There's been a lot of discussion on this list now about open feeding, and I 
agree with the concerns expressed about robbing, robbing leading to the 
spread of diseases, disproportionate and poorly directed feeding, etc., but 
I have yet to see any mention of what for me is the BIGGEST concern of all, 
namely contamination of honey.  How many places are there in America where 
you can be sure that someone else within flying distance doesn't have any 
supers on his hives?  I talk to *a lot* of beekeepers every week, and I 
know there are circumstances that might lead someone to have supers on his 
hives any month of the year.  I really don't even think it's right to 
contaminate the honey in bee trees with syrup, let alone someone else's 
hives.  If I'm feeding syrup in the open within flying distance of someone 
else's hives, it seems I'm telling all my neighbors that they don't have a 
right to have honey supers on their hives.  Where do I get that right?  
(The one noteable exception I can think of are places like Montana where, 
as I understand it, beekeepers are excluded from establishing yards within 
5 miles of other beekeepers' yards.)  I think we ought to show a little 
more respect for our neighbors and not impose our way of doing things on 
them unilaterally.

To my own shame, I speak from some (limited) experience.

And along these same lines I have a story to re-tell from my nextdoor 
neighbor.  He's older now, but when he was young there was a man that grew 
watermelons down by the river.  (He still does.)  My neighbor and one of 
his friends would swim down the river, steal the watermelons, and float 
them downstream to a store to sell them.  To thwart the stealing the man 
that grew the watermelons put up a sign that read, "One of these 
watermelons has been poisoned."  As the story goes, my neighbor and his 
friend put up another sign that read, "Two of these watermelons have been 
poisoned."

Eric

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