Hi all,
I thought I'd stay out of this conversation thread as I can't really abide
another discussion on capitalisation and grammar - HOWEVER, when the
conversation turned to bullying I felt that I had to participate.
I have seen many postings over the years that I think are, at the very least,
rude - if not stepping over the line towards bullying - I won't give the
precise examples here but they invariably occur around two topics - requests
for assistance with ID, and requests for information/assistance regarding
birding and birding locations, and generally these postings are from relative
newcomers to the list. Oftentimes the replies are helpful and encouraging, but
from time-to-time the replies are hostile. Replies to requests for ID
suggesting that people have better things to do than substitute for field
guides, for example.
I see any forum (and birding-aus is a forum) as a collaborative experience -
where people should be able to post a request, or post a reply, without having
any fear of being attacked. To be honest, I have tended to adopt the principle
that I will post trip reports and other pieces of information, but not engage
in the conversations because I don't want the grief. In fact, I was criticised
for posting trip reports recently too, which makes me think that maybe I'll
stop doing that too. I should point out that in my experience, much of the
bullying and criticism is offline - which I find worrying as it is covert, and
we'll never know the extent of it.
Paul Dodd
Docklands, Victoria
-----Original Message-----
From:
On Behalf Of Robert Inglis
Sent: Sunday, 14 April 2013 9:37 PM
To: Birding-Aus
Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Mundane & useless threads
Philip, (of Philip, Kylie, Joshua, Noah) if you feel I have bullied you in any
way and particularly by responding to your previous posting (which I believe
was to ask for birding advice) by correcting your spelling and bird names
please accept this public apology.
I must admit I am completely unaware of how that could have happened and, if it
did, I am truly sorry.
There certainly is activity on BirdingAus from time to time which could easily
be construed as “bullying” and I have sometimes felt some of it was directed at
me.
A lot of the threads on BirdingAus could easily be classified as “mundane &
useless” depending on your point of view but that is not a characteristic
exclusive to BirdingAus; it simply reflects the society we live in.
Forums such as BirdingAus should be places where opinions are freely expressed
and argued but there is never any place for abuse and bullying.
Bob Inglis
Sandstone Point
Qld
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