Round Robins - are they still going/who organised them last?

[Aiko]

What is (was) the Round Robin?
I have heard of it before, but really no idea what is actually is. I am sure it has nothing to do with birds or Batman. Probably.

[Pattock]

Chris L defined it well above:

They were letters written between a group of people and they went round each in turn. You put a letter in and took out the one you wrote last time and everyone got to see everyone else's letters.

There must have been a dozen or more going in their heyday - various topics specific cacti/succulent genera, seed raising, hardy plants etc.

The OED definition is :

A letter, piece of writing, etc., sent around the members of a group, and added to by each recipient in turn.

However, there are many more uses of the word, most now archaic and unused. One was a pancake made in Devon. Also, the sunfish which is round in one direction and the cigar-fish which is round in another direction.

Round robin tournaments are still a thing. Each team plays each other team once.

They may all derive from a derogatory name for the consecrated Host in the 16th century.

[Phil_SK]

There seems to be quite a bit written about possible etymologies, for example, https://blog.oup.com/2019/01/the-last-shot-at-robin/ and https://jeremybutterfield.wordpress.com ... etymology/

[MikeT]

What is (was) the Round Robin?
I have heard of it before, but really no idea what is actually is. I am sure it has nothing to do with birds or Batman. Probably.

Chris described them, Aiko:

They were letters written between a group of people and they went round each in turn. You put a letter in and took out the one you wrote last time and everyone got to see everyone else's letters.

It was OK when postage was fairly cheap for a big envelope, but now it would cost a bomb when it could be sent for free via emails/PDFs or file sharing.

There must have been a dozen or more going in their heyday - various topics specific cacti/succulent genera, seed raising, hardy plants etc.

They were modified a bit, in that each contributor send their contribution back to the organiser, who then sent it to the next person. This was introduced so that the organiser knew where the Robin was. When it had to go round the whole group before coming back to the organiser, it could be quite a long time before the organiser became aware that it was lost.

Most were specific genera or groups of genera, some were topical (e.g. seed raising, cold hardy). They were a great way of sharing knowledge, asking questions, sharing seeds or plants. But with the growth in the internet, and (as Chris noted) the rise in postage costs, one by one the Robins stopped flying. There was a requirement for at least 4 members to keep a Robin going. Some were suitable to amalgamate as they lost contributors, and that kept the combined Robin flying a little longer, before they all became extinct.

[el48tel]

Absolutely fascinating. What an amazing game it must have been. I know that several photographic societies (my other interest) had similar exercises with prints for criticism. And they are much much heavier than news/letters.

[Davey246]

They were modified a bit, in that each contributor send their contribution back to the organiser, who then sent it to the next person.

That was how they started, from day 1. Presumably at some later stage that was dropped and then, presumably reintroduced. It did mean quite some work by the administrator as, certainly to begin with, the admin' photocopied everything so things could not get lost. Circulation of photocopies was far from unknown.