Date: 10/30/25 8:08 am From: Gene Hess <gene...> Subject: [de-birds] Reminder on DE-Birds listserv use
Hello, Thank you for using the DE-Birds listserv. Recently there have been requests for help to unsubscribe from the list. Attached are directions on how to use various functions of the listserv. Although there have been no etiquette problems in recent years, a reminder is also part of this notice. Please save this document for your future reference. Thank you, Gene K Hess, DE-Birds list owner
From time to time, we publish the DE-birds Guidelines on the list. This is the same document sent when a new member joins the list. Especially if it's been a long time since you last read this document, please have a look, and save this message for future use.
If you have comments or questions please write to the list administrator/moderator at *<DE-BIRDS-request...> <DE-BIRDS-request...>*. We're always glad to have feedback.
Thank you to all members for your support of the list.
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Welcome to De-Birds. This discussion list is hosted as a community service by Princeton University.
CHARTER:
The DE-Birds listserv list is for sharing information about birds and birding in Delaware.
* reports and information about wild birds in Delaware * places to look for birds (excepting endangered and sensitive species) * natural history of wild birds, including distribution, identification, conservation, and ecology * help and answers to questions about techniques of counting, photographing, recording, and documenting wild birds * news of volunteer opportunities such as bird counts * Discussions, questions, stories and humor are always welcome, but please respect and keep in mind the sensitivities of others
If you have questions about using De-Birds, please write to the listowners at *<DE-BIRDS-request...> <DE-BIRDS-request...>* Please save this message for future reference.
GUIDELINES:
** DO NOT POST INFORMATION ABOUT LOCATIONS OF OWLS, OWL ROOSTS OR NESTS, OR THOSE OF ANY ENDANGERED, THREATENED OR SENSITIVE SPECIES. **
** Advertising is not permitted on the list. ** ** Please limit your posts to two per day or seven per week. ** ** Know and follow ethical standards for birders and photographers. ** Please be courteous and kind. **
** Please be respectful of the sensitivities of others. **
More about the guidelines:
Ethical behavior protects the species we love to watch and earns us the respect of others on the list and outdoors. Posting information about sensitive species is unethical because it harms birds; it can lead to abandonment of roost sites and nests, and increases risk of predation, stress, and starvation.
Information about sightings and bird-finding should be shared as freely as possible, with the exceptions above. Cross-posting information from other lists or social media is fine, and this is a good place to provide information that doesn't fit on a text alert. When cross posting from social media or other sites please provide a link to your post. Discussions, questions, beginner questions and advice, book reviews, trip reports, are all welcome. Use of banding codes is discouraged; not everyone wants to learn them.
Unfortunately our server cannot host photographs; to share your photos, use some other web site and post the link here.
Limit messages to matters related to birds and birding within DE, although information about nearby states, and general information that may interest Delaware birders, are permitted, within reason. Please don't ask for help planning your trip to Arizona or Peru. Try the Birdchat international list (for information, mail *<birdchat-request...> <birdchat-request...>*) or a list devoted to the area you intend to visit. Try Google.
Advertising is not allowed on DE-Birds. An offer of a product or service for sale or profit, is considered advertising. Local non-profit organizations are welcome to post brief announcements of single events (e.g. field trips, lectures) which they sponsor. Please do not post a bird club's entire annual field trip list or foreign travel brochure. Please don't offer to sell optics or equipment.
Please reply to questions _on the list_ rather than privately unless the poster requests otherwise. Be positive; be *very reluctant* to criticize others, including businesses and organizations. Remember online postings are forever.
Everyone has their own interests, abilities, and special knowledge, which may not be the same as yours. Do not abuse or bully other members, either on the list or in private e-mail. Do not try to act as a listowner, or tell others what they should or shouldn't do. If you have a problem with the messages of some other list member, or are being harrassed or abused on the list (or privately) by a list member, write to the listowners rather than trying to deal directly.
