Here's another take on the purpose of Tweeters . . . . taken straight from
its website. Perhaps some who post have never read this. You should.
Perhaps some have forgotten its content, and a refresher is warranted.



POSTING GUIDELINES
THE TWEETERS CHARTER
Tweeters includes a broad spectrum of people, from novices who want to share
their enjoyment of birds and find out more about them, to expert birders who
spend all the time they can in the field, to professional biologists. All
postings are intended both to convey information and to stimulate others to
ask questions, respond, join the debate. The goal is an opening toward
genuine understanding of birds, ourselves, the world we share, and how we
talk about these things, conducted in the finest tradition of civil
discourse.
There is room on Tweeters for anybody who is interested in, or has something
to say about, birds and bird-related topics. Informational postings on
conservation topics are acceptable. Discussion of ecology, and of wild
critters other than birds, is acceptable, indeed encouraged. Anything having
to do with the science of ornithology is acceptable. Bird sightings, trip
reports, field identification issues, and the status, distribution,
habitats, natural history, and biology of the birds of Cascadia provide the
prevalent-but not exclusive-subject matter of the list.
IDENTIFYING YOURSELF
Your real name and your e-mail address (to use as a hotlink, precede with
"mailto:") must appear at the end of every message you post, as well as your
city and state/province (and country if other than Canada or USA) so that
other subscribers can place your message or questions in a local, regional,
or global context. Example:
Donald Teal
Pondside, WA
mailto:canard at lorange.yum

Most e-mail programs include an option to use a signature text file so that
this information can be added automatically.
MANAGING OVERLOAD
With a list as large as Tweeters, it is important to manage the information
flow so as to maximize effective communication and minimize the overload
phenomenon. Here are some helpful habits you can acquire to do your part in
accomplishing this.
Subject line. Not all topics are of interest to all subscribers. The subject
line is the main guide to weeding out posts. If the topic is new, choose a
brief, informative title. Remember that many people (and many search
engines) look for key words in the subject line, so give some thought to
this often-ignored aspect of your message. Do not leave Subject: blank. The
subject line for replies should start with "RE:" followed by the original
subject line of the post to which you are replying (most mailers do this
automatically when you hit REPLY). Do not change or edit the subject unless
the topic changes significantly from the original. If you are responding to
a message in the DIGEST, please paste the subject of that message in the
Subject: box rather than Subject: DIGEST.
Replies to the list. If you are replying to another posting, please consider
carefully whether your reply will be of interest to the list as a whole or
whether it might more appropriately be sent privately to the original poster
(Tweeters default REPLY TO setting). When you do send a reply to the list,
please delete all or most of the original posting you are replying to. Not
only will this cut down on overload, it will also make life much easier for
DIGEST subscribers and for those looking for information in the Tweeters
archive who have to scroll through many messages grouped in a single file.
If you keep the original subject line subscribers should have no difficulty
following the thread.
Private replies. Private posts are always appropriate for "me-toos,"
"attagirls," and information not meaningful to other subscribers. Do not
send such content-free posts to the entire list, please.
Attachments and formatted text. Please DO NOT send a message to the list
that has a formatted attachment, such as a graphic file or a Word document.
Also, send only PLAIN TEXT messages, not HTML. Attachments, HTML, and
special character sets display on many mailers as gobbledygook (sometimes
hundreds of lines of it) and cause major problems for the digest messages.
OBSERVING BIRDING ETHICS
Postings of bird-sighting reports should withhold information on the exact
location of, or directions for finding, any owls, raptors, or endangered
species during the nesting season. In addition, all postings should be
guided by the American Birding Association's Code of Birding Ethics, which
has this to say about the subject: "Before advertising the presence of a
rare bird, evaluate the potential for disturbance to the bird, its
surroundings, and other people in the area, and proceed only if access can
be controlled, disturbance can be minimized, and permission has been
obtained from private land-owners. The sites of rare nesting birds should be
divulged only to the proper conservation authorities."
PRACTICING NETIQUETTE
Posts that offer intelligent, reasoned debate in a civil tone, or argue a
different point of view but are respectful of the poster and the list as a
whole, are welcomed.
Posts that belittle, nitpick, ridicule, attack, or insult another poster and
his/her ideas are unacceptable.
Subscribers' expertise, both in Tweeters topics and in the use of the
internet, varies widely. Show tolerance of posts by new subscribers and
posts that are occasionally off-topic, poorly written, or not up to your
personal standards.
Be slow to take offense to a post. You may have misjudged the poster's
meaning. Tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language--especially to
convey humor--are absent in this forum!
If you do take offense, allow yourself a cool-down period before you hit
SEND. Even then, consider sending your message privately rather than to the
list.
AVOIDING INAPPROPRIATE TOPICS
The list is open to all, regardless of profession, place of residence,
gender, age, ethnicity, economic status, educational background, lifestyle,
religious beliefs... but it is not a forum for airing opinions about the
validity of any one particular belief system, lifestyle preference, etc.,
compared to another. Specific examples of inappropriate topics include:
.. posts not related to birds, birding, and the natural world
.. shade-grown coffee (who sells it and who doesn't; unfortunately,
shade-grown coffee has a way of proliferating on the internet much faster
than it does on coffee plantations)
.. cats (pro or con)
.. hunting (pro or con)
.. religion (including creationism vs. evolution)
Posts on such subjects all too often provoke unenlightened "debate" of a
purely adversarial nature, and sometimes degenerate into personal attacks
couched in terms and language offensive to the whole list. Therefore, these
topics lie outside the Tweeters charter and are strongly discouraged.
Other categories of objectionable postings include:
.. chain letters
.. virus hoaxes and other urban legends. If you believe that a virus is
menacing the list, contact the listowner directly.
.. commercial advertising (as distinguished from product endorsement). It is
fine to post "I prefer such-and-such model of binocular," or "I want to tell
you about a great new book," but it is not appropriate to say "...and you
can buy it at Bob's Camera [or Greenleaf Books]." However, one-time
announcements from not-for-profits about a new publication, or service, or
event, are appropriate for posting to Tweeters.
ADMINISTERING THE GUIDELINES
If you are in doubt about the appropriateness of a proposed posting, please
contact the listowner. If you are in doubt about the appropriateness of a
posting which has already appeared on the list, PLEASE do not post a public
comment or question about it, but PLEASE do send a message to the listowner.
In most cases the listowner will have already privately contacted the sender
of a questionable message, and in ALL cases it is neither necessary nor
desirable to start an on-list discussion about such administrative matters.
Remember, Tweeters is a forum for discussion of birds and birding, not of
guidelines.
The listowner will not publicly chastise or humiliate an offending
subscriber. A private message may be sent, reminding the member of Tweeters
guidelines. If the violator continues to abuse the guidelines, the listowner
may set the subscriber to NOPOST. Serious or repeat offenders may be
banished at the listowner's discretion.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The Guidelines Committee of BirdChat was the source of many of the Tweeters
guidelines above.
______________________________________

Ned McGarry
Sammamish, WA