Re: a possible turning point?

Hi SeÃn
I've just looked at http://gimcw.org/plants/cult_dryshade.cfm and even before I look at any other pages I'd say - 
Great stuff - please carry on!
Wish I had any spare money to help out, but I've been broke for the last few years, so I'm sorry I can't help. But maybe somebody can help with a funding bid? 

Best wishes, Rowan Adams
New Leaf
Ventnor, Isle of Wight, Britain
rowan@quickbeam.plus.com



On 26/02/2013 19:12, Sean A. O'Hara wrote:

Hey folks -

Yes, it has been quiet on this list of late.  Not unusual for this
time of year.  Got me wondering about who is out there - a review of
this list shows 300+ subscribers.  Not bad after nearly 20 years of
existence!  Our high points have been between 300 & 400 people  I.E.
there are people 'listening'.

Just a reminder that the existence of this list all this time is due
to support by UC Davis' Environmental Horticulture department.  And a
special thanks to Chris Lindsey for archiving the discussion on
hort.net.  Both of these means of support are seen to be ongoing for
the time being.  Information about each of these can be found at
http://gimcw.org/forum/.

Yes, this list was started a while ago - around 1994.  I am impressed
that it is still in existence today, in spite of all the new types of
social media that has come and gone.  This simple idea still seems to
find a place amid all of that hub-bub.

Shortly after I caused this list to come into being, and helped it
take on a life of its own, I pondered all of the information passing
through it.  Wonderful stuff, but is it just leaking through our
fingers?  Hort.net helped provide the archive, which is great, but
rather non-specific.  One must track down the information oneself.  I
wondered about 'distilling' the information in some way.  Out of these
thoughts, a web site was born - first called 'mediterranean climates
throughout the world' and then 'gardening in mediterranean climates
worldwide' - gimcw.org (the website I just referred you to above).

This online resource I always imagined might be collegial (like this
list) but it has largely ended up my own person effort.  I've enjoyed
creating it, to be sure, and currently have done a small project of
technical reworking to make it's development more manageable and
efficient.  I am now in the midst of propagating those technical
changes throughout the site - it looks like there is little there, but
this is because so much of the content has to be redone to fir the new
schema.  I just checked my statistics reporting and there are people
browsing the site even in its slightly undone state.

A question I'd like to propose to you all is:
                    Should I continue redoing/building this site?

Some of the pages I am most proud of (and which represent the level of
information I'd like to see on other pages) are:
http://gimcw.org/about/Hugo-Latymer.cfm
http://gimcw.org/books/bookinfo.cfm?bookid=tdghof
http://gimcw.org/books/booklist.cfm?nol=general
http://gimcw.org/books/booklist.cfm?nol=langFR
http://gimcw.org/books/booklist.cfm?nol=year2005
http://gimcw.org/climate/data-precip-temp.cfm
http://gimcw.org/plants/cult_dryshade.cfm
http://gimcw.org/plants/Drimia.maritima.cfm
http://gimcw.org/plants/spec_deer.cfm
http://gimcw.org/plants/Toxicodendron.diversilobum.cfm

While I am personally happy to continue plugging away at this project,
there are reasons why I might consider doing otherwise - certainly
there is a financial commitment, not large, but real (I'm facing site
renewal fees at the moment!).  I make not a penny doing this -
eschewing the annoying ad-based models some tiny non-profit
educational sites use.  Should I try to find funding?  Would people be
willing to throw dollars at something like this?  Plus, does anyone
(beyond myself) think this is even worthwhile?  Approaching a
milestone of 20 years might be a cause for celebration, but would
anyone want to celebrate with me?

When I started all of this, there were few out there who even knew
what I was talking about when I said 'mediterranean climate
gardening', but these days it has become a very common perspective, at
least in California.  This is great!  Nice to see that the word got
out there and people are trying to make things different.  So maybe my
efforts above are now redundant?

What do you think?  I am interested in hearing any and all opinions.

Thanks,
SeÃn O.
http://about.me/seanaohara
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