Scott Wilson confesses to Lurkerville status. Me too, mainly. I wholeheartedly agree with his and Doug Ladd's view that this forum is a stimulating environment providing good insight into key issues even if one does not often participate in discussions. The forum's strength is the rational discussion on both sides of an issue and the challenging of statements to pull out justifications in search of "the truth".
However, my impression is that it does seem to be dominated by large scale commercial beekeepers or those whose interest lies in agriculture as a whole...and forceful people you are too. I admit to being a humble hobbyist beekeeper (arggh!) and hence somewhat cautious at popping my head above the parapet. OK, so with my experience in minding 20-odd hives I may not have a key role in keeping the agricultural economy going but I do believe we hobbyists are playing a part (e.g. educating people on bees and issues like neonics) and many of us are searching too for answers based on science and rational thought. So, keep it up BEE-L you really are doing a great job.
I wonder how many hobbyist beekeepers there are registered and tracking this site? Does Aaron know?
John Macdougall
-----Original Message-----
From: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Scott Wilson
Sent: 08 November 2015 13:45
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [BEE-L] Topic Threads
" We have far too many lurkers who could and should contribute to the discussions. This is supposed to be for Informed Discussions. "
OK...I will own up to residing in Lurkersville.
This list and the associated contributors has served as a valuable tool in providing breadth and depth to my beekeeping experience.
Like many I could have been swayed by media reports about neo-nicitinoids in HFCS or the horrors of ZomBee infestation (http://digital.vpr.net/post/regional-report-zombees-found-burlington#stream/0).
But, the cogent discussion on this list provided rational alternative discussion and points of view that mitigated the emotion attached to the headlines.
Because of this list I have been able to instruct other beekeepers especially the very new beekeeper to be cautious about media portrayals and instead seek out credible/factual alternative points of view.
This list reaches beyond itself offering benefits not always seen.
So, as lurking the list has helped me to grow perhaps contributing shall as well.
I'll give it a shot from time to time.
Scott
On 11/7/2015 11:31 AM, Jerry Bromenshenk wrote:
> 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
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