BIRDKY provides a forum for sharing information about wild birds. Discussion on topics related to wild birds, birding, and birders is invited. These exchanges should be informative, entertaining, and respectful. Members are encouraged to feel a sense of community in which they can post without risking humiliation or personal attacks.

These guidelines clarify permissible and impermissible behavior in this list. The listowner (Kentucky Ornithological Society) prefers to guide BIRDKY with a common-sense approach that permits free and open discussion.
 

TO SUBSCRIBE:

Send e-mail to:

birdky-request@freelists.org with 'subscribe' in the Subject line OR

you can subscribe via this page: http://www.freelists.org/cgi-bin/list?list_id=birdky
 

TO UNSUBSCRIBE

Send mail to:

birdky-request@freelists.org with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject line OR

you can subscribe via this page: http://www.freelists.org/cgi-bin/list?list_id=birdky
 

HOW TO POST

Use plain text only. Anything else may be unreadable to many subscribers and can wreak havoc with some subscribers' e-mail software. Not allowed: HTML, UUENCODE, specially formatted documents such as Word, WordPerfect, and RTF, and ALL ATTACHMENTS.
 

WHERE TO SEND BIRDKY MESSAGES: birdky@freelists.org
 

FORMAT OF MESSAGES

• SUBJECT LINE: Always type BKY at the start of the subject line; this will make it easier for subscribers to identify BIRDKY 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 line blank. If your post falls into any of the following categories, please use these formats:

• RE: [subject] -- Reply to previous post (do not change or edit subject unless the topic changes significantly from the original).
• RFI: [subject] -- Request for information
• RPT: [place name] -- Report of interesting birds or a trip report
• RBA: [species, location] -- Rare Bird Alert

 
• REQUIRED ELEMENTS -- Your real name and your e-mail address (to use as a hotlink, precede with "mailto:") must appear in the message. Please also include your city and/or county so that other subscribers can place your message or questions in a geographical context. Most e-mail programs include an option to use a signature text file so that this information can be added automatically.

TOPICS:

Wild birds, birders, and birding are the accepted topics. Unacceptable topics are:

• Chain letters
• Pet/caged/domestic birds
• The ethics and/or morality of hunting or falconry
• Feral cats

Any offer of a product or service for sale is considered advertising. Advertising is not allowed on BIRDKY, with the exception of brief one-time announcements by nonprofit organizations of events in which they participate or new products they produce. These should be in the form of a single sentence, indicating a link to either a person or a website where additional information can be obtained.

Reports on trips and comparisons or reviews of products/services by BIRDKY subscribers who have no financial stake in them (in organization, operation, manufacture, marketing, or as a competitor) are not considered advertising.

If a subscriber is in doubt about the appropriateness of a proposed posting, please contact Gary Ritchison (gary.ritchison@eku.edu). If a subscriber is 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 Gary Ritchison.

FREQUENCY & BREVITY (guidelines for posting)

In general, limit yourself to no more than about two messages a day. This is not a hard-and-fast maximum, but a sensible guide.

If you quote a previous message in your reply, PLEASE snip unneeded portions, particularly the headers from forwarded messages.

It is not necessary to weigh in on every topic. ("Never pass up an opportunity to keep your mouth shut."- Robert N. Peck)
 
 

NETIQUETTE (Behave like a responsible adult and you may persuade others to do the same.)

• 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 acceptable.
• Posts that belittle, nitpick, ridicule, attack, or insult another poster and his/her ideas are unacceptable.
• Subscribers' expertise, both in BIRDKY 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.
• Retain a sense of proportion. Most of the world (and Kentucky), believe it or not, is totally oblivious to BIRDKY!

PRIVATE MESSAGES

• The above rules of netiquette also apply to private messages from one subscriber to another.
• Private posts are appropriate for "me-toos," "attaboys," and information not meaningful to other subscribers. Do not send such content-free posts to the entire list, please.

CHANGE OF E-MAIL ADDRESS

If your e-mail address changes, please unsubscribe your old address (and, of course, subscribe using your new e-mail address).

Note: If you cannot send from your old address, contact Gary Ritchison (gary.ritchison@eku.edu) and he can unsubscribe you from that old address.
 

REMEDIES FOR OFFENSIVE BEHAVIOR

If you feel abused by another subscriber to the list:

• Use that DELETE key. Ignoring the offender is often the best policy. If ignoring doesn't work, try responding to the author that you do not wish to receive personal messages from him/her, and ask the person to desist. Then ignore again, or set your mail program to filter out mail from the offending party.
• If the offenses continue, contact Gary Ritchison (gary.ritchison@eku.edu).
• If the offenses take place in private e-mail, contact the offender's internet service provider and report the harrassment.
• If you are threatened or menaced, call your local law enforcement authorities.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE LISTOWNERS (KOS):

Offending subscribers will not be publicly chastised or humiliated. A private message may be sent, reminding the member of BIRDKY guidelines.

• If the violator continues to abuse the guidelines, they may be expelled at the listowners' discretion.
• The BIRDKY listowner (KOS) cannot take responsibility for private communications from one subscriber to another. However, if necessary, the listowner may attempt to settle a dispute by following the above guidelines.

Although this may seem like a lot of stuff to remember, it won't take long for it to become second nature for you. In fact, if you participate in other listservs, you will find that these guidelines are helpful there as well. Thanks for joining BIRDKY, and please help us all learn more about the fascinating world of wild birds and birdwatching!

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