Tweets,

Thanks for your patience and understanding as we have worked through the
"some guidance" thread. Your thoughtful, supportive comments have done much
to preserve the balance and openness that make Tweeters a special place.

Thank you, too, for respecting the public space of the list as a forum for
civil discourse by keeping the discussion of this disruptive topic mostly
off-list.

Lessons learned? Perhaps a few.

** If you receive a private message concerning your postings to the list,
you may either deal with it privately or, if you find the message offensive
or problematic, you may share it with the listowner as recommended by the
Tweeters guidelines. Please do not go to the list with your concerns; doing
so is contrary to Tweeters policy.

** If you receive a disrespectful message that closes the door on any
constructive discussion ("Don't bother to answer because my mind is made
up"), do not be intimidated; go to the listowner with it. Be especially
scornful if the message is unsigned -- an indication not only of disrespect,
but of cowardice. Such people have no place on this list.

** No matter how strongly you may be provoked, under no circumstances should
you forward to the list any part of a message sent to you privately without
first obtaining the sender's express permission. This is one of the basic
rules of "netiquette."

And now, back to birds and birding.

Hal Opperman (pinch hitting for Dan Victor)
tweeters-owner at mailman1.u.washington.edu