>There was a recent exchange on the Irish List following the publication of
>the article on FGMO in The American Bee Journal...
>Imagine if you will, 20 beekeepers gathered together, just like on this
>List. And then imagine that they all dish out their theories on how good
>or how bad FGMO is , just like on this List. What, may I make so bold
>as to ask, is learned?

Thanks for that, Tom.  That's what many of us have been wondering, and
part of why I, for one have withdrawn from managment of BEE-L.  It is also
why, years back, I ran BestofBee and may bring it back again.

I do believe, however that these lists do serve a purpose.  They allow
discussion between people who would otherwise never meet, and expedite
exposure to new ideas.

To choose an example related to what you mentioned above, as we all know,
Dr. Pedro first brought his ideas to this list when he was using waxed
paper strips, and it was on this list that he first learned of the Burgess
fogger, and that oil fog had been used previously in California.

From here, he has perservered and developed a technique that seems to
work, although it still -- AFAIK -- requires use of cords and may or may
not be practical on a large scale.  Hopefully your list will come up with
some answers and we will hear the better comments here as well as the ones
you provided.

One of the problems with these lists is that matters are discussed and
then people forget or new people come along and do not know what has been
discussed. Others tire of educating newcomers and cease responding, other
than to say occasionally, "Search the archives."

We do know, however, that for every person who posts to the list, there
are twenty or more that just read and think.  We know that because ideas
and quotations from these lists show up in magazines and in email between
researchers.  Sometimes a respected researcher will de-cloak and join in.

It is easy to focus on the assinine comments and ignore the occasional
glitters of golden ideas, but even after a decade, I still find BEE-L a
worthwhile read.

What do we learn?  I've learned a great deal, both about bees and about
people.  Participation in BEE-L has been and continues to be highly
educational for me, and entertaining to boot.

allen
http://www.honeybeeworld.com/diary/