Re: Wiki Motion

On Jan 21, 2010, at 11:55 AM, Robert Pries wrote:

John wrote:

1. The inference in :

"Since our contract as International registrar states that the information be “freely and universally available” we fulfill that obligation of being an ICRA. Implicit in a wiki format is that information will be continually added and formats can evolve."

seems to be that the Iris Encyclopedia (IE) is a replacement for the printed R&I and Check Lists. Is that the intent? Might even be a good thing.

I do not read any such inference. I do not understand the logic that similar things have to replace each other. Radios did not replace newspapers. TVs did not replace radios. We use all of them but in different ways. But they all carry information. If anything the information age demands we utilize many types of broadcast.

and the internet is replacing a lot of print media, to deny that would be unrealistic. I was merely asking what you intended, not whether there was a rationale for it.

Could the content of the Wiki be made available on DVD? With the growing popularity of Notebook and Laptop computers a DVD could be the solution to the"we need books for our show" issue. It would certainly make searching for cultivars easier.

There could be spin-offs in various ways. Does anyone know whether google has already digitalized our checklists in the millions of books they are making available on the Kindle?

2. There are ongoing updates (changes) the the information in the Check List database (both the Registrars and Irisregister) that are currently reflected in Irisregister and the printed documents. Is there a process envisioned for these updates to be reflected in the IE.

The very nature of a wiki is that it is constantly being updated. It is possible that the Registrars and Registry could utilize information from the wiki. Example the wiki will undoubtedly have Awards of other countries included as the information becomes available. The R & Is presently only list American Awards to my knowledge.

Wikis are a way of organizing data, for example users could note the date, and place an Iris is blooming. The result could be a phenology showing what irises bloom at a certain time of year in a given region or Given a certain time of year what is in bloom across the country.

You miss the point I was making. An entry from the irisregister is put in the IE at a given point in time. If that information is subsequently updated, it has to somehow make its way into the IE. If it is not then there are two conflicting references (obviously only one correct one). Changes to the Registrar's data base are not issued as change orders but as a new database.

3. If the IE is to include all the information from the Registrar's database, when will the information from the past two years R&Is be made available? Shouldn't there be a process by which the information is automatically loaded into the IE?

That could make it less work for docents.

I think the board needs to address the first part of the question: "when will the information from the past two years R&Is be made available (for the IE)

John

I am not conversant in ICRA and I don't like mincing words but it seems to me that the phrase " freely and universally available" in the context used does not mean at no cost and obviously we have been charging for it.

The phrase freely and universally available” was supplied to me by Mike Lowe. Recovering cost of publication does not violate this but profiting may. The Hemerocallis Society certainly believes it is unethically for them to put their data behind a subscription site. I differ to Mike on this opinion. My gut feeling is the IrisRegister provides an add on to the data because of its search capabilities and those are what one is paying for. So long as the data is available in other ways it does not violate our ICRA.

----- Original Message -----
From: "John I Jones" <jijones@usjoneses.com>
To: aisdiscuss@aisboard.org
Sent: Thursday, January 21, 2010 11:42:58 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: Re: [AISdiscuss] Wiki Motion

I would like some clarification please.

1. The inference in :

"Since our contract as International registrar states that the information be “freely and universally available” we fulfill that obligation of being an ICRA. Implicit in a wiki format is that information will be continually added and formats can evolve."

seems to be that the Iris Encyclopedia (IE) is a replacement for the printed R&I and Check Lists. Is that the intent? Might even be a good thing. Could the content of the Wiki be made available on DVD? With the growing popularity of Notebook and Laptop computers a DVD could be the solution to the"we need books for our show" issue. It would certainly make searching for cultivars easier.

2. There are ongoing updates (changes) the the information in the Check List database (both the Registrars and Irisregister) that are currently reflected in Irisregister and the printed documents. Is there a process envisioned for these updates to be reflected in the IE.

3. If the IE is to include all the information from the Registrar's database, when will the information from the past two years R&Is be made available? Shouldn't there be a process by which the information is automatically loaded into the IE?

I am not conversant in ICRA and I don't like mincing words but it seems to me that the phrase " freely and universally available" in the context uesd does not mean at no cost and obviously we have been charging for it.

I do believe that we should properly vet this issue. I do not mean to unnecessarily slow things down, but I also believe we should get it as "right" as we can.

John

On Jan 21, 2010, at 7:09 AM, Rita Gormley wrote:

I, Rita Gormley second the motion that the AIS create the Iris Encyclopedia; an information resource in a wiki format using the registrations created by the International Registrar and be viewable freely and universally.

----- Original Message -----

From: Robert Pries

To: AISdiscuss

Sent: Thursday, January 21, 2010 9:53 AM

Subject: [AISdiscuss] Wiki Motion

Susan, congratulations on the baby, and thanks for the research. It seems we have some work to do: I propose the following motion:

……..That the AIS create the Iris Encyclopedia; an information resource in a wiki format which allows registered users to upload comments and photos. These pages are verified by knowledgeable docents who create and or monitor pages for accuracy. The rock on which this data is built is the registrations created by the International Registrar. And that the Wki always be viewable freely and universally………

Since our contract as International registrar states that the information be “freely and universally available” we fulfill that obligation of being an ICRA. Implicit in a wiki format is that information will be continually added and formats can evolve.

Note: Winter is a prime time for inside work and if we go two weeks to resolution it will mean progress on the wiki will be so I formally request that Roy use his best judgement in shortening the debate as appropriate. And of course if the motion is defeated the wiki workers will know quickly that they need not invest their time in a dead project.