hi gordon scott, who writes: >As groups like bee-l and sci.agriculture.beekeeping get bigger it is >inevitable that people leave due to overload. Someone recently wrote >directly to me asking if there was a UK mailing list because bee-l and >sci.a.b were very USA oriented. hell, if you just want something local, join your local bee club. i enjoy the international flavour of newsgroups & lists. we can learn so much from our nthn hemisphere cousins. besides are these two "sites" THAT big?? >Maybe it's time we started considering splitting bee-l and/or sci.a.b >into context related subgroups. >snip< >sci.agriculture.beekeeping > sci.a.b.biology * > sci.a.b.ecology > sci.a.b.farming * > sci.a.b.help * > sci.a.b.hive-produce > sci.a.b.honey > sci.a.b.newbee * > sci.a.b.other-bees > sci.a.b.pests > sci.a.b.pollination apiculture & all the surrounding subjects are not *that* widely followed internationally (particularly in tandem with internet connections). in other words, it's not as big as alt.sex ;-) !!! to use another analogy: it's a bit like television in a small country such as new zealand. just increasing the number of channels doesn't necessarily make for better television, or make it easier to know what to watch. u have to learn to use the channel button wisely - but MOST IMPORTANTLY u have to know when to use the OFF switch!!! similarly, there are many appropriate filters, and there's always the handy DELETE button as u go thru your mail/newsgroup. i'm relatively new to beekeeping and i know there is soooooooo much to learn. i prefer a broader, more mixed insight into the bee, and for that reason 1 list & 1 newsgroup is a great way to go. if you haven't already used your DELETE button on this, thank you for reading ;-) best regards, Mark Horsnell, Auckland, New Zealand Tel & Fax: 64-9-846-5644 E-mail: [log in to unmask]