrar? 
> 
> No, and until just last year the registrar did not even have email. 
The
> computer was merely an electronic typewriter with a big memory.
> 
> > Something that would allow the
> > Registrar to easily verify the availability of names?  A program 
that
> > could
> > generate all the printed checklist reports with the push of a 
button?
> > Something that would allow him to send a letter to each registrant
> > containing all the cultivar's registration information the moment 
it
> > is
> > recorded?  A program that would allow the easy flow of information
> > into
> > program for release via CD-rom. ETC....
> 
> You think I don't know all this?
>  
> > Where are the priorities of the AIS right now.  Is it towards a
> > registration
> > website, a registration CD, or the Registrar's own master 
record?  I
> > think
> > the later is probably the most important, but the other two can be
> > done
> > simultaneously if given the proper planning.  This goes back to
> > publishing a
> > CD now, and then taking the next year to complete the digitizing 
of
> > registration information and taking care of the man responsible 
for
> > recording all the Registration data in the first place.
> 
> You are assuming he wants to change.
>  
> Look folks, I know all this, and I am working towards a long term 
goal
> to accomplish all that was mentioned in here and more. The reality 
is
> that there are concerns that the board and registrar have in moving 
into
> the electronic world. It is just in the last year that most of the 
Board
> members have email (all but one). I am getting great support from 
the
> board in moving AIS forward, but you get there by making people
> comfortable one step at a time. I could build a database in a 
couple of
> hours that would make the registrars life immensely easier, but it 
is
> not time yet. To do that would require a complete backup and 
security
> policy so that the possibility of any lost data is essentially 
zero. We
> aren't there yet. Not with the hardware that is in place, and the
> comfort level of the registrar with technology. Trust me, compared 
to
> the way the AIS typically does things (most time appropriately so) 
we
> have been moving at light speed.
> 
> You want a project that will help move things along???? Design a 
program
> that will take the parentage information AS IT CURRENTLY EXISTS and
> converts it into data that can be used by a geneaology program. Be
> willing to donate that to AIS with full documentation so that 
someone
> else 10 years after you are no longer on the scene can go in and 
adapt
> it for an unanticipated need.
> 
> Want another project?  Start going through the '39 checkilist and 
find
> good catalogs of the time to get better descriptions that are more
> meaningful and have parentages.
> 
> I am not objecting to anything that was said here. I believe it is 
where
> we need to go. I am just pointing out that there are other things to
> consider as well.
> 
> 
> John                     | "There be dragons here"
>                          |  Annotation used by ancient cartographers
>                          |  to indicate the edge of the known world.
> ________________________________________________
> For your Iris gift needs, visit the AIS Gift Shop at:
> http://www.AISGiftShop.com
> 
> USDA zone 8/9 (coastal, bay) 
> Fremont, California, USA 
> Visit my website at:
> http://usjoneses.com
> Vice Chairman, Region 14 of the AIS
> Director, American Iris Society
> Chairman, AIS Committee for Electronic Member Services
> 
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> 
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> ________________________________________________


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