By now, all BEE-L subscribers have received the annual notification that
they must renew their BEE-L subscription.  This annual administrative
exercise removes orphaned accounts (accounts subscribed to the list but
no longer owned by a human being), old accounts that have changed
(the old account is removed, the new account remains), and subscribers who
choose not to renew their subscription.

Also removed will be users who do not follow the instructions properly.
A perennial problem with LISTSERV lists is that some users simply do not
learn the difference between sending correspondence to the list
([log in to unmask]) and sending commands to the list server
([log in to unmask]).  CONFIRM BEE-L is a command that must be
sent to the list server.

The confusion over sending correspondence to the list and commands to
the list server is one of the reasons that BEE-L became a moderated list.
In the 25 hours since renewal notices went out, about a dozen replies that
should have been sent to [log in to unmask] have been sent
directly to the list.  With nearly 1000 subscribers, that would amount to
over 12,000 pieces of misdirected mail!

The instructions accompanying renewal notification very explicitly read,
"please issue the following command to [log in to unmask] at
your earliest convenience:

                              CONFIRM BEE-L

You will be automatically removed from the list if you do not send a
CONFIRM command within the next 14 days.

PS: In order to facilitate the task, this message has been specially
formatted so that you only need to forward it back to
[log in to unmask] to have the command executed."

During this period of confirming BEE-L subscriptions, subscribers are
reminder
and encouraged to review the "Guidelines for BEE-L Submissions" which can be
found in Allen's web pages at:
http://www.internode.net/HoneyBee/BEE-L/guidelines.htm

I hesitate to repeat in this post what was thoughtfully written in the
"Guidelines... "  Please take a moment to view them, either to refresh your
memory or perhaps for the first time.  The BEE-L moderators strive to
provide the best possible service to internet subscribers, but the service
can
only be as good as its subscribers make it.

Good luck in your subscription renewal!  I hope subscribers will give
thoughtful
consideration in renewing (or not) for another year of "Informed Discussion
of
Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology".

Sincerely and respectfully submitted,
Aaron Morris