AI bots & group rules

[Hollis Woodard]

Hey everyone, just chiming in about the recent spam-bot situation:

I guess we've entered the era of "Sam and Hollis battle the AI bots". I have always lowkey wanted to be Sarah Connor and this may be the closest I ever get to that. I'm not sure who will ultimately prevail (no offense, Sam) but we will do our best to keep an eye on things and put more preventative systems in place. Apologies for not catching it sooner. 

Now seems like a good time to remind everyone of the rules of the group, not that anyone other than bots have been breaking them. These rules can be found on the main group page and are pasted in full below, but can be summarized as: don't be mean, don't try to sell things, and keep in mind that we’re nearing 1500 members so please be judicious about whether and what you post because your messages go out to all of those peoples’ inboxes. We are an incredibly kind and informative community (if I do say so myself) so moderating this group has been a breeze so far but it never hurts to send the rules out every once in a while anyway.

Sorry again about the spam and I highly recommend not texting Gabriel even if you do need your AC ducts cleaned.

Hollis

Beemonitoring listserv rules and etiquette

Note that the Beemonitoring listserv messages are purposefully left un-moderated so that the flow of messages can, well…, flow.  As such, errors and indiscretions will inevitably arise and immediately become public. At the same time the two list “owners” (Hollis Woodard hollis....@ucr.edu and Sam Droege sdr...@usgs.gov, 301 433 5390, 301 497 5840) may not immediately be aware of problems so calling and emailing them is useful, and, of course,  you can always email comments and suggestions to them at any time.  At the end of this brief document we outline how problems are handled, and you again can see how some inappropriate posting could go live before someone is take off line, but we hope with your gentle help to not have to convert to a moderated listserv.

1. General purposes of the beemonitoring listserv:

This listserv serves the bee monitoring community, and postings to it should relate to bee monitoring in the broad sense, which includes, but is not limited to, surveys and inventories, ecological monitoring efforts, bee taxonomy, pollination studies, bee population and community ecology, funding opportunities related to bee monitoring, and sociopolitical issues around bee monitoring and the broader discipline. The goal of the listserv is to facilitate discussion around these topics and serve the interests of the bee monitoring community.

 2. General Guidelines for Listserv Postings

We do not tolerate language that is demeaning or dismissive of any individual or group. This includes, but is not limited to, conversation in this listserv. Posts can be removed (and members can ultimately be removed from the group) if they contain language that the moderators judge to be demeaning or dismissive, and/or which meets the formal defining criteria of any of these types of content.

The purpose of this listserv is to facilitate discussion; however, we want to avoid a large volume of messages, in particular those that are not directly related to bee monitoring. Here are some guidelines to help us achieve manageable volume:

• Before posting a question that might be common, please search the forum first to see if people have already spent time answering it in previous posts.
• Read all comments in a thread before adding your own – especially in the long threads. Saying something that has already been said isn’t helpful in such a large group; it only adds unnecessary notifications.
• Postings to the listserv should address the readership at large rather than individuals specifically. If a discussion develops into an exchange between two parties, the conversation should move to private e-mail immediately.
• Conference announcements, calls for papers, and specific calls for references, reflections on projects, or assistance are appropriately directed to the group at large. Responses to such calls could be directed to the list at large. If, however, the nature of the response engages the original poster specifically, strongly consider answering such calls via personal correspondence. We would encourage subscribers to more frequently incorporate the line “Please respond privately” into their postings requesting assistance.

 Additionally, we ask that all group members follow these general rules:

• Exhibit professional decorum and treat the virtual space of the listserv as a professional setting, and a setting in which kindness and positivity are the default. In particular, discussions should refrain from name-calling and dismissive responses. If readers wish to disagree or challenge statements made on the list, they should do so without directing hostility at the original poster. To emphasize: for all postings, writers should presume that the reader is the entire list and not just the person originating the discussion. If a reader does not see a way to respond without personalizing, they should not post to the listserv at large but directly to the person in question.
• Do not share private messages (emails or other forms of communication) with the bee monitoring listserv.
• Discussions should be topical to bee monitoring. Off-topic comments, questions, etc. are not appropriate. As “topicality” is to some extent in the eye of the beholder, there is considerable leeway under this guideline and greater responsibility placed on members to respect the need to have some coherent focus for the list.
• Posts that are advertisements for purchasable items or services are not appropriate for this listserv.
• Chatter, ad hominem attacks, and excessively long postings are inappropriate for this list (and most other lists). 

3. Procedures for Removing Subscribers

Subscribers who do not agree to follow the guidelines may of course unsubscribe themselves. Subscribers who post to the list in ways that seriously violate the guidelines will be given a formal warning from the listserv organizers advising them of their misuse of the listserv, and identifying the specific guideline(s) the subscriber has neglected to follow. If the subscriber persists in such misuse of the listserv following the formal warning, the subscriber will be removed from the listserv for a period of one month. Repeat offenders are liable to be banned from the listserv for longer periods or permanently.

  This document was modeled after the Association for Queer Anthropology’s listserv rules. We thank this group for providing inspiration for our own efforts.