[boo] Re: Discussion
- From: Joel Geier <clearwater@xxxxxxxx>
- To: boo <boo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 25 Feb 2021 16:21:06 -0500 (EST)
To draw a finer point here:
... about the scope and purpose of OBOL. What is it? It was designed to be
about birds in Oregon.
My understanding is that OBOL originally grew out of an informal e-mail chain
that was formed to share state-level rare-bird-alerts, with a Slaty-backed Gull
as one particularly formative example. So if we go by the "founding fathers'
original intent," it should only be about very rare birds.
In the early years (around 1999 or 2000 when I was a relative newbie on the
list) there was at least one individual who took that idea seriously enough to
send threatening anonymous postcards to at least three of us. One woman
received a card saying, "Shut up, you talk too much!" The card that showed up
in my mailbox told me to stop posting about common birds. Another woman got a
card with a threat to drive to her house and kill her pet geese if she ever
mentioned them on OBOL again.
However, despite such opinions, OBOL quickly became a place for people to talk
about non-rare birds and topics more peripheral to birding. By the time I
joined, OBOL was already being used for coordination of the Oregon Breeding
Bird Atlas, which led to many discussions about distribution of species as
common as Spotted Towhees, and also personal experiences of birders who
volunteered on that project.
Birders also used it to discuss encounters with hostile residents. One
particularly memorable discussion in early 2001 concerned a "pizza-box-tossing
cul-de-sac resident" who vented his unhappiness at birders who were flocking to
a Summer Tanager in Beaverton, which led to a broader discussion/argument about
the rights of private residents to control access to public rights-of-way.
Impacts vs. benefits of ranching and grass-seed farming were also frequent
topics in those years.
Some prominent birders used OBOL as a soapbox to fault the EPA for limiting
manure seepage into Tillamook Bay, on the grounds that this was detrimental to
shore-birding opportunities. ODFW was criticized for letting "scrapes" become
vegetated. Even the OBA board (then called OFO) was a regular target of
criticism. One very well-known birder was fond of discussing the culinary
possibilities for waterfowl and other wild fauna, often provoking a reaction
from vegetarians on the list. Another once promoted an unsuccessful campaign
for birders to buy the whole town of Fields when it was up for sale.
There have always been a few voices who objected to these more wide-ranging
topics, but -- at least since 1998 -- it would be hard to argue that
discussions were strictly confined to just birds in Oregon.
--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis
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