Bee-L is best when a variety of people start  interesting and relevant topics and others don't monopolize all of the discussions.   We have far too many lurkers who could and should contribute to the discussions.   This is supposed to be for Informed Discussions.

Some of us  like debate, maybe too much.  I know that I  have found myself appearing too often on Bee-L at times, and I made the decision to pull back.  I tend to stay back until something gets to the point that I firmly believe that I have information worth posting.

Also some threads should be taken off-line when they begin to drown out all other topics.  As interesting as the debate about binding sites might be, it's a complex issue, and much of the evidence is indirect.  A more productive discussion might be 'how to design' the proper experiments to resolve the questions.; rather than continuing what seems to have become an endless debate. 

 It would be nice if everyone on Bee-L followed the general approach of Robert's Rules.  Say your piece, then wait till everyone else who wants to say something has, before posting another comment.

I do remember almost giving up on Bee-L some years back when the topic of discussion that went on and on was about the bottles used for marketing honey.  And I was guilty of fanning the flames about the wisdom of proclaiming that food grade mineral oil controlled mites - which it doesn't.

So, Bee-L isn't perfect.  But over time, I've found it a good way to keep up on things, to be challenged at times, and to learn new things.  And I still contend that Bee-L tends to be more self-correcting than most lists, blogs, web sites about bees- there's almost always  someone who has the background  and experience to flag discussions that are going off of the 'bee informed discussion' track and gets the train back on the track.

Still, it would be a good time for regular posters to check their annual number of postings.  The highest number of posts is not necessarily deserving of a merit badge.  If the information is truly significant, that's great.  But if any of us is monopolizing the discussions because we like to do so, we should take a moment and ask, are we really that important or more knowledgeable than others?

Finally, I am glad to see some of our students on Bee-L, and I'm very glad to see  them adding to the Discussions.  Maybe it's time for some of old timers to step back a bit and listen to others?

Jerry


 


             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html