If I may add to this debate as a newbie to bird watching but an expert
in other forums, I can say that I don't post questions that I know to be
silly, or for which there is an obvious (to me) answer. But the problem
is that what's obscure or bewildering to a newbie may be blindingly
obvious to more experienced people.
I don't think it's a bad idea to gently let a newbie know that there are
some sources of information which can be used (with links) and that,
perhaps, they should take a look. It's the old question of fish vs
fish-hook. The trick is to gently point newbie to where the fish-hooks
are :-)
Personally, I have found this to be a worthwhile and knowledge-rich
forum over the past year. I promise not to report any Koels :-)
DN
Mark Clayton wrote:
Beth,
I take your point and would love to see the chatline used the way it
should be but it is useless if people are too scared to use it for fear
of being ridiculed. This is exactly the response I received from
numerous people to my first email. As I said in this morning’s email I
will send these replies to the committee for discussion. A lot of people
have also spoken to me and other members I associate with complaining
about feeling intimidated and not wishing to have anything to do with
the chatline. It is obvious that the committee does not realise the
depth of the problem, hence the stand I have taken. I know a hell of a
lot of the membership agree with me, including some committee members.
I’m afraid the issue will not just go away, something has to be done.
The whole thing has been going on for years not just recently. It is not
just the COG chatline that suffers this problem, I note from time to
time that Birding-aus also appears to have its fair share of troublemakers!
Mark
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*From:* Beth Mantle
*Sent:* Sunday, 18 October 2009 9:07 AM
*To:* canberra birds
*Subject:* [canberrabirds] Chat line etiquette - again
Dear All,
Please may I remind everyone (as Matt Frawley already has) that the chat
line etiquette issue has already been raised (by me) at the last COG
Committee meeting, and was subsequently addressed in our President's
most excellent post to the chat line (copied below).
The emails that include attacks on others, for whatever reason and in
whatever format, have no place on our chat line. They debase the value
of our discussions, are unconstructive in main, and are far to easy to
misinterpret. They do not solve problems, but rather contribute to it.
It genuinely saddens me to see these posts on our much-loved, read and
used chat line.
Please can we move on, and keep personal debates off the public line.
Best wishes to all,
Beth
As President I am fortunate enough to be in a position to receive
compliments on the things that COG does well. One of these is the
email discussion forum, or chat-line . The chat-line has been an
innovation that is of great value to both Group and non-Group members
and is an excellent medium by which we can all benefit from each
other's birding experiences.
Because the chat-line is an open forum for discussion on birds and
their habitats it is important to ensure that the Forum is open to
anyone and that there are no suggestions that postings are not
welcome. For the more experienced bird observer it is important to
remember the thrill of seeing a species or some aspect of behaviour
for the first time and to be able to share that experience. Repeated
postings of observations on any particular species should be
encouraged for it is in this way we are all able to learn from other's
experiences.
As I encourage all relevant postings to the chat-line I also encourage
those observations to be documented with the COG database. A form can
be found on the COG website (see under 'Maps, Forms and Lists' ) or,
once an observer has been registered, observations can be entered
on-line. Registration is possible by logging ontohttp://cogatlas.org.au/
I would like to take this opportunity to remind contributors that it
is best practice to make sure that posted emails have an appropriate
subject line. This is best done by writing a new email rather than
just clicking on the 'reply' button.
Good Birding
Chris Davey (President)
24 Bardsley Place
Holt
ACT 2615
Tel: 02-62546324
*/Beth Mantle/*/
/H: 02 6287 7860
M: 0407 174 427
E: <>*//*
On Oct 18, 2009, at 8:56 AM, Mark Clayton wrote:
I shall be asking the COG committee to formally discuss this important
issue at their next available meeting and forwarding the responses I
received as evidence that there is a major problem.
Mark
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