About the Email List:

The purpose of the Birdnet is to encourage communication among all people interested in birding in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. You are invited to subscribe to the list and become a part of this email community. Subscription instructions are at the end of this message.

How it Works:

Birdnet@upbirders.org is a special kind of email address known as a mailing list, or list-serve. Any message sent to the birdnet@upbirders.org address is automatically distributed to all list subscribers. This makes it easy for each subscriber to share information without having to keep track of everyone's email address.

It's also easy for anyone to subscribe, or unsubscribe themselves from the list. That makes it less work to maintain an up-to-date email list.

Examples:

- Without Birdnet: "Birder A" keeps a list of all the birders he knows ("Birders B-Z.") Whenever anyone sees an interesting bird, they send a report to "Birder A," who then forwards the message to "Birders B-Z." "Birder A" has to be available in order for messages to get through. "Birder A" also has to keep track of all the email addresses of "Birders B-Z." This can get to be lots of work.

- With Birdnet: "Birder A" invites all his birding friends to subscribe to the Birdnet list. Whenever anyone sees an interesting bird, they send a message (or "post") to the list and it is automatically redistributed to all subscribers. The server computer at the upbirders.org Web hosting service does all the work. Subscribers keep their own addresses updated by sending messages to the server. A "List Owner" is available to help with problems. An archive of messages is kept on the server, and can be accessed by any subscriber by sending a special message.

List Guidelines:

1) Birdnet@upbirders.org is an email community used for announcements, discussion, sightings, rare bird alerts and chat about birds and other topics of interest to birders in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

2) Birdnet@upbirders.org is an unmoderated list and any subscriber is allowed to post to the list. You must be a subscriber to post messages (this will help keep most spam under control.)

3) Birdnet@upbirders.org is a public list and anyone is allowed to subscribe without prior approval.

4) Birdnet@upbirders.org is administered by Melinda Stamp who is the "list owner" and owner of the upbirders.org Web domain. The list owner has the responsibility of determining appropriate topics, behavior and list etiquette. The list owner can also ban subscribers or spammers who cause problems.

5) All Birdnet message content must be appropriate for subscribers of all ages. Sharing information that could cause harm to birds or their nests (such as detailed nest locations) is not appropriate. Offers of items for sale are not appropriate, unless the item is of special interest to birders. Plain text messages are encouraged. Attachments are not allowed.

6) Since attachments are not allowed, how do we share photos? Many list participants share their photos by posting them to a public photo-sharing site. Then they send a message to the Birdnet with a link to the online photos. Anyone can easily create their own free photo gallery on a photo-sharing site.

7) By its nature, email is somewhat anonymous. In order to enhance communication, it is suggested that all posts to birdnet@upbirders.org be signed with the poster's real name and location.

8) Location Details: List members are not all local -- they reside in all parts of Michigan and other states as well. Therefore it is suggested that all sighting reports include details about locations such as city or township and county.

9) Web Content: A selection of interesting posts from this list may be added to the UPBirders.org Web site. The choice of which sightings to include on the Web site is at the discretion of the list owner.

Thanks for your cooperation!

How to Subscribe:

Send an email message to birdnet-subscribe@upbirders.org -- that's all you have to do! The subject line and message body can be empty. You must send the subscribe message from the email account you wish to subscribe. You can subscribe yourself, but if you need assistance the list owner can help.

For More Information:

Please feel free to contact Melinda with any questions you might have about the Birdnet.

Thanks for taking the time to read this message, and I hope to hear from you on the Birdnet.

Melinda Stamp
upbirders.org

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The UPBirders Email List is not archived online. If you are interested in past messages, please contact the list owner.