I don't mean to unduly conversations that probably should have taken
place privately, but since this has become so public I will add my 2
cents.
I see nothing wrong with trying to improve birder ethics and with
reminding us all of our ethical obligations. However, it is usually
best to do so gently, and without casting unncessary aspersions on
identifiable persons. For example, as there is no way that Val could
have known whether the author she referred to did or did not have
permission to enter the private property in question, she might have
prefaced her reminder by saying that she assumed he/she had permission
or that she didn't know whether the person did, but all birders should
be reminded that they needed permission. So often the way we say
things can be just as important as the substance of what we say.
That said, what she did in no way justified the subsequent personal
attack in a public forum. That was a message that clearly should have
been private.
Without meaning to say I need to be the last word on these matters, I
hope we are at aboput a point to move on.
Eric Jeffrey
Falls Cbhurch, VA
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