Laurie
You make fair points but I must differ with your statement that "naming and
shaming has a righteous feel to it, but it has to be accurate and
measured." As my previous post stated there is simply no place on
Birding-Aus for "naming and shaming" whether accurate or measured. Period.
The moderators of this site must make this clear.
Chris Gregory
On 14 July 2014 19:44, Laurie Knight <> wrote:
> G’day
>
> Speaking as an online researcher of Australian birdwatchers, the Yellow
> Bittern threads provide a useful example of social group dynamics and a
> reminder of how things can blow up (bushfire metaphors are quite
> appropriate for this subject).
>
> The first thing is that emotive language and finger pointing create a fuel
> load that is easily sparked into a blamestorm. Naming and shaming has a
> righteous feel to it, but it has to be accurate and measured. It can
> easily develop into a lynch mob mentality and result in law suits.
>
> The second this is that sweeping statements tend to confuse the situation
> and make things worse [throw away lines have a tendency to blow up in
> people’s faces].
>
> In the case of the Yellow Bittern we had "Due to the selfish and careless
> actions of these few anyone wishing to view this bird has now had that
> privilege denied. …. Birders are now asked to refrain from visiting this
> site.”
>
> The identification of the irresponsible birders as photographers exposed a
> fault line and the claim that people would not be able to see the bird set
> it off. While the post gave the impression that birders were supposed to
> refrain from visiting the site, the reality was that birders shouldn’t
> stray onto the golf course. Being a public place, the Wallaroo Ct pond was
> never off limits. Due to the urgency of a rare chance to see a mega,
> people got worked up. Feeling they were being picked on, birders with
> cameras got their backs up ...
>
> The initial reactions of people to a problematic post can determine
> whether things are sorted out amicably or it blows up. Beware of making
> quick judgements and strong assertions. Above all, think twice before
> adding to the fuel load or creating a strong wind current.
>
> Regards, Laurie.
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