AIS Robins

Diana Louis asked:

:  Could either Libby or Sharon define what a robin is? Is it a series
:  of private emails from one robin member to another?

The Robin Progream is a formal function of American Iris Society.  Each Robin is
a group of people who correspond on a subject of mutual interest.  A traditional
Round Robin usually has 4 to 8 members:  you receive a packet of letters from
the member ahead of you on the route list, read it, replace your own letter from
the previous round, and send the packet on the the next member.  For the e-mail
version, each member maintains an address book, writes a general letter to the
group, and sends a copy to each of the other members.  Letters tend to be much
longer than the messages posted to the IRIS-L.  

:  What happens to
:  the information exchanged when the robin comes to an end? 

Some members keep copies of the letters.  Some don't.  Some robins end quickly.
Others go on for 20 years or more.  A Robin is an ongoing discussion group, not
a topic that runs its course.

:  What
:  decides when the robin should come to an end?

When there aren't enough participants left to justify continuing it.

:  How are the subjects
:  for the robins picked out? 

There are Robin Directors for specific sections, such as HIPS (for Historic
iris).  Those directors can set up as  many robins as interest justifies.  For
the individual robins, the subject matter ranges from broad -- like Growing &
Showing Arils & Arilbreds -- to very narrow -- like Hybridizing Tetraploid
Arils.  Within one of those robins, the specific subjects for discussion are
pretty much up to the members as long as they fall within its scope.

:  If it is supposed to be private
:  exchanges wouldn't it be more fun/informative for the whole Iris-L
:  to take part in? 

No.  The IRIS-L not only accommodates but encourages lurking.  Robins require
active participation.  There are two significant distinctions between the two:
1).	The Robin Program is a benefit of AIS membership.  The IRIS-L does not
require that members belong to AIS.  
2).	Robins tend to get a lot more technical.  There are probably only 3 or 4
people on this list who would WANT to read one of my detailed discussions of
chromosome conjugation -- you've been getting the short version, I assure you!
The IRIS-L is more appropriate for beginners' questions.

If you want to take part in fun/informative discussions, all you have to do is
pose questions to the IRIS-L -- but message traffic is already high enough that
I believe we should be careful to keep private exhanges off of the List.   

:  Actually I don't think she will have to start anything since we
:  usually have several threads (robins) going at once.

Nope.  I hope the above explanation makes it clear that  "Threads" do not equal
"Robins".  They are just interesting topics of discussion.

If you want to join a Robin, please contact Libby Cross.

Sharon McAllister
73372.1745@compuserve.com
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