Happy Holidays to you all. I was letting this discussion continue since it appeared to be of interest to a number of people, but it appears it has run its course. If you feel the need to continue discussion please do so off-list.
As a friendly reminder, if you have issues with discussion on MOU-NET please send an email to me or Dave Cahlander. We have lots of new member so I will post the guidelines again as a refresher: Regards, Terry Brashear MOU-NET Moderator *Introduction* Welcome to the *mou-net* and *mou-rba* mailing lists operated by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU). *mou-net* and *mou-rba* are electronic mailing lists available to all persons interested in the birds of Minnesota. *mou-net* is a place where birders can share their sightings - notable or otherwise - with other interested people. We particularly invite posts of observations that contribute to the understanding of the birds in the state. This includes sightings of birds that are unusual, in an unusual location or out of season, or present in significantly higher numbers than normally expected. *mou-rba* is a place where birders can share their *notable sightings* with other interested people. This includes sightings of birds that are unusual, in an unusual location or out of season, or present in significantly higher numbers than normally expected. All mail posted to *mou-rba* is forwarded to *mou-net*, and all "notable sightings" are forwarded from *mou-net* to *mou-rba*. You only need to subscribe to one of the mailing lists. Subscribe to *mou-rba* if you only want "notable sightings" and subscribe to *mou-net* if you want all postings. The MOU will send out transcripts of its telelphone hotlines to people subscribed to either mailing list. *mou-net* is also a place where you can ask questions or make observations regarding the identification, behavior, and natural history of birds in Minnesota. Postings about birding locations and about references on birds (e.g., journal articles, books, websites, etc.) are also invited. Finally, it is available for conducting or reporting on the business of the MOU and its affiliated clubs. These postings might include announcements of planned activities (such as a field trip, birding festival, etc.) or simply be notices of upcoming meetings. The MOU keeps a current log of messages posted to *mou-net* on our *mou-net* <http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html> Transcripts Page and a log of messages posted to *mou-rba* on our *mou-rba* <http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-rba.html> Transcripts Page. An archive of messages posted on our previous server for *mou-net* is available on *mou-net* <http://moumn.org/archive/mou-net>; an archive of messages posted on our previous server for *mou-rba* is available on *mou-rba* <http://moumn.org/archive/mou-rba>. *Subscribing and Unsubscribing* *Using e-mail* To *subscribe* to this list using e-mail, send the following e-mail message: To: *[email protected] <[email protected]?body=SUB%20mou-net>* Subject: Text: SUBSCRIBE mou-net Firstname Lastname To *unsubscribe* from this list using e-mail, send the following e-mail message: To: *[email protected] <[email protected]?body=SUB%20mou-net>* Subject: Text: UNSUBSCRIBE mou-net To *subscribe* or *unsubscribe* from *mou-rba* substitute *mou-rba* for *mou-net* in the above instructions. *Posting to the Net* Only members of the net are allowed to post to these nets. If you expect to post to *mou-rba*, and are signed up to receive from *mou-net*, you must sign up for *mou-rba* and then set the nomail option. You can change your options for *mou-net* <http://moumn.org/subscribe.html> and *mou-rba* <http://moumn.org/subscribe-rba.html>. *Courtesy* Please limit your posts to the areas described above; mou-net is not the place for advertising products or services (unless sponsored or endorsed by the MOU or its affiliates), birding trip reports outside of Minnesota, limited debates between just a few individuals, personal musings and monologues, or surveys about personal experiences. Consider that it's often more appropriate to respond to someone's posting with a private e-mail rather than a public response on mou-net. If these lists lose focus, then they also lose their value. There are other mailing lists available for people interested in other issues. 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). Messages must be courteous and respectful of others. People who flagrantly or repeatedly abuse this expectation could see their posting privileges revoked, either temporarily or permanently. Presumably this action will never be required. *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*. *mou-net Contacts* David Cahlander <[email protected]> for operational or technical issues. If you ever need to get in contact with the owner of the list, (if you have trouble unsubscribing, or have questions about the list itself) send email to <[email protected]>. This is the general rule for most mailing lists when you need to contact a human. ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
