I was away from the computer most of the weekend.  By the time I saw the
first post from Mr. Tom Slater, he had already sent what he said was his
last, which read in part --

>
> I have been informed off-list, very politely, that I have committed a
> terrible breach of list etiquette.  I have posted to the list something
> other than an observing report.  .... (snip) ...   I have over 50 years of
> extreme long lens photography experience and build my own remote triggers
> and monitors.  I wanted to discuss some things that
> my photography experience could support. ... (snip) ...
> I will try to locate a birding discussion list that can help me.  I will
> unsub at the end of this transmission.
>

So the list has lost the contributions of someone who sounded intelligent
and articulate, with valuable knowledge and with admirable enthusiasm for
birds.  Am I the only one who is bothered by this sequence of events?  I
don't know who wrote to Mr. Slater off-list with critical comments, but even
if they were polite about it, I don't see any justification for discouraging
his participation.

I read back through Mr. Slater's earlier couple of posts, and saw that he
has kept a 22-acre woodlot in good condition for birds, with standing snags
that support nesting Red-headed Woodpeckers.  Sounds to me like this is a
man who has excellent understanding of birds.  Did somebody give him a hard
time because he accidentally sent one empty message?  We've all done things
like that.  Did somebody slap him down because he posted a question about
feeding birds?  If so, that's really unfortunate.  He asked one specific
question.  If you're not interested, you can always use the delete key.  I
would like to think that birders are welcoming and accepting types in
general and I suggest that the self-appointed listserve police try to give
people more slack.  We need more enthusiastic participants on the list, not
fewer.

I  won't talk about anyone behind their back so I'm copying this message to
Tom Slater, with my personal invitation to you, sir, to re-subscribe and
give us a second chance to be good online neighbors.

Kenn Kaufman
Rocky Ridge, Ohio

______________________________________________________________________

Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.

You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]