On 2/12/2023 1:02 PM, Jane McGary via pbs wrote: > Thank you to Mary Sue for her detailed discussion -- and for her > tremendous contribution to the PBS wiki. I was another board member > who preferred the email list to a forum, but when the forum went up I > registered for it and check it every day now. I haven't mastered the > posting of photos yet, but I'm not much of a photographer anyway. The > splitting of the forum posts into many topic areas worried me, and I'm > still not fond of it; however, users have found ways around strict > categorization in the Off-topic area. > > PBS got occasional complaints about the email list from users who > objected to the large number of emails they received through it, and > did not want to deal with the "digest" function. This wasn't a problem > for me because I filter my email manually before downloading it from > the provider's webmail site. I had to start doing that because of the > way membership payment notices come to me via PayPal; the provider > insisted on dumping them into the spam folder until I turned off the > filters. Now, if there is a thread that doesn't interest me, such as > "hybridizing Hippeastrum," I can delete it along with the advertising. > > Regarding the admittedly undemocratic way the PBS board is now > constituted, the subject of Robert Lauf's post, I think it arose > organically out of the founding of our society. The name "Pacific Bulb > Society" refers not only to the predominance of western North American > members at that time, but also to the hope that we would be pacific -- > i.e., peaceful. Many of our original members were in the International > Bulb Society (IBS), a long-standing group which was then falling apart > under the impact of hostile management. Early in the formative years > of PBS, we in turn had an administrative breakdown which we barely > survived. It has become a particular concern to avoid adversarial, > factional, or ideological clashes. This can make the board and the > various managers look like a clique. Nevertheless, decisions have been > taken to expand board membership, notably adding European members. The > call for applicants to the voting positions of vice president and > secretary -- neither of which requires a large time commitment -- is > an outreach too. > > I have a long history with the North American Rock Garden Society, so > I know that difficulty in recruiting board members and officers is not > unique to PBS. I've also been through at least two periods in which a > president, elected by the relatively few members who had bothered to > vote, did serious damage to that society. I switched from the PBS > president's position to my present one as membership coordinator > simply because the former membership person was unable to continue, > and maintaining the membership database is an almost daily activity. > Robin Hansen, the current president, is also the editor of the Bulb > Garden newsletter because she was the only qualified and willing > applicant for that task. Arnold Trachtenberg, the treasurer, also > handles the demanding tasks of getting the Bulb Garden printed and > mailed, and processing the occasional group book orders. > > Do you remember the story of the Little Red Hen? "Who will help me > grind the wheat?" "Not I," said the cow/pig/duck, etc. ... "Who will > help me eat the bread?" "I will!" said they all. Apropos to plant > societies! Please volunteer. > > Jane McGary, Membership Coordinator and PBS Board member > > > On 2/12/2023 11:55 AM, Mary Sue Ittner via pbs wrote: >> Over the years there have been many requests for volunteers to help >> running this organization and usually not a lot of replies. If you >> got rid of all of the people who contribute their time without >> getting anything in return, except for occasional thanks, I expect >> that would be the end of the Pacific Bulb Society. I for one am very >> grateful for all the volunteers. I periodically have asked for help >> with the wiki and for whatever reason, maybe because of the learning >> curve, it hasn't resulted in the last few years of any sustained >> help. Dues for this organization are modest and that allows people to >> participate in the BX and the SX and to get the Bulb Garden and >> provides money to pay to keep the list, the wiki, the BX/SX, the Bulb >> Garden, and the forum going. The main job of the Board is to find >> ways to make sure all of those things continue. >> >> There was email discussion about forum vs list before the Board made >> the decision to start a forum. There were many of us who preferred >> the list, but also others that were unhappy with it. I suspect if >> there had been a vote there would have been no consensus. And who >> would you have vote? The list has always been available to people who >> were not members of the Pacific Bulb Society. So would all of them be >> allowed to vote even though they do not pay dues? It seems to me that >> the Board came up with a compromise. They created the forum, but did >> not do away with the list. The disadvantage to this is that >> announcements like the BX have to be two places and some people just >> participate in one or the other so we don't have the rich discussions >> that we once had. The advantage is that people who were unhappy with >> the list now have the forum and those people who preferred the list >> still have it. If David Pilling is able to find a list where it is >> easy to add photos I'm sure the people who use the list would be >> grateful. >> >> David has given so much of his time over the years. I'm not sure how >> many people recognize this. It was 2009 when the wiki was no longer >> functional since the software was not being updated and some things >> no longer worked. We had to convert. This is one of the times when I >> asked for help and got it. David volunteered and he has been the main >> stay of technical help since then. That's 13 years. It took me a >> year to fix everything after we converted it to new software. During >> the conversion a lot of people checked pages for me and reported the >> mistakes I needed to fix. And a lot of people helped over the years >> with the wiki, but now there are few. Luckily David continues to help >> and Martin has spent a lot of time on it as well, but basically it's >> just the three of us. >> >> Arnold has been volunteering since 2002, maybe before. He does all >> the mailings, manages the finances, contacts new members. Jane McGary >> has put in years and years, was President, before she took over >> membership and writes for the Bulb Garden. Diane Whitehead has been >> helping with the list for years and years. And there are many others >> who have helped for a long time. Robin is editing the Bulb Garden AND >> being the President. Who would you replace? PBS is lucky that they >> have continued to help. It would be really unfortunate if posts like >> the one from Robert led to resignations. >> >> Mary Sue >> >> On 2/12/2023 8:42 AM, Robert Lauf via pbs wrote: >>> Yes, it would be nice to allow members to vote on lots of things, >>> but the PBS governance model appears to be patterned on that of >>> Cuba. The Board essentially elects its own members from a list of >>> candidates they select via an arbitrary, capricious, and completely >>> opaque process, much like the Politburo. We were recently >>> (inadvertently) given a glimpse into the inner workings and >>> attitudes at the Mother Ship and it wasn't a pretty picture. Nor >>> surprisingly, many excellent people have better things to do than >>> try to improve things in the face of resistance, secrecy, and >>> outright abuse. Is it any wonder that volunteers are hard to find >>> in this environment? >>> It's time to send a few of the Commissars off the the Gulag and >>> start over. Just my opinion, but feel free to make it your own. >>> Bob Zone 7 >>> >>> While I very much appreciate the PBS and the work that our board >>> members do; and personally see no reason to change anything, I >>> believe that the static I have been seeing on the list does not >>> suggest that everyone feels as I do. >>> >>> That kind of static does NOT attract new members! >>> >>> NARGS, SRGC, AGS, and HPS all have elected boards and all function >>> quite well. I believe that if we had an elected board, the current >>> board members would still serve; because most of us appreciate you. >>> > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… > Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> > PBS Forum > https://… _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> PBS Forum https://…