Dispelling
Common Misconceptions About BEE-L

The following should not need explaining, and for most people the guidelines are sufficient, however there seems to be a persistent misconception, by a few people, that BEE-L is public property and that therefore anyone and everyone is entitled to:

  • free speech, unrestricted in timing, context, length, and content

  • insist others accept their personal points of view

  • direct personal abuse at list members and researchers

  • make demonstrably false statements on the list

  • dominate conversations (post multiple argumentative comments in quick succession)

  • guess at answers to questions without any facts

  • write long and witty articles pertaining only peripherally to bees and beekeeping, or

  • chat about anything and everything that comes to mind

This is simply not true.  BEE-L's mandate is "Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology".  Maybe we should add to that "balanced", and "moderated". 

BEE-L is a private list, open to the public, and maintained on an University at Albany server.  Members are guests and should behave as such.  Although anyone is free to submit articles and to start and join discussions, BEE-L content is strictly limited to articles about bees and beekeeping, and the goal is to keep the number of posts to a low enough level that people will not be flooded with chatter.

The intent of BEE-L is to provide a balanced, low volume, high quality, enjoyable, informative list that covers the full gamut of beekeeping thought, which people worldwide can monitor to keep a finger on the pulse of beekeeping, and where people can make contacts and exchange ideas.

The list is currently moderated, to attempt to balance the content, keep discussion civil, respectable, and on topic, and to keep the message volume to a level that allows people to keep up with it.  Even at that, the volume can get high enough at times to bring complaints, and sometimes discussions get out of hand, and sometimes statements of questionable quality and accuracy can be observed.  (See Disclaimer)

Hopefully the following points will dispel some common myths, increase understanding of BEE-L's true intent and prevent misunderstandings.  Members are also requested to consult the various articles and suggestions on the pages linked from the FAQ Page

  • BEE-L has changed over time from being the only bee forum on the internet (1986) to being a central point for bee people to meet and find out what is happening.

  • Most BEE-L readers seldom or never post to BEE-L.  Most are simply monitoring BEE-L for ideas, and use other forums for chatter or discussing special interests.

  • BEE-L is not a chat group, nor is BEE-L a forum for any particular special topic, but bee related discussions and announcements are encouraged.

  • There are numerous other lists and forums for casual banter, chatting, local beekeeping, and several specifically for scientifically unproven ideas and methods; it is hoped that participants in those lists and forums will monitor BEE-L, and announce particularly interesting or relevant activities on these other places on BEE-L so that BEE-L readers may be aware of specialized lists and forums, so that they can visit and participate there.

  • Cross-posting to BEE-L is acceptable, as long as the posts conform to BEE-L's standards for content and quoting, signatures, etc.

  • Posts from other lists that are of probable interest to BEE-L's diverse membership are most welcome; again, as long as they conform to our guidelines.

  • People are encouraged to write to BEE-L, and anybody may submit articles for consideration, BUT

    • Nobody, including the list owner, can be assured that any article will be accepted for publication, although most are.  Reasons for rejection may have nothing to do with the writer or the topic.  Polite requests for explanations will usually be answered, but harassing the moderators will most likely be answered with silence.

    • Moderators may accept or reject posts for any reason whatsoever, but well over 95% of posts, by well over 95% of list members, are normally approved.  On most days, 100% are okayed.

  • Due to the fact that all moderators separately receive copies of messages to approve or ignore according to their personal judgment, and due to the fact that messages expire if not approved within a day or two, a moderator does not necessarily know if a message has been accepted or rejected by other moderators unless he happens to read the BEE-L output.  Depending on how busy he is, that may or may not happen.

  • Approval by any one moderator results in the message being published to the list, even if the other moderators ignore it.  Sometimes there are more moderators on duty than at other times, so occasionally approval can be a matter of luck, as well as content.

  • Reasons for rejection  may include any of the following, but moderators may choose, at their sole discretion, or even in error, to allow any post to be sent out, regardless of the following:

bullet

format problems, (messy layout, attachments to message,
HTML -- not plain text, unnecessary large quotes of
previous message(s), huge signatures...
bullet

one person dominating a topic, or a one-sided discussion,
bullet

incivility, or argumentativeness rather than discussion,
bullet

illegality, or advocating flagrant law breaking.
bullet

lack of sufficient interest or appeal to any moderator,
bullet

excessive length for the amount of actual content. 
(Brevity is the soul of wit).
bullet

too high a noise to signal ratio.  (too much blah, blah, blah, too little
actual bee-related  content).
bullet

lost email, mistakes, oversights, distractions, crashes, SPAM filters,
bullet

too high a volume on that day,
bullet

bad timing in the flow of discussion
bullet

incomprehensibility, deviation from topics relevant to bees or beekeeping,
bullet

too long or wordy, with little actual content,
bullet

too much non-beekeeping content, grandstanding,
bullet

addressing comments at people specifically, rather than at the topic,
bullet

redundancy, redundancy, and/or redundancy,
bullet

redundancy and/or triviality,
bullet

dealing with meta-topics (About the list or moderation, not about bees),
bullet

bad taste, trolling, personal attacks, outright flames, bad manners,
bullet

a combination of the above...

  • The list is moderated with the interests and sensitivities of the readers in mind, and, although the writers' feelings are important, these former considerations must take precedence over the desires and egos of those writing to the list.  Nobody is guaranteed the last word on any topic.

     

    Terms of BEE-L Membership

    Members subscribe to, and may participate in, BEE-L on the condition that they understand and accept the conditions and caveats outlined on these FAQ pages, AND ACCEPT THESE TERMS.

    Anyone not understanding and accepting these terms unconditionally should not subscribe to BEE-L.

    Back

Important Disclaimer:  Opinions and ideas expressed on BEE-L are those of the writers alone, and are not necessarily those of the list owner, moderators, or the owner of the server.  BEE-L readers are expected to consult their local authorities and use their own judgment before acting on or believing anything presented on BEE-L.

Back