After 13 years online, Cubits.org is scheduled to be shut down. Please make sure you have the contact information for all your friends, and that you download whatever content you want from this site.
Hello everyone. . . I would just like to ask those of you who are familiar with the AIS' iris wiki what you see here in this copied part of the history of revisions concerning one of my plants:
Changes noted! Since Betsy Higgins' name is at the top, I'd start with an email to her. I just went through the HIPS data sheet of commercial growers and sellers of historic irises and ADDED all the missing marks to those from France to correct the spellings that were in error. Ridiculous that someone would take them all out, especially since the revision notes show that they were in there earlier.
Thanks Dave for noticing that the accents were REMOVED and that this is obviously NOT the font problem that the AIS board of directors says it is. I asked them to discuss this matter at their spring meeting (which I still do not believe they did) and have just had several rather disagreeable e-mails from them and so far, no excuses from the wiki people. Lucy, I think that Dave covered the idea that the accents were removed and it's not a font problem. Thanks to both of you.
Here are two other examples of what is going on with the AIS wiki. . . I hope this will be an eye-opener for those of you who are still taking the information on this thing for "accurate".
Name: Dee Stewart Willamette Valley OR Snowpeak Iris
Honestly Michelle I do not like the Wiki because you have to always put TB Iris before each one unless they have changed that since I was last on there, as I will look about 10 sites before ever going to Wiki.
There are many other sites that are better and free as well.
D
It is not a font problem it is not wanting to take the time to put them in, in my own opinion
Hi Dee and thanks for speaking up. I wish I could publish the "replies" that I got from the people on the board of directors (president and vice-president) here, but I don't know if it is wise to do such a thing. So many people keep insisting that it is a font problem and obviously it is not, both from what you say and also the evidence I posted above, but no one who has anything to do with running the AIS will admit it.
Name: Bonnie Sojourner Harris Brake, Arkansas, zone 7 The Magnolia Zone
It is very disappointing, Michele. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. A site that is supposed to be the 'go to site' for all iris should strive above all else to be correct.
Hi Bonnie and thanks for your kind words. Normally, I don't like to criticise others for their efforts, but I do resent both the fact that my French language iris names are being misspelled and I also do not appreciate being kicked about because the AIS board of directors cannot be bothered to keep an eye on the "encyclopedia" part of their website. There was also the matter of one of my photos being posted (once again) but this time with another photographer's name on it. I have decided to publish the e-mail I finally got from Jim Morris after having to insist on an answer. The issue concerning accents being purposefully removed has been proven earlier in this thread; anyone can go to the historical background concerning my plants and see that the the proper accents were there in the first place but then removed without any explication, so it cannot possibly be a "software problem" as the AIS president continues to state. White's e-mail to me is even uglier so I will spare you all the text.
"Michele Bersillon,
Regarding your complaints about the AIS Iris Encyclopedia, aka the Iris Wiki, I indicated in an e-mail to you April 22, 2015 that I had placed the subject on the agenda for the AIS board of directors meeting in May 2015. Before the meeting I sought an opinion from our Legal Counsel and information from our AIS Policy chairman. The subject was discussed in open session as you had requested. (what he doesn't say is that I had to wait until the 10th of June to have any further news)
First, we were dismayed that you would make some of the statements that you made to several members of our board without including Bob Pries in the distribution. We all felt that was discourteous to Pries as the Wiki manager and inappropriate by you. (I didn't include Pries because he never answers) There is no legal reason to provide an apology to you. The wiki clearly points out on every page, "Please do not enter images that are not your own without owners' permission, this is against Wiki policy." (they included this after I complained long and loudly about my photos being used without my permission, but it doesn't keep people from doing that)
Second, the use of accents in the proper names of irises appears to be a computer software problem. A detailed written report on the treatment of the problem with Languages on the Encyclopedia was provided to the board by the Public Relations and Marketing Committee. There has been no effort or intent by Wiki docents to "strip" French accent marks from iris names. (this is incorrect; see entry earlier in this thread)
Third, as to the paper certificates for HM and AM awards - they have not been used for many years and we have no intent to re-visit the subject.
AIS 1st vice-president Gary White's e-mail to you on June 9, 2015 probably sums up the opinion of most of the AIS board.
I really hate the lack of certificates. I have only won 2 HMs & those certificates are all the awards I have. there are so many awards, especially for the TBs that I understand the espence. However the small hybridizer is out of luck again.
Unfortunately, I think the certificates, medals, etc. (or lack thereof) is largely due to financial issues with the organization. I've seen the same thing happen with our horse show industry when they've gone from true bronze awards to resin models. It's unfortunate but a fact of trying to keep an organization afloat in times of financial difficulty. The medals themselves are mostly provided by the sections that represent the class of irises being awarded so are not an AIS expense.
Everyone also needs to remember that the Wiki is a VOLUNTEER effort. No one is getting rich spending countless hours researching, inputting data, etc. to make it a reality. Are there mistakes? Yes, certainly BUT I for one am VERY grateful to have it available when I need a quick lookup and don't want to have to purchase/dig thru countless R&Is. There is a lot more than just the iris register involved in the Iris Wiki (old catalog scans, art, show info, etc) and it's a monumental undertaking to keep it all improving and updating on an ongoing basis with very little funding or available manpower for the project. I for one am sure willing to overlook a few minor mistakes in details for the good of the entire project.
Have any of you attended one of the Wiki workshops offered at the National Convention? If not, you should sometime as you will get a much better understanding of the work involved and capabilities of it as a whole. Better yet, GET INVOLVED and help with the project instead of being "armchair quarterbacks" about all that is wrong with it!!
Sorry, just had to get that off my chest......
Since I am not very computer literate, I appreciate it. I also have the printed registration books, to use so I don't have to come upstairs to the computer.
Hmm, seems like not a computer issue if one uses the right keyboard or commands! Diacritical marks are a necessary part of certain languages. English uses next to none if any. Those which should be used are not, regardless of the originating language it seems.
Michele, c-mail me some names and I will try to edit and put the corrections in when I get a chance. That will show if there is a "computer" issue with their server.
Judy, I think you are missing the main issue here which is that someone REMOVED proper accents from my French language plant names that were already in place (thus proving that it is not a font issue) and this does not strike me as something that requires countless hours to do. People who are working on this thing should at least be capable of a) entering correct information and, when in doubt, contacting someone who can verify things OR contacting the hybridizer and b) not using photos without permission and making SURE that the photos are credited to the right person. This, to me, is a minimum. I do not use the wiki but I do keep an eye on what happens just because I feel that I have to "police" the wiki when things happen involving my plants so that the information---that I never asked to be included, by the way---is correct. If there need to be photos, then someone can take some and use those. Giving credit to someone else for one of my photos is flagrant abuse. Dave, I'll send you a C-mail later on and thanks for your offer.
Hi everyone:
Unfortunately, the monkey with a razor has been at it again. Here is an example of one of my plant's names restored by Dave to its proper spelling and just after, the same entry that has been changed back to no accents!
