A recent message to this list was posted by a commercial tour operator.
Some readers found this as inappropriate use of the list.
Whilst much of the internet is being taken over by/for commercial
enterprise, it is nice that there are still things like Usenet News and a
number of Mailing lists which try to avoid 'advertising' as such.
However, the recent message may have been of great interest to any readers
lucky enough to have the time and money to consider such a journey. A
number of trips have been advertised on this list and of course pelagic
trip notices and subsequent reports are the main diet for some of our
readers.
Birding-Aus is an unmoderated list - and I hope it will always continue to
be an unmoderated list. We have had VERY few inappropriate messages
(those who subscribe to other lists should understand this) and in this
we've been very lucky. I think it reflects on the kind of people who have
a genuine interest in birds and the other things around us.
I don't want to place a blanket 'ban' on all advertising on this list:
this would be impossible to enforce, and I'm sure many of us have enjoyed
finding out about trips, books and other services. My suggestions are:
Be discerning (as always!) in what you post (c.250 members, plus a
permanent archive via the World Wide Web) - also remember that most people
PAY for their internet access.
If you offend people they will probably respond. If you offend lots of
people they may ALL respond. I think this is called flaming and it
doesn't sound much fun for your inbox or ISP account.
If you are in doubt, send me the message first, and I can discuss your
approach to the readers on the list. This means that I'll probably just
forward your message. At least then there's a chance I'll get half the
flames... :-)
Cheers
Russell Woodford
List Manager
PS If you have not replied to the survey, you have 2 more days. There have
been almost 100 replies - very encouraging. Thank you.
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