Phil, in law that argument would be described as originalist. I was never a Scalia fan and don’t subscribe to originalism. (Prefer evolving traditions.) And to your other point I don’t mind the occasional upwelling of self-expression, even if it may edge toward wordiness.
That said, e-sites are a replacement for what in the past were local bird club trips. I grew up as a birder in a pre-internet era, when these experiences were the main feature that drew us into this pastime. Open, democratic, chaotic, ineffable. You never knew who’d be in your car. Might be hi-performing peers quizzing each other as to a species’ identity by reading snippets from a field guide description. Or might be newbies thrilling to the experience to which the rest of us had long since become accustomed. We “experienced types” always fed off that newbie enthusiasm – all the while engaging in an oral tradition that honored new experience while passing along whatever knowledge we had acquired to the next spiritual generation (age notwithstanding); this practice was an essential feature of what we were doing, and was a large part of what drew us to it. The internet presents complications. Newcomers may repeatedly inject sightings with little community significance, without realizing (or in some cases caring) that others might not share their interest. Veterans want the hard facts and locations, and become intolerant of those who enthuse to lesser experiences. What concerns me is that in the impersonal and encapsulated environment of the internet the communal escalator of the natural history oral folk tradition will be damaged. Socialization is difficult in this medium. Some degree of restraint and community attachment is required on all sides. No, I do not personally like repeated postings on juncos, Blue Jays, or chickadees. And I would like to let people who make those posts know that they’re not all that interesting to the rest of us. I used to do that, in a subtle way, while driving along in a car in route to a field trip. Now what? Troll someone, or ban them from the site? I’m sure I don’t have the answer to this. Maybe an off-post note to individuals to say, politely, that they might want to step up the game a bit. Where they might go, how they could get more involved. Finally, I’ve noticed since the election that some of us are venting more, and lacking tolerance to a greater extent; and who knows, maybe that’s me as well. We need to be careful of runaway angst and spite. If you’re there, maybe try this: http://wpo.st/3r6D2. (It discusses the need to go birding amid the fray.) Oops, I see that this has become more than wordy now. Apologies. That’s my two cents, anyway, & good birding, Rick From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Phil Jeffrey Sent: Monday, November 21, 2016 7:56 PM To: Steve Walter <[email protected]> Cc: & [NYSBIRDS] <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Another option to the drivel Steve was wordily referring to daily digest mode, found via http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm Daily digest mode has existed for about as long as list servers have. In the same document tree is the source of at least one part of the identity crisis: http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm (bear in mind there are syntax errors on the originating page and you may have to append ".htm" to some URLs) "The primary purpose of the List is to disseminate information about wild bird sightings in and around New York State in a timely manner and to provide an effective electronic forum for New York State area birders. Questions and limited discussion on topics such as bird behavior, identification, conservation, and distribution, especially as these subjects relate to wild birds in and around New York State, are welcomed and encouraged. The List is not for the discussion of pet birds." If it's allegedly an RBA list the description currently does not reflect that, and has not done so for quite some time. Phil Jeffrey Princeton -- NYSbirds-L List Info: <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME> Welcome and Basics <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES> Rules and Information <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave Archives: The Mail Archive <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html> <http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L> Surfbirds BirdingOnThe.Net <http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html> Please submit your observations to <http://ebird.org/content/ebird/> eBird! -- -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
