I read with interest and a bit of amusement Bill Whan's exhortation to birders to post rarities to the Ohio Birds listserv, and Susan Williams' reply.  I feel compelled to add my two cents' worth to the conversation.

I think more people would be inclined to post to this list if it were more user-friendly. I don't mean in the context of being easy to use, but rather in the context of being friendly to users.

When I was new to the list, I lurked for a while, reading but not posting, till I got a general "feel" for list etiquette.  When I began actually posting, I found I had it wrong.  After receiving a number of harsh private e-mails, I returned to my lurking ways.  I rarely post any more, and if I had the good fortune to find a rarity, this listserv is not the first place I would report my findings, having learned my lesson the hard way.  Not all list members are created equal.  Some have more rights to post than others.

I used to think it was just me, but over the years, I have talked to others who have received behind-the-scenes e-mails from certain list members, admonishing them for anything from their posting style ("too perky"), or their IDs (a veteran birder with over 20 years experience and a life list of 500+ species was criticized for making "new birder" mistakes), or just in general treating them rudely.  All of them have implied that, in one way or another, they were not made to feel welcome on the list, and that they posted less frequently because of it.

We are a community - a relatively small group of people with a common, specialized interest.  If we want to remain a cohesive group, and to continue to grow our membership, we need to make this list a safe, comfortable, enjoyable place to visit.  We need to stop taking things for granted - not everyone who reads this list knows where every park, lake, nature preserve or wildlife area is - give better directions.  Not everyone knows what every abbreviation means - explain them.  (I just recently figured out the RFI means Request For Information - that is, I think that's what it means.)  Welcome first time posters and new birders - gently guide them through the process rather than being overly critical of their efforts.  Appreciate the various posting styles of our members, whether they prefer to write their findings in straight-forward lists or in narrative fashion.  Stop being so stiff and rigid that you can't appreciate the joy that others find in nature.  And finally, before you shoot off an accusatory private a-mail to another member, let it sit in your "pending" folder for 24 hours and re-read it.  If you still think it sounds like an e-mail you'd like to receive, then hit the send button.  Otherwise, that's what the recycle bin is for.

Sincerely,
~Kathi Hutton
Clermont County, SW Ohio

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