I saw this thread last night and decided against making any response; when I saw it again this morning and that it had gained some steam, I read all the posts and feel like I really, really want to answer.
I LOVE this forum. It has literally been a lifeline for some of my poultry and a way for me to keep in touch with the "outside world" since my early retirement and the pandemic restrictions.
It makes me sad to read about people wanting to leave the group. It is still a community of smart, helpful people who do a lot of good. Leaving seems to me like throwing out the baby with the bath water. Stay and make it better, if you feel it has strayed.
As a BYC member, I learned early on to make sure that when I didn't absolutely KNOW an answer, I should either refrain from commenting or make sure to explain that this is how I handled a situation in my experience, not that my way was the best or only way.
In my early days of membership, I was taken to task a couple of times by people who clearly knew more than I did, and it stung a bit.
But, as a former newspaper editor, I faced criticism on a regular basis, and I learned to separate the tone from the substance of the message. My BYC critics were right, and I was wrong. I accepted what they said and did not continue a pointless back-and-forth discussion.
We seem to live in a society where we want to divide and label people -- by their age, their beliefs, whatever. We can more easily discount a person's point of view if we call that person by a collective nickname.
We share this world with every single person in it. I have long admired a 1930's piece called "Desiderata," which lays out a blueprint for living a good life, including this: "Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story."
I want this forum to continue, and I want people on it to be able to express their opinions and their knowledge -- even when I disagree with their premise. Don't let a minority of posters take down a great resource for so many.
And, hey, if you disagree with anything I've said, I'm okay with that. I live in sweltering Iowa; I can take the heat!
I LOVE this forum. It has literally been a lifeline for some of my poultry and a way for me to keep in touch with the "outside world" since my early retirement and the pandemic restrictions.
It makes me sad to read about people wanting to leave the group. It is still a community of smart, helpful people who do a lot of good. Leaving seems to me like throwing out the baby with the bath water. Stay and make it better, if you feel it has strayed.
As a BYC member, I learned early on to make sure that when I didn't absolutely KNOW an answer, I should either refrain from commenting or make sure to explain that this is how I handled a situation in my experience, not that my way was the best or only way.
In my early days of membership, I was taken to task a couple of times by people who clearly knew more than I did, and it stung a bit.
But, as a former newspaper editor, I faced criticism on a regular basis, and I learned to separate the tone from the substance of the message. My BYC critics were right, and I was wrong. I accepted what they said and did not continue a pointless back-and-forth discussion.
We seem to live in a society where we want to divide and label people -- by their age, their beliefs, whatever. We can more easily discount a person's point of view if we call that person by a collective nickname.
We share this world with every single person in it. I have long admired a 1930's piece called "Desiderata," which lays out a blueprint for living a good life, including this: "Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story."
I want this forum to continue, and I want people on it to be able to express their opinions and their knowledge -- even when I disagree with their premise. Don't let a minority of posters take down a great resource for so many.
And, hey, if you disagree with anything I've said, I'm okay with that. I live in sweltering Iowa; I can take the heat!