Christopher's Robins

For the discussion of topics related to the conservation, cultivation, propagation and exhibition of cacti & other succulents.
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For the discussion of topics related to the conservation, cultivation, propagation, exhibition & science of cacti & other succulents only.

Please respect all forum members opinions and if you can't make a civil reply, don't reply!
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CactusChris
BCSS Member
Posts: 1132
https://www.behance.net/kuchnie-warszawa
Joined: 11 Jan 2007

Christopher's Robins

Post by CactusChris »

Have you considered joining a round robin? The forum is organising electronic round robins initially just for forum members.

So what is an electronic round robin?
A robin is a chain letter, in this case electronic. It passes from one person to the next, each time the receiver adds their commentary, offers of swaps, photos, visits and insights before passing it on – it is not broadcast to all members – it is sequential and is only sent on to the next robin member in the list. There are the same number of readers as writers and the sense of closeness is much more pronounced than in a forum – it creates a mini-community of like minded individuals. This allows people to offer visits and plants that it would be inappropriate to offer in a wider, general forum or exchange information that may be of no interest to a wider audience. In the case of the robins we are setting up there is a specific topic, those involved are all enthusiast and keen to exchange data on the topic, this is similar to specific groups on forums. Each member is expected to contribute at least some commentary, this is what makes it different to a forum. Each member has a responsibility to ensure that the robin keeps moving, however one member will be asked to keep a close eye on the robin to make sure it does not stall. If anyone wants to drop out this is catered for and they can just be bypassed next time round.

The members of a robin exchange mails using email – so to a few people in the robin your email address will be known. What is written in the robin should remain private to the group with one exception: in order to monitor the robins two facilitators will keep an eye on each robin. Robin members should not broadcast the robin to anyone who is not a member other than the facilitators. The plan is also to produce (just as in the paper based robins) a report from time to time for the forum about some of the goings-on in the robins. This will not include personal details or comments it will just be attributed subject related extracts from the robins. You can opt out from attribution if you wish.
Locality should be no problem, members of the forum from anywhere in the world can join.

Note that as these are robins come under the auspices of the BCSS forum, forum rules about netiquette, copyright and illegal activities etc apply.

Still interested? So what next?
If you are interested in joining an electronic robin then all you need to do at this stage is register your interest: a private message sent to ‘Cactuschris’ (day-to-day coordinator) with a copy to ‘Bill’ (Forum Administrator) with the topic(s) you want to be included will get the process going, make sure to include the email address you wish to use for this. As soon as there are enough members (about 5 or 6) it can begin. A list of members and a list of rules and instructions will be sent to each member. Photos are to be included as links wherever possible or else the robins grow too large for some email systems – so you will need a photo-storage account somewhere and allow access to the robin members.

Initially we are going to start two trial robins, one for Euphorbia and related, and one for South American Cacti.


best regards
chris
BCSS Mid-Cheshire Branch, England - All photos copyright of C.Hynes
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