[MASSBIRD] massbird charter and posting guidelines - from the moderator
Barbara Volkle and Steve Moore
Please refrain from speculative or negative comments about other
posters and their reports, and instead focus on your own reports and
observations.
Special thanks to all of you for your posts of the recent past - from
Common Nighthawks to Brown Booby, from behavior to plumage
descriptions, from rarities to the everyday. Keep up the fantastic
reporting!
Barbara Volkle
Northborough, MA
bar...@theworld.com
* * *
With summer drawing to a close, it's time to post the MASSBIRD
charter and guidelines. From breeding birds, to pelagic adventures,
late summer and fall migration have their special treats for birders.
Please take a minute or two to carefully read the MASSBIRD CHARTER
and POSTING GUIDELINES!
Thanks to all those seasoned birders who provide background
information and tutelage to those readers who are just starting
birding and to those of us not at the expert level.
Your help is appreciated - please post in plain text, since the
format of massbird-digest is impacted by this problem.
Thanks to all of you who have shown leadership in its many ways -
sharing information and observations, showing courtesy towards
novices and seasoned birders alike, reflecting on environmental
trends and ethics, highlighting opportunities for volunteering,
noting opportunities for regulatory impact and input to governmental
processes and more.
Join me again in thanking all of you who have contributed to the
success of MASSBIRD. The diversity of contributions and
observations rests with you. From the Berkshires to Great Meadows to
Cumberland Farms and to Cape Cod, from Cape Ann to southwestern
Massachusetts, birders visit coast and mountains, forest and field,
wetlands and river plains. While most of us are in Eastern
Massachusetts, observations from those of you elsewhere help to paint
a more complete picture of what's going on in our state and region
and are especially welcomed.
Thank you for your participation and for making MASSBIRD something we
can all share credit and be thankful for.
Finally, a personal request from me. Open someone's eyes to the
outdoors - take them out birding! Migration is underway. Take a
neighbor, a scout troop, your kids, a coworker for a walk, just to
name a few. Personal experience is a the core of the awareness of
the natural world. Share what you know with others - they will never
see the world in the same way.
Thank you and bring enjoy Spring migration!
Barbara Volkle, moderator MASSBIRD
Northborough, MA
bar...@theworld.com
Take someone birding today!
* * * * *
Please save this for future reference!
MASSBIRD is a mailing list dedicated to the interchange of wild bird
and
birding information relevant to Massachusetts and New England. This
list
is intended for the discussion of local issues - such as birding
locations,
local conditions, reports of local rarities and unusual sightings,
pelagic trip
reports, legislative alerts, events and speakers in the area, and
calls for
volunteers in research and census activities. Hopefully, novice
birdwatchers,
visitors to our area, and our local experts alike, will share their
questions and
knowledge through this mailing list. Together we have made MASSBIRD a
useful forum, sharing information on a real time basis.
If you wish to bring up a topic of environmental concern that is of
special
interest to birders in Massachusetts or the northeast ( ie. local
content),
contact me. Such posts should be designed to summarize the issue
and inform readers of how they can pursue the topic from that point
on.
Most of us lead enormously busy lives - family, home and work
commitments,
and of course, a demanding interest in birding. Please respect each
other's time by limiting your posts on massbird to topics within the
charter.
Please SIGN your posts with your NAME, TOWN and EMAIL ADDRESS.
This is the convention used by MASSBIRD and other birding email
lists.
Be sure to give the LOCATION of your sightings by town. Many birders
are
listening in - including beginners, those new to the area, and those
planning
visits. Don't assume that everyone listening is familiar with
finding your
birding location. Additionally, your clarity helps others put your
reports in context.
Make your title meaningful. Date and location make it clear what
your message
is about. This simple idea makes it possible for readers to find and
process your
message easily.
Focus on the content of your message. While healthy discussion is
encouraged,
comments intended to be disparaging, whether personal or in general,
are
not acceptable.
Avoid abbreviations and codes. While many of us figure these things
out,
participants with less experience with MASSBIRD have to translate
these.
Make it easy for your message to be easily understood. Full bird
names
should be used. If you wish to use four-letter banding codes, make
sure
that it is clear what species they refer to by pairing them with the
full
species name at least once in your post.
If possible, provide details on numbers of birds seen, especially
unusual
species. Records are created from postings to MASSBIRD for Bird
Observer
and Massachusetts Audubon. Researchers are working to establish
weather
and other patterns related to seabird populations, winter finches,
rarities, etc.
Especially with seabird posts, please try to note when, where and how
long your observation was. Noting weather information is also
useful.
Do not include the original post in your reply to MASSBIRD. If
there's
something specific you'd like to address, include that
segment. Including the
original posts and multiple replies make the digest version
repetitive and
difficult to read.
Finally, post in PLAIN TEXT. If at all possible, avoid MIME and HTML
including highlighting or text formatting. The majordomo software
that
handles massbird translates these formats into additional code that
is
unnecessary and confusing for digest users. NO ATTACHMENTS, please!
For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe, go to
www.massbird.org .
Click on "Massbird E-mail" and scroll down the page. You can also
find
pointers to archives online at this site, allowing you to check posts
at any
time.
Finally, if you are not able to post or reach me at my primary email
address,
contact me directly at b_vo...@yahoo.com.
Thanks for your continued support and for making MASSBIRD a
successful
forum!
Barbara Volkle, moderator
Northborough, MA
bar...@theworld.com
Ida Giriunas
Ida Giriunas