BEE-L is for public informed discussion of beekeeping issues and bee biology (and is not restricted to honey bees).   It is a moderated list and has standards for posts that will be accepted.  Well thought out articles are encouraged, but BEE-L is a large gathering of about 1,000 serious beekeepers and professionals, so casual chatter is usually not appropriate.  (There are other lists on the net and a USENET group devoted to elementary or local beekeeping topics and to chat. There are some live chat sites as well.   Each list or group has its own character.  Some are chatty, and cluttered, some are for beginners, some have more specific mandates.  Some are entirely private, unlisted, and by invitation only). 

Anyone at all is welcome to join BEE-L (there is no cost or obligation) and read the articles that are sent out daily either one by one or in daily digest form.  Replies, comments and articles from list members provide the content, so please contribute if you have knowledge of anything of interest to beekeepers and researchers.  All input is welcome and will be read by the four moderators, but only articles that meet the criteria will normally be passed to all list members.   Most are accepted, so don't be shy.

All posts sent to BEE-L are first delivered to all current moderators for approval.  Any one moderator can approve a post independently and it will go to the whole BEE-L subscriber list.  Any post that does not receive a vote from at least one moderator will expire without being sent to subscribers.  Generally any post meeting our guidelines (and a few that don't) will make the cut and be sent to the list.

The moderators do not guarantee that any post will be approved.  Writers submit articles to BEE-L on the understanding that BEE-L is a private, open membership list and that post may be refused without any reason or explanation, although that is not normally the case.  Appeals may be addressed to the moderators by sending a post to BEE-L with the first line of text reading "FOR THE MODERATORS ONLY".  All polite appeals will be considered on their merits, but the list owner's decision is final.

We hope you enjoy our community and benefit from the vast amount of knowledge, opinion and ideas that has accumulated in our archives over more than a decade.  If you have experience or ideas to share, we hope you will write an article and post it for distribution.  If you have experience and knowledge to share on topics that are currently being discussed or on articles in the archives, we hope you will write your comments out and submit them too.

Although the Internet is a fascinating place to get the latest information, rumours, and sometimes gossip, books and bee magazines are still the best source of authoritative information on many topics. Books, magazines and their contents are often a topic of discussion here, and we are proud to have a significant number of authors and editors reading the list.

We particularly appreciate any input from the many bee scientists, researchers and extension people who read BEE-L and from experienced beekeepers on the many continents of this diverse planet.

BEE-L is an international list.  We try not criticize grammar or spelling or personal style.  In particular, we encourage non-English speaking members to express their ideas as best they can.  Occasionally, if the content is particularly interesting to our membership, will accept posts in  languages other than English.