Goodbye AOS

[cday2inflorida]

I grew up in a family of "orchid" people. I remember AOS bulletins everywhere in my childhood home. As I grew up I raided the house for past issues and had my membership paid on many a Christmas. I always longed for more information about plants NOT grown under optimum conditions. My favorite reads were about collecting expeditions into jungles around the world.

I was blissfully unaware of the politics of the "orchid" world. As I grew older I became disenchanted with it. I stopped my membership about 10 years ago. I found the "good 'ol boy network too much to take.

Of course, this is only my opinion. I respect the fact that there are many folks that have a fierce loyalty to AOS. It all boils down to "whatever floats your boat". For me the dawn of the internet, did for me what the bulletin does for the ones that rally for AOS. I found mentors in the orchid world via the internet. I've held on to them tightly.

"Nothing great in the world has been accomplished without passion."

I think the above quote would apply to those passionate enough to care. I respect your devotion.

[Royal]

Originally Posted by orchideric

It was "participation" outside of the system that finally got us out of Vietnam.

Good point.

[Tom_in_PA]

I origianlly joined the AOS in 1991 and renewed my membership every year until finally in 2003 (or maybe it was 2004??). I have only renewed my membership last month because I was able to get the student rate and only paid $63 for a 2 year memebership. If the quality of "bulliten" doesn't improve I will not likely renew again.

[Wendy]

Originally Posted by stonedragonfarms

Molly: you make an interesting point about judging, but I wonder how many participants in an orchid show know how judging actually works. How often do judges explain why the decisions about plants were made, and how they came to their conclusions? Yes, the process is explained to student judges, but why not to everyone else? I also wonder how many AOS members understand the difference between ribbon judging and AOS judging...

Adam

As Program Director for our local society I responded to questions on the judging system by asking an AOS judge to give a talk at our monthly meeting. I have attended such meetings in the past and found it extremely interesting and helpful. Just an idea for those who might be able to ask a judge to speak to their own society.

I have been an AOS member for about four years and although it is expensive (Canadian rate with the exchange!) I enjoy it. Seeing as I actively show and have won a few AOS awards, the break on the fees, being a member, have been great. I have also written an article for the magazine and that was a very rewarding experience. Hopefully the AOS can navigate the current problems and come out stronger in the long run.

[goodgollymissmolly]

Wendy, thanks for your attitude. Your article was great and I saw some pictures of your awards somewhere and you certainly deserved them.

I don't want Susanne to delete this post so I'm being careful. The President just said at his news conference, "I meet people who disagree with me , but they are civil in their disagreement. I meet some who are not." There are some here who are not. They are just destructive. They have no intention of making constructive criticisms. They get their entertainment from being intellectual suicide bombers. I'm not interested in them. I doubt many others are either. Bush also said "self pity is pathetic". I agree! Get the hell up and do something useful.

I'm no prophet, but you are about to see some actions that should cause you to wonder if trivial carping about Orchids is really important. The magazine can never be everything to everybody. It is not possible.

All I can say is that now is the time to drop trivia and little nits and everybody work together to get beyond this economic mess that is affecting AOS but not the fault of AOS. To paraphrase a famous American, This is the time to ask what you can do for your society, not what your society can do for you.

[cb977]

I don't want Susanne to delete this post so I'm being careful.

Hi Jim...



To be clear on this, the only time I feel the need to moderate anything on this board is when it is antagonistic and/or out of line.

We all have our opinions...and if they can be stated without insulting other members of our community, that's fine by me

[shakkai]

Originally Posted by goodgollymissmolly

AOS is not them....it's us.

This is so true! It does take a lot of effort, and perseverance, but it is one of the only ways to bring about real change. (Comparing it to the political system has its limitations, as there is no built in democratic vote every so many years that allows for wholesale policy change in response to 'popular demand'.)

I was an AOS member back in the early 1990s, when I was living in the US. I have looked at membership again in recent years, but the costs are just too high relative to the benefits I would get. But I think that if I still lived in America, I would probably still be a member.

[epiphyte78]

"The magazine can never be everything to everybody. It is not possible."

What a defeatist statement...based solely on looking at the very narrow perspective of one issue... rather than looking at the larger perspective of the cumulative content of all the past issues. Just imagine how ineffective this forum would be if new members could only have access to topics that were started after they joined.

One of the goals of the AOS is information dissemination. They've got a ton of great orchid information...they just aren't disseminating it. They haven't even been compiling a complete digital index of past article titles. If they ever got around to doing that then digitizing articles isn't rocket science. A decent typist can type up an article only a little slower than it takes somebody to read an article out loud.

Based on the information that the AOS makes readily accessible...the alternatives offer much better value for less money.

[cb977]

"The magazine can never be everything to everybody. It is not possible."

...

What a defeatist statement

I have to disagree with this second quote...there is no magazine, web site or anything that can be everything to everybody. I don't think it was said as a defeatist statement...it was just a statement of how things are. We are all individuals and what is good for one person may not necessarily be good for the next.

This thread has a very good open adult conversation going on...let's keep it that way and not let it become an argument

Thank you

[epiphyte78]

cb977...just because you disagreed with my point...does that mean that you are arguing with me? Not quite sure how you distinguish disagreeing from arguing.

My point was that the AOS can be a lot more to orchid hobbyists than it currently is... merely by disseminating articles from earlier issues. Saying that the organization can't be everything to everybody implies that it shouldn't bother trying to meet the information needs of all orchid hobbyists. In my book, accepting the status quo as unchangeable is defeatist.