I haven't seen Araminta's valuable contibutions lately and I think this forum is greatly diminished without them. I think BiBY has the basics of a great momentum to further the cause of protecting native birdlife and their habitat and it is people like Araminta who provide that momentum. People who care about the environment and native bird habitat are in desperate short supply. Our beleaguered birds need all the support they can get. BIBY should always aim to grow its membership and promote the message of "backyards for native birds". I wouldn't like to see BIBY slowly disappear as a forum for gentile twitchers who are too polite to argue their viewpoints. Lively discourse is good, even at the risk of occasionally bristling the hairs (feathers?) of fellow members. And it is often entertaining. Let's keep an open forum for the greater good.
I agree, it is a shame Araminta left, looking at the photos she regularly posted of her local birds was wonderful. Especially the photo stories, they were really nice.
But still, it is the nature of forums on the internet that people come and go... But it is still a shame when it happens...
Hopefully, people will continue to visit BiBy, and the number of people posting on the forums will increase. I really wouldn't mind if the forum transforms to an extent into a 'twitchers' forum, as long as it encourages more people to visit the site. On the internet, page traffic is everything, and there is nothing more sad than a dead forum or blog which looked so promising, but eventually died from lack of interest.
On the other hand, I don't think BiBy would ever go as far as you hypothesise. There are other established forums out there devoted to birdwatching in Australia, and as it is BiBy fulfils a niche.
Araminta has decided to deactive her account and take a break from BIBY. We wish her well in her time away and appreciate her contributions to date.
The forum is an open forum for all BIBY participants to participate in. It is a moderated site with a set of rules for all participants– these are stickied at the top of each subforum.
I agree wholeheartedly - BIBY's aim is for people to enjoy the birds in their backyards and to take action for them. Its great that so many people like to use the forum section of the site as a way of participating.
(edited for clarity)