Really Guys? On Give to the Max Day? Ha :) I would love it if everyone on MOU-Net, or in Minnesota for that matter, were M.O.U. members. However, MOU-Net is a free service provided to all who are interested in the Birds of Minnesota regardless of membership status. Everyone is welcome.
Likewise, everyone is encouraged to share their sightings but no one is required to. The fact that so many good birds show up on MOU-Net is a testament to all who do share. Thank You! There are many reasons users don't share ranging from concern for the well-being of the bird to privacy of the landowner to insecurity on the identification or they don't know how to post. That is for each user to decide for themselves, however, if you wish to post but are apprehensive about posting a bird over concern of the id, you just don't know how, or are unsure whether it is significant, email me and I would be glad to post it for you (or anonymously if you prefer). A couple notes from the list-service guidelines (http://moumn.org/listservice.html) Courtesy ... Of course, different people have different views as to what constitutes a "notable" bird sighting or an appropriate posting. Ultimately, you are the only person who can judge what is important to you and what may be to others, and your decision to post a sighting or other reasonable message here will be respected. This is an open mailing list. Unless noted otherwise, messages are posted here by individuals, not by the MOU as an organization. No effort is made to review messages prior to their dissemination to subscribers. There is no guarantee of the accuracy of any message (including reports of rarities - note that some are never confirmed or documented). Privacy In order to protect the privacy and property rights of people who host rare or unusual birds, mou-net and mou-rba have adopted the following policy regarding the posting of addresses. No private addresses are to be broadcast on mou-net or mou-rba without prior permission from the homeowner/landowner. If you include such an address, include the name of the person who received permission for such an announcement. If you "know" or assume permission has been granted but do not know who received this permission, do not post the address. If permission has been granted with conditions (e.g., only from 9AM - 4PM, only at most 5 people in the yard at one time, check in with homeowner before entering yard, etc.) include such conditions in your message. If you are the one to procure permission through direct conversation with the homeowner, be explicit with them as to what they can expect and ask them what conditions they would like to impose on birders. You might even volunteer some conditions, such as "not before 9 AM", since it may not occur to them that someone might be in their yard at 5AM looking for a bird. Finally, do not assume that permission for birders to visit is the same as permission to post it to mou-net or mou-rba. Carl Greiner [email protected] ----- Original Message ----- From: Bob Holtz <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Thu, 15 Nov 2012 14:07:21 -0600 (CST) Subject: Re: [mou-net] Responsible to share? I have a related point. If people are going to use the list serve to keep up with all the sightings posted, would it not be respectful and considerate to spent the small membership fee and support the work of the MOU? Bob Holtz -----Original Message----- From: Minnesota Birds [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Al Schirmacher Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2012 11:57 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [mou-net] Responsible to share? Find myself a bit disturbed today with my MOU brethren. Believe this topic warrants a bit of polite, if diverging, discussion. My position: if one joins MOU, if one derives benefit from MOU-Net & other reporting mechanisms, one should share one's sightings as well. I can understand withholding sensitive sightings, if rare birds are in peril of disturbance during nesting or roosting. However, if the rare sighting is of a migrant, vagrant or otherwise not in peril "good bird", it should be shared for the good of all. Sharing should be the default, rather than withholding. Sharing benefits others in the birding community, whether one looks at such from an educational, fellowship, mutual pleasure or variety of other viewpoints. Why hold back? Why share too late for others? Why share with only a few? I admit, I do not understand. Frankly I'd like to see a commitment to share be part of MOU membership and/or subscribing to MOU. Enough of my rant. If you respond, publicly or back channel, please do so with respect, and not naming others. Please note that I'm sharing no particulars. Good birding to all. Heading to the refuge, will share anything worthwhile:) Al Schirmacher Princeton, MN Sent from my iPhone ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
