Yes, I totally understand talking about the neighborhood bald eagle is not
engaging for everyone, me included.
Inclusive posts could be framed in a way that highlights the experience of
some and encourages those with less experience. Would it be possible to
test an e-mail format panel for some kind of "ask a birder post". I imagine
this being the prior designation of a small panel (maybe one experienced
long-time birder and one young or BIPOC birder). Anyone can ask questions
to these two individuals at the same time and get responses from both of
them throughout the day highlighting both of their experiences.
In that same vein.... a monthly post that highlights an individual birder,
which would alternate between long-time/older white guy birders and younger
folk, and/or long time birders and bird researchers. This birder could
write a short post on something species or conservation related that
they've studied or observed and a blurb on their experience and
conversation could ensue. I honestly think this would be great in a zoom
gathering, but again, I know many people are reluctant to use zoom or
similar programs.
Of course I don't know how effective little things like these are in the
grand scheme of things, but it's brainstorming at this point. Small
showcases of inclusivity sometimes cascade into more than imagined. I will
give this more thought.
Lorelle
On Thu, Feb 25, 2021 at 8:15 AM Teresa Hertzel <teresa.hertzel@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Lorelle, thank you for your thoughtful response. I am most interested in
what you say about how to make OBOL more welcoming and friendly, since
that's been a problem of long-standing. Again, our biggest problem is our
diversity. The older, experienced birders would roll their eyes at
something like "what excites you most about birding?" They don't want to
hear about the first robin of spring, or the Bald Eagle you saw yesterday.
Yes, they are crusty and often insulting, but they also have much
experience and expertise to share. How do we integrate the two poles? In
two other state listservs I am familiar with, the older white guys have
stopped posting entirely. THEY were made to feel unwelcome by the younger
crowd.
On Thu, Feb 25, 2021 at 9:23 AM Lorelle Sherman <lorelle.sherman@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Good morning Teresa,
I appreciate this question. I have been an OBOL user since 2015 (so I'm
relatively new in comparison with most). I am part of the academic crowd
that does bird-related research. However, I was a birder first and always
will be. I posted sightings from 2015-2017ish, but was met with an
exclusionary unwelcoming ambience (a whole nother topic that's been
discussed over and over again) that I decided to remove myself from and
transition to passive observation of OBOL emails. The long drawn out
arguments often make me want to unsubscribe, and in fact that's what I
reluctantly did recently. Not because they aren't necessary, but because
the resulting conversation is more often than not... frustrating. This is a
very challenging set of questions, because these issues *need* to be
talked about, but the way they are being talked about does not feel in any
way inclusive or representative, and therefore they do not feel
productive. I'd like to offer my opinion based on limited knowledge of how
OBOL was in its inception up through 2015.
-This is tough. I guess technically it goes against what the OBOL list
Do you think the OBOL guidelines need to be changed?
-Recognizing that moderation is a big job and I'm assuming totally
volunteer-based, is it possible to assign additional moderators whose
job(s) are totally devoted to responding to bullying? Maybe no one wants to
do it and that's the problem? It may help to develop a few lines of text
that demonstrate the policies and response to policies that can easily be
plugged into an e-mail for responses of first- (or second- third-) time
offenders of policies.
Do you think the Board violated their own policies by posting a
statement about violence against women on the birding listserv?
serve is about. However, normalizing support and discussion on this topic
is so so necessary. Possibly it could have just been posted to BOO and to
Instagram? That being said, I was not bothered in any way by their decision
to post it to OBOL, but I completely understand how others could be
bothered by that (just as I've been bothered by other things on OBOL).
How should OBOL handle people who are perceived as bullying others?
-First offence, immediate action internally. Message the person and
express that their behavior does not align with the policies of OBOL.
Second offence, temporary block. Third offence, permanent block.
How can OBOL be more friendly and welcoming?-What if there were intentional posts that welcomed newbies to respond?
Possibly as organized as a monthly "Ask a birder" or "ID help" or "What
excites you most about birding" posts where less frequent users are
*encouraged* to respond? This might help people build courage to respond
otherwise.
-Sometimes it feels as though there's a 'weirdness' between bird
researchers and lifetime birders. I wonder how we could foster the idea
that these two styes of expertise go hand in hand and man, oh man, just
think of what we could learn and understand if we integrated them! Again,
maybe intentional topic-based posts that examine a particular species or
conservation topic intentionally welcoming and encouraging both viewpoints.
- I wonder how actual visual contact between users may influence
thoughtfulness when responding in the future. Is there any interest in
monthly or 4x per year OBOL Zoom gatherings where folks discuss a birding
related topic? Maybe this is not desired for this platform.
OBA has a few hundred members, I think it's right around 300, but I don't
have the exact number. OBOL has almost 2,000, so the vast majority are not-I've never tightly linked the two entities in my brain. They feel
OBA members. Do you think OBOL should be broken off from OBA and no longer
be under their umbrella?
entirely different to me, an outsider. Not sure if that helps.
Many thanks,
Lorelle Sherman
