Absolutely agree with everything Linda said, great note, thank you!
I hung on for six years before giving up on OBOL. A number of people I know
gave up much sooner, and were quite bitter about the treatment that they
received from what Linda called the "old guard". My name for them was the
"Inner Circle". I always thought that they used OBOL as if it was their own
private list, rather than a list that is open to all bird folks. Perhaps the
Inner Circle should think about starting their own list?
I live in California now, but still enjoy reading Boo, so thank you Treesa!
I might run into some of you in the field in the future, as I will be up that
way again.
Best wishes all,
Lori Markoff
canyoneagle@xxxxxxxxx
-----Original Message-----
From: boo-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <boo-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Linda
Fink
Sent: Thursday, February 25, 2021 6:51 PM
To: boo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [boo] Wow!!
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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