Let me begin by saying this-
The terribly callous manner in which this "C. Jones" expressed his
viewpoint was completely and utterly innapropriate. Not only was it
innapropriate, it was base and just downright rude. And I feel that
posts such as this have NO place on this Listserv. A level of common
decency should be expected by, and from, all those subscribed here.
That aside-
I can't help but say that, to a small extent, I agree with this
individual. I hesitate in expressing this view for fear of being lumped
into the same category as the "C Jones" of the list and for fear of
offending anyone subscribed here. The latter, I can assure you, is not
my intention. But I do feel that the issue itself is worthy of some
discussion and has some validity.
I think a major area of debate is what actually makes a worthy post.
This obviously is a matter of opinion and a consensus will never be
reached on this topic. There are a couple ways to deal with it though.
A set of guidelines laid down by the List owner seems the most
appropriate- a difficult task for Paul, no doubt, but it might clear
things up a bit. Taking a step back to reexamine the intended purpose
for the creation of this Listserv also may hold a clue.
Now, I can't say that I've been there from the start. I've only been
subscribed for 3+ years. I'm a newbie. But in those years, I've noticed
a slight shift in the balance- posts of a more anecdotal (and less
informative) nature seem to be on the increase at a level comparable
with most invasive plant species.
Now, I see nothing wrong with taking some artistic license with a
post. I do it with the Snickers Gap reports every fall and I know that
the predictions made by the "magic 8-ball" don't amuse everyone.
The difference here is that they don't have to read it before seeing
the numbers. It's up to them to read on. Other posts are a whole
different story-
I never thought that I'd see a song parody of the B-52s' "Love Shack"
posted to VA-Bird...
Posts such as this seem harmless, yes. But they make it quite
difficult to extract any kind of usable data and/or useful observations
that make it easier to learn more about the birds that we ALL share a
passion for. A perfect example is the VA Comp. list being worked on
this year- other than emails sent directly to the individuals involved
with this undertaking, it requires sifting through every post on the
Listserv. Fun...
Now add to the mix Spring migration. With it comes an EXCEPTIONALLY
high volume of traffic on the List.
Subject headers don't always give a full description of what follows
and noteworthy sightings often get buried in the bodies of the post
itself.
For this reason I feel obliged to read every post, in its entirety.
The option to block certain senders, or to simply delete them without
reading them through, isn't really an option at all. I don't want to
miss anything, despite the tediousness of the process.
In closing- Scott Baron wrote "some will wonder if their sighting or
observation is "good" enough." I honestly can't see how this is a bad
thing. It's a question I learned to ask myself before sending anything.
And I learned it the hard way.
In one of my first posts to this Listserv I reported Ring-necked
Ducks and a Tundra Swan on Sleeter's Lake in the dead of winter, before
I knew better. I got a single response- "Wow, did you see any Cardinals
too?". I felt like an idiot at first, but I got over it fast.
And to this day, I THANK that person for making me think about what
makes a relevent sighting. Kudos, my friend.
So, in short (haha), I honestly can't see how a small amount of
discretion practiced by VA-Bird subscribers regarding the subject
matter they post, especially during peak posting periods, can hurt...
Ian C. Topolsky
Hamilton, VA
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