North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Lon J. Rombough" <lonrom@hevanet.com>]

	Before POMONA, there was a small group of fruit enthusiasts who exchanged surface-mail letters.  Enough of them knew of the others that they started trading letters.  These grew into "Round Robin" letters where a letter went from one person to the next, with each recipient adding their own comments.  Usually they copied the letters so they would have the whole exchange, up to the point they received it.  As more people got involved, the system got so cumbersome and slow that Milo Gibson gathered up a collection of the letters and printed them up into a little booklet that was mailed around to the members of the group.  Thus was born POMONA.  
In it's own way, this early method was the surface-mail "e-list" of it's pre-internet day.  The main difference was that additions and replies were more detailed.  When you wrote something, it might not reach you again for months, so you tried to include as much information as possible so the later readers wouldn't be confused about something you said.  You weren't trying to be fancy, just thorough, for the sake of clarity.
So the NAFEX discussion list serves much the same purpose as the early round robin letters did.  The big difference is that when someone writes something, the writing may not be very complete.  With essentially instant feedback, a writer can add comments as needed rather than trying to assemble everything at one time as the round robin letter writers had to do.  If something it unclear, no problem.  Shoot another e-mail back.
The effect on POMONA is that a much smaller percentage of people write articles for it now, even though the by-laws contain a clause that members are expected to contribute something at least every other year or so.   
Most members are afraid to write for POMONA now, thinking they aren't "good enough" and this attitude has stifled the magazine.   The point of the magazine is just to be a place for members to write letters to each other, while sharing the letters with the rest of the group.  But so many people who probably have something worthwhile to say don't write because they think they aren't "good enough" and the information is either lost, or goes somewhere else.
This is mostly a re-cap of the situation.  I'm not sure there is a real solution.  We have a partial one now in having a sharp editor-in-chief who has been able to collect e-list threads as articles, but if the journal is to continue we need a change.  One possibility might be for members who write for POMONA to have their articles posted on the e-list first so that others can add information, if needed, or otherwise "edit" the article, much as the early round robin letters were amended as they traveled from member to member.  
The simplest change is just for each member to realize that they are just writing a letter to a friend who shares an interest, and not try to create a masterpiece. 
I hope POMONA and NAFEX will continue, however this turns out.
-Lon Rombough


Grapes, writing, consulting, my book, The Grape Grower, at http://www.bunchgrapes.com  Winner of the Garden Writers Association "Best Talent in Writing" award for 2003. 
For even more grape lessons, go to  http://www.grapeschool.com
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