I checked my email this evening, as usual, and was shocked to see a
whole slew of Boo messages in my daily digest. I have not bothered to
check OBOL for several days as I'm busy living life here on the farm in
the post-ice age times. So I had not read any of the stuff y'all are
talking about. How wonderful to hear such a reasonable discussion here
on Boo!
I'll come down on the side of Caleb. Bullies should be removed. I've
been on OBOL since the early days when it really was just for rare bird
sightings. That is no longer necessary thanks to e-bird. And, folks,
those knowledgeable old guys are not the only ones on OBOL who are
knowledgeable. Others would speak up if the old guard took their toys
and left.
As for what topics should be on OBOL, political discussions still need
to be on BOO. I love having that venue where I know people are
interested in hearing about the conservation issues I post there (here).
And where I can read about ones I may not have known about yet. (Thanks,
the other Linda!)
And, finally, a million thanks to moderator Theresa. What a fine and
fair job you have always done. I still hate the e-bird reports that fill
up my OBOL digest but I respect that I can scroll (and scroll and
scroll) past them eventually to get to what I'm interested in, which is
not rare bird sightings but just interesting bird sightings, like Judy's
field trip reports... I always envied having a group like that birding
together.
What OBOL has become by letting the old guard have their way is of very
little interest to me anymore. And I hate hearing people disparage each
other. Joel is always getting into trouble with some of the old regulars
yet Joel is out there doing more for birds and conservation on a daily
basis than most anyone else on OBOL. His personality, like mine, just
ticks some people off. Theresa has a job keeping us both in line but she
is very fair.
When I get time, I'll go back and read the OBOL digests from the last
several days and learn who the bad guys are this time around, although I
think I know. OBOL has never been welcoming to new birders and so when a
new birder comes on and gets shot down, I try to send them a private
email telling them not to let the old guard get them down. I'm sorry I
was not paying attention this time.
Thanks to all of you who have contributed to this discussion and
especially to Theresa for bringing it up. We are so fortunate to have
her as moderator on OBOL!
And, again, please listen to Caleb. Do not put up with crap no matter
how knowledgeable the crapper is.
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