"I'M boycotting the AOS"

[cb977]

Originally Posted by epiphyte78

Some food for thought...imagine how drastically membership on the Orchid Board would be impacted if Marty started charging $65 per year.

MANY of us here on Orchidboard DO contribute financially...because we CHOOSE to.

I'm changing the name of this thread to "I'M boycotting the AOS" so folks know that it's a personal preference for you and not a suggestion for others to follow suit.

[kavanaru]

Originally Posted by Swamper

I wish to boycott this thread. No disrespect to anyone.

[Swamper]

Originally Posted by cb977

MANY of us here on Orchidboard DO contribute financially...because we CHOOSE to.

I'm changing the name of this thread to "I'M boycotting the AOS" so folks know that it's a personal preference for you and not a suggestion for others to follow suit.

Brilliant Idea.

[Eyebabe]

Originally Posted by Swamper

I wish to boycott this thread. No disrespect to anyone.

Agreed.
Maybe one of the administrators of the site can close this thread

[cb977]

Originally Posted by Eyebabe

Agreed.
Maybe one of the administrators of the site can close this thread

We'll keep it open...for now. Now that the title is changed, people can make an informed decision on whether to read it or not.

IF this thread becomes disruptive in any way, it will be closed immediately.

[Call_Me_Bob]

dude! you need to take a minute, and calm down. just breath..in..out..in..out....

bthis has been said soo many times on this post, but you just dont seem to get it. IF YOU DONT LIKE IT, DONT JOIN/SUPPORT IT. JUST DONT TRY TO MAKE OTHER DO THE SAME.

It really seems like you have VERY strong feelings against the AOS

[susiep]

I have enjoyed listening to this debate. And I would like to thank Sue for changing the title of the thread to something more appropriate.

I want to address a couple of things that I agree/disagree with:

I also enjoy the magazine. It is nice to look at something in print once a month. I get tired of always looking things up on the internet. The magazine surprises me with things outside of my usual interests. I also pay $15 a year for Tea Time magazine. I doubt you would be interested in that one either, so why so down on AOS?

I think of the AOS as more than just a magazine. They are a respected society. They are the original standard that all later organizations were modeled after. As far as judging, they are to orchids what the GIA is to diamonds. They are very professional and their judging standards are accepted worldwide by amatures and professional growers alike.

They are a lobbying group. They represent the interests of a society of like minded people and as such have more power to push our common goals in places that matter. I also belong to the professional organizations associated with my profession of pharmacy. I don't agree 100% with everything they push, but without them my profession would not be as strong or as able to represent itself in the American professional arena.

The cost.... well it is a free country. You don't want to pay, don't.... but please stop asking for it for free. A lot of other people's hard work went into offering a good product. I choose to pay for it, because I think it is fair. And that brings me to my final point...

Many of us choose to pay to belong to Orchid Board. It is a good product and I don't expect to get it for nothing. I choose to pay Marty $9 a month, that comes up to $108 a year. Far more than the $65 for AOS. My choice. I believe we should support the things we believe in. Not everyone can afford to spend the money, but they can spend the time. There are other, more constructive ways to promote an organization besides boycotting it.

[Royal]

Originally Posted by PaphMadMan

I'd just like to say, if what someone else builds doesn't work for you, go your own way. Tearing it down is not productive use of your time, and might take away exactly what someone else needs.

Well said.

@ Epiphyte - I don't mean to pile on, and I apologize if I caused offense. You are totally entitled to your opinion. I happen to disagree totally, but your feelings are valid.

[quiltergal]

I'm trying very hard to imagine the 80+ year old secretary of my society attempting to navigate a blog, let alone find it. There is much to be said for doing things online, but as Phillip pointed out there is also a pile of detritus to sift through to find what is really pertinent to what you are looking for. Not everyone is as internet savy as young 20 somethings. Seriously! Some people do not even have a computer. Would you deny them access because they aren't technologically up to speed?

While not a member of AOS, I would happily fork over the $60 to process an award of one of my plants. And just as an FYI species can and do get awarded. So let's not harp on the Frankenflower issue.

I have to agree with most everyone else. If you don't like AOS either join and work to make changes or don't and stop complaining!

[epiphyte78]

cb977, I strongly resent that you changed the title of my thread...in my opinion you've overstepped your authority as a moderator and I will share my thoughts with Marty on the subject.

That's fine if most of you folks disagree with my approach. It's ok to disagree! It's your prerogative if you want to start a thread encouraging people to financially support the AOS....just like it's my prerogative to explain in a civil manner why I think it's in the best interest of the orchid community not to financially support the AOS.

People are free to listen to both sides and formulate their own opinions.

Honestly, the AOS has little relevance. I visit this forum every day and people often ask questions that have been expertly answered in one or more AOS articles and nobody even mentions the relevant AOS articles. A few times in the past I've referred posters to specific AOS articles but have long stopped doing so because from personal experience I know that trying to track down AOS articles is not easy.

There's no logical reason why we shouldn't be able to link people to the AOS articles that expertly address their questions.

I've read tons of AOS articles and know that I'm a better orchid grower for having done so. If the internet did not exist then I would be encouraging you to subscribe to Orchids Magazine.

However, the internet does exist and a 1 terabyte external hard drive costs around $100. To fail to utilize the internet to make such valuable and useful information more widely accessible is detrimental to our hobby.

It's just my opinion as a web programmer and as somebody who has read tons of AOS articles. Not only that but I've spent a considerable amount of time considering the role of societies and have offered numerous suggestions for Affiliated Societies on the AOS orchid forum.

Am I angry? Hmmm...kinda. The AOS articles are an excellent resource that could be made freely available online...but the AOS is choosing to needlessly limit their access. If I didn't care about our hobby or perhaps hadn't read nearly every AOS article that I was interested in...then yeah, I certainly wouldn't have bothered to start this thread to help raise awareness.

Am I going to think about this the second after I hit reply? Nope, I'm going to hang out with friends in the yard and grill up some korean BBQ.

Regarding judging...whether an orchid has been awarded by the AOS has never influenced my decision to purchase an orchid. Selecting for purely superficial characteristics is the difference between poodles and Border Collies.