Pete and Randy: I think the lisstserve does quite well by beginners, if I
think about it.  When I was a beginner, whenever I sought help from Bee-L I
got plenty of friendly non-condescending advise. Many beginners may be put
off by the esoterica; I STILL  find topics way over my head after 7 years of
beekeeping and have left the listserve several times in frustration just
over the sheer VOLUME of esoterica, but I always come back. But to all the
newbees out there who may feel intimidated, I encourage you to jump in, no
matter how naive you may feel. And Pete, DON'T stop with the esoteric
dialogue. You guys are doing a great job as is and such a forum is
necessary.

By the way, Randy mentioned other forums for help for beginners if Bee-L is
too much for them. I find the bee-commerce web site a good place to start
with basic bee questions for newbees. They will talk over the phone or by
email which they answer promptly and are very patient. And they don't try to
sell you things either .http://www.bee-commerce.com/contact.aspx. Ask for
Leslie. She is the new owner and very nice.
Best regards,
John Howe
New York City Beekeeping Meetup

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