Out of Sight - Out of Mind

Graphicgreg · #1 07-28-2009, 06:23 PM

Okay, I know this does not belong here but I wanted all to see it.

We have added RSS syndication to the AOS Forum. This means that you can subscribe to a thread, and be sent an e-mail when new posts are made. This is a great way to keep tabs on active discussions like the recent C. harrisoniana thread. To subscribe to a thread, click on Thread Tools and choose Subscribe from the menu.

We also can push RSS content to the forum (it will show up in the orange "radar" RSS icon in your browser toolbar) so if anyone has suggestions for syndicated content that might be of value to AOS forumites...let's hear them! Just keep it clean

epiphyte · #2 07-30-2009, 02:05 AM

It would be great if we could RSS subscribe to the orchid articles added to the AOS homepage. For example, that way people can be notified as soon as a new orchid article comes out...such as the most recent one on Cuitlauzina pendula. The whole article would be ungainly for readers but perhaps just a paragraph or two would be nice.

Maybe there could be a forum category where admins could create a thread for each new article...and add the first paragraph or two to the thread with a link to read the rest. Doing so would allow forum members to comment on the articles...which would be interesting and perhaps informative to read.

Oh, hmmm...can we subscribe to forum categories...or just individual threads? It would be great to have the option to do both.

Speaking of articles...do you think you could include a link to the Orchid Society of Southern California flickr group at the end of the article on Growing Orchids Outdoors in Southern California? Perhaps just after the section on Orchid Networking.

Noticed the change to the AOS homepage. It looks good, but personally I would vote for having a link to Affiliated Societies be the first on the list of "What You Will Find Here". Surely finding a local orchid society is more important than downloading the orchid judging calendar?

Just my $2.02 worth of feedback (inside joke for Ed and whoever else read that other thread).

Graphicgreg · #3 07-30-2009, 11:50 AM

You can subcribe to forum categories. Go Forum Tools > Subscribe to this Forum. For the time being, no syndication available for the homepage content although I would very much like it. If you were a member of the AOS and received the magazine, you would understand why the Judging Calendar is featured in the What You Will Find box. The AOS is first, a membership organization. AffSoc are in a quick refernce menu bottom of homepage.

epiphyte · #4 07-30-2009, 03:14 PM

Not sure how I missed it in the first place but you wrote...

"We have added RSS syndication to the AOS Forum. This means that you can subscribe to a thread, and be sent an e-mail when new posts are made."

That's not actually what RSS is. RSS has nothing to do with receiving e-mails. Even the e-mail subscription isn't news. I've been receiving thread updates via e-mail since back in April.

"it will show up in the orange "radar" RSS icon in your browser toolbar"

That's actually RSS. Unfortunately, the RSS icon doesn't show up in Google Chrome...which is, in my opinion, the fastest browser available.

Yes, I realized that there is no RSS subscription for the homepage articles....which is why I suggested an easy and effective workaround...

1. Create a forum category...'Articles'...that only admins can post in
2. When a new article is added to the AOS homepage, admins create a thread in the 'Articles' forum category dedicated to that article

That's all that's required. People could then RSS subscribe to that forum category and also be able to comment on articles.

Even if I was a member I would still suggest that a link to affiliate societies be placed above a link to the judging calendar. Even people who do not understand the first thing about website layout intuitively understand that the most important links go on top and the less important links go on the bottom.

Yeah, the AOS is first a membership organization. So wouldn't leading site visitors to join their local orchid society result in more new members rather than showing them the judging calendar?

Speaking of judging though, this morning I received an e-mail from an AOS judge in training. We had been discussing cold tolerant Vanda species and she said of V. cerulea...."The new clones have had the cold tolerance bred out of them according to the AOS folks." That's a terrible trend in breeding. Many have argued that people breed orchids to receive AOS awards....if that's the case then the AOS is directly responsible for influencing the development of a whole new breed of orchids that will actually be as delicate and fragile as most people think they are.

Kentucky · #5 07-31-2009, 07:02 AM

"Many have argued that people breed orchids to receive AOS awards....if that's the case then the AOS is directly responsible for influencing the development of a whole new breed of orchids that will actually be as delicate and fragile as most people think they are."

Is there a delicate/fragile award? Which one is it? I might be able to win that one after putting my plants outside at your suggestion. That AOS is really a bad bunch of people.

Thanks for educating us about our stupidity. I hope to finish high school when I retire from the stockyard. They have great retirement plan. You don't have to go to work anymore. How cool is that? I asked the guys what RSS is and you wouldn't believe the answers. They didn't graduate either so what in heck do they know?

I might get to drive a rock truck at the mine when I retire. How exciting is that? I have to get my GED first though.

Thanks again!

epiphyte · #6 07-31-2009, 11:59 AM

Kentucky, there's no delicate and fragile award. There's absolutely no awards for anything other than for the superficial characteristics of the orchid. No awards for character, durability, toughness, tolerance, etc. Surely, how an orchid looks isn't the only thing that matters to most orchid growers out there. Even the Miss America pageant doesn't just focus entirely on looks.

The AOS is influencing the artificial selection of orchids based purely on their appearance and is effectively turning orchids into pansies. Personally, I'd prefer to grow orchids that were selected for traits relevant to survivability. The only annuals in my garden are there because they reseeded themselves.

From your argument it seems like my original post had everything to do with intelligence. However, my points had nothing to do with intelligence. My correction of graphicgreg's error was nothing more than a correction. Somebody's not stupid if they do not know the definition of something. However, it would have been stupid of me and a disservice to other people to let them believe that RSS is in any way related to e-mail.

Therefore, your post was pretty much entirely a straw man fallacy.