*SANCTIONS*
The De-Birds discussion list is *not* moderated and normally no prior review of postings takes place. If you fail to follow the rules and norms, you will first be e-mailed privately by the listowners/moderators and asked to follow them. Second offense will usually result in being put on temporary "review," which means that your messages will be moderated and approved before they are distributed. Repeated violations may result in permanent "review." As a last resort you may be blocked from belonging to the list. A listserv is not a democracy, and the listowners/moderators decisions are final and not appealable.
*REMEDIES FOR OFFENSIVE BEHAVIOR*
If you feel abused by another subscriber to the list:
Use that DELETE key. Ignoring the offender is often the best policy. If ignoring doesn't work, try responding to the author that you do not wish to receive personal messages from him/her, and ask the person to desist. Then ignore again.
If the offenses continue, contact the listowners.
If the offenses take place in private e-mail, contact the offender's internet service provider and report the harrassment.
If you are threatened or menaced, call your local law enforcement authorities.
*Responsibilities of the Listowners: *
The listowners/moderators will not publicly chastise or humiliate an offending subscriber. If a message appears to be in violation of the guidelines, a private message may be sent, reminding the member of his/her acceptance of these community standards. Further discussion of the application of the guidelines to a particular message (by this or any other subscriber) should always be conducted *via* private channels, and never *via* the list.
If the subscriber continues to violate the guidelines, the listowners/moderators may set the subscriber to REVIEW (where messages are previewed by a listowners/moderators who will decide whether or not to send them to the list). In some cases, the listowners/moderators may set the subscriber to NOPOST (where the subscriber is barred from posting messages until further notice). Finally, serious or repeat offenders may be DELETED (unsubscribed from the list) at the listowners/moderators' discretion. The listowners/moderators would greatly appreciate it if, by voluntary adherence to these guidelines, you never cause them to exercise any of these three options.
DE-Birds listowners/moderators cannot take responsibility for private communications from one of its subscribers to another. However, if necessary, the listowners/moderators may attempt to settle a dispute by following the above guidelines.
You should set a password when you first join the list. At the subscribe link, follow the password instructions. Do not use the same password you use for your e-mail. When you have a password, you can use the full listserv features, including searching the archives, covering over 20 years of DE birding.
All messages should be signed with your name and city or location. Signing with your e-mail address and phone number is not required or encouraged.
All subscribers can see your e-mail in the list header, but ONLY if they log in to the list archives. Do not type your e-mail address in the body of your posting. The public (including spam bots) can read the text of the message in the archives but they cannot see the address in the header.
When you send a message to the list, everyone who subscribes to the listserve will receive your message. When you "Reply" to someone else's message, the reply is sent to ONLY the original poster by default. If you want it distributed to the entire list of subscribers just change the "To" address.
How to SEND MESSAGES TO THE LIST: Send an email message to: *de-**<birds...>* <de-birds...>
The most common reason for posting failure is address mismatch. For example, if your subscription is under *<joe.birder...> <joe.birder...>*, you will not be able to post from *<joebirder...> <joebirder...>*. If you write to report a problem with posting, please include a copy of any error reports you got from the Princeton listserv.
OLD INSTRUCTIONS:
Listserv software has been around longer than the World-wide Web. Before the web, you used e-mail commands to join listserv groups and those commands still work! Here are the old e-mail instructions:
Send a message with no subject and no signature or attachments, containing only the command needed. Send it to *<listserv...> <listserv...>* (This is NOT the same as the list posting address). Include only the line shown; the server knows your address from the e-mail header. You will get an e-mail confirming your command.
How to SUBSCRIBE: SUBSCRIBE DE-Birds
How to UNSUBSCRIBE: UNSUBSCRIBE DE-Birds
How to SUSPEND (temporarily stop) your DE-Birds mail: SET DE-Birds NOMAIL
How to RESTART your DE-Birds mail: SET DE-Birds MAIL
How to change your e-mail address: Log in at your old address and send: CHANGE DE-Birds *<old.address...> <old.address...>* *<new.address...> <new.address...>* (you should get confirmations at both e-mail addresses)
