[CT Birds] Reminders about CTBirds

[Nick Bonomo]

Hi all,

While Roy is out of town I will be co-moderating CTBirds. Given the
irrelevance of some recent messages, this seems like a good time to
remind people that messages sent to this listserv should, of course,
involve strictly birds and birding. No off-topic messages are allowed
without the moderator's permission.

Also, perhaps just as importantly, since migration is heating up there
will be a larger volume of reports coming in. Let's do whatever we can
to minimize the number of emails that are sent to the group. There are
already concerns and complaints that too many posts are being made on
a daily basis. While this is just a suggestion, we should always try
to avoid clogging the inboxes of the subscribers with seemingly
unnecessary emails.

Some examples/suggestions:

 - If someone makes a point with which you agree about a certain
topic, don't reply to the entire list if all you want to say is
"Amen!" or "I agree!" or "I second that!"...unless there is more you
want to add to the conversation. You can just email the person
directly.

 - Once a species becomes common in the spring, it may not be
necessary to make a post just to point out that you observed that
species. For instance, in mid-May, an observation of just "2
Black-and-white Warblers, 1 Phoebe, and 2 Chipping Sparrows" is
probably not necessary given that these are common breeding species
(but certainly ENCOURAGED for a database such as eBird or your
personal records! CTBirds is not a database in its own right). Of
course, posting of such a sighting is not in any way against the
rules, and you can definitely post that sort of thing if you'd like.

 - Be clear in your subject line so that people can more easily filter
their emails. Include items such as location, date, notable species,
or any other descriptive terms. This can be done in surprisingly few
words. A subject such as "birds today" doesn't exactly narrow things
down.

 - When replying to any post, ask yourself if the message should be
sent to the entire list or just to the person to whom you are
replying. This one sorta overlaps with the first point.

Questions or comments should be directed to me, and not to the entire
list please. Remember that these are just suggestions (though highly
recommended) but not rules.

Thanks,
Nick Bonomo

Nick Bonomo
Orange, CT