The Lincolnshire Bird Club

The important thing is that once you join Facebook you can just read posts, think of it as the same as this forum but you don't have to do anything if you don't want to

Hi Geoff

The LBC twitter feed will be on the front page of the new website so anyone can view it without joining, however to post a record you would have to join twitter

Regards

Colin

Hi John

A bit about myself,

I am 67 years old. I have been a birder for many years but started taking it seriously in about 1982. I was a LBC committee member from about 1984 to 1994.
In my early days I went all over with Steve Keightley and a few other locals.

I finally left the committee because I found I could do nothing. There was simply too many people who wanted to do things themselves, yet it seemed to never get done.
I simply could not understand why there was 600000 people in Lincolnshire and we had less than 250 members and I still do. Today there is 750000 people in Lincolnshire and the LBC has less members.

At the same time I was one of the 4 people who setup the Boston RSPB Group which was very successful but its closed.

I started my own business that sold car parts to the trade in 1983. It was called Linco (Mixed up Colin) and sold it in 2001 for a seven figure sum and its still running today.

My interests are Cars, i currently have 9, photography including Time Lapse, and Birding.

I produced a video called Birding Plus for about 5 years when myself and my great friend Alex Parker "Tear arsed" around the country taking video of anything rare doing about 50000 miles a year.
For several reasons such as Alex having his first heart attack, my wife, Kay being afraid when i was away, my business growing, and getting rather into doing Trackday's, I did not bird as much from about 2001 to 2014.
My wife Kay, of 41 years sadly passed away in 2014 and Steve and Sally Keightley rekindled my interest in birding.
Since then I have been birding in Costa Rica, twice, Panama, Iceland, Lesvos 3 times, and recently did a 36 day 7000 mile trip around northern Europe.

My British list is not huge at 470, not sure on my Lincs list, i think its about 300.

Part of my company produced software that found parts for cars and it was then that I started doing websites. I gave my website business to a friend a about 5 years ago but am still involved with my role of doing all the technical and Security stuff. I understand about website hacking as I had to sort out 73 hacked websites in a week a few years ago, when a security hole was found by some Chinese hackers in a outdated website component.

As to the website and forum, well I simply cant secure it, plain and simple. Due to this "IT WILL BE HACKED" at sometime so sealing it so it can be viewed only is the only safe thing i can do.
For my part, I think forums were the first Social Media and like most people I also don't like change but sometimes that old car simply cant be trusted for long journeys any more and I compare the LBC forum to a 1907 model T Ford that's done a million miles.

I hope that helps

All the best, thanks for your comments

Colin

i have refrained from comment being a well known sceptic of twitter and the like. only today dean eades who is a good friend and decried my views has complained about stolen and unauthorised use of his photographs from facebook. any information uploaded to sites like twitter or facebook is considered by them to be their infomation to be used as they see fit and as such you as an individual lose all control. anybody that falls for the ads for alexa etc in my opinion wants their head looking at, these devices record every thing you do and say not just when you voice activate it that info of what you do in your own house is sent to the cloud and stored and can be accessed and used as they see fit. same again for the in car black box you do not think that someone will fit you a £1000 device in your vehicle to save you £100 per annum wow it is all just a further step down the big brother route and good luck to you all but i am not playing thank you
terry whalin

Any image on the internet can be copied. Its simple once you find out how, try as people have to stop it a simple screen capture will always work. So it can be copied, it can be used, its totally impossible to stop it, however it will be low quality.
Then there is those who slightly change an image, so who owns it then. Its a nightmare issue thats impossible to fix.
I once used a Land Rover Badge image is some software and Land Rover wrote to me saying they would take me to court for copyright. I simply sent them the original picture I had taken of my wife's Range Rover rear tailgate where i had cropped the badge from. They gave up instantly as its my image of my car.
The problem with image copyright is its almost a waste of time trying to stop someone using an image and it would certainly cost more to do it than you will get back.
If you don't want people to see the image either put a watermark all over it or don't post them.

hmmm not good news for the people who actually get paid for the photo's dean, graham cately etc or anyone that puts images on the gallery and i am not interested in giving info to assist american billionaires become even richer using other peoples work. it was said i am a dinosaur and should catch up with the modern way and did not understand technology which is far from the truth, being a retired electrical engineer who installed the first computer on a big printing machine around 1985 ish and when i retired was able to program in 5/6 different computer languages and it is because i know what they do that i choose not to assist.
terry whalin

Hi Colin,

Thank you for a most comprehensive reply to my questions!

I now know more about you in a very short space of time than I do the other 248 members put together since I joined ten or more years ago. The other member I know a lot about is FJ.

We are virtually the same age.

Do what you have to do for the best. I can still do my lengthy posts on the Lincsbirders site.

Kind regards

John aka Max

_________________
GETTING OLD HAS IT'S ADVANTAGES BUT I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT THEY ARE lol

Hi Terry,

Not being a regular of late, in the past I always thought that Deano added his name to his photos, I wasn't sure why, but then found out a mate did same on his to stop people nicking them, maybe he doesn't do it now.

In the past I've looked at hundreds of photos on different sites and could have taken a copy them, but the times I've wanted one I've usually asked permission such as Dean and one or two more members but since having a decent camera I prefer to use my own photos.

But I get your drift.

Any photos or videos we put on the internet we know full well that people can copy them without our permission, so it's up to the person putting them on if they want to take that risk, its not as if we will lose the photo for good, we will still have the original, or I certainly have, can't speak for others.

Max

_________________
GETTING OLD HAS IT'S ADVANTAGES BUT I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT THEY ARE lol

Hi

There needs to be a distinction here between Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and the LBC website.
We have no control of the first three but one thing i would like to make clear is that the new website will have two sections, Public and Members
Anything posted in the Members sections can only be seen by paid up and Honorary Members as will a lot of the information I have put on.
Basically we can now restrict what people can see so as soon as a subscription is overdue the person will no longer be able to see a large part of the site.
The new system will also automatically send out remindersat 35, 7 and 3 days.
Most members will control their own membership, making the task much easier.
It also gets rid of all the Spammers as you have to pay at least once to join. And if some little hacker in China or Uganda wants to pay, we will take their money, gladly
There will obviously be some members that we will still have to do manually but its hope these will be minimal.

Colin

From watching this forum and the comments its clear that the Forum will be sadly missed by some people will never use "Faceache and Twotter" so we propose this old forum is locked, so it can be made secure and then it can be viewed only

A new forum will be installed with clearer headings and it will be members only, think of it as us doing some spring cleaning.

The new forum will allow members to upload images

See, we do listen

colin despite my well known views i am not agains't social media only what companies do with the info given freely, the next big step will be cars black boxes that record and transmit everything you do where you are etc by gps but only tell part of the story. if you have to brake sharply you receive de-rates on your driving whether you flatten the dog or not. police can use the info for prosecutions of doing 34 in a 30 regardless of whether the council have pruned the hedgerows that hide the 30 signs etc they take no account of local issues. governments will do nothing because it suits the degrading of the traditional expensive policing, in fact my mate who is a retired sergeant told me that disciplinary action would be taken if ever anyone revealed how few police were on duty on a particular time in the humberside force especially midweek evenings. good luck with the site so long as i can read the postings and post info on twitter or not without joining twitter i am ok with that regards terry whalin

Earlier in this set of posts I agreed that some modernisation of procedures would be a good thing, and I haven't changed this view, but subsequent posts have been somewhat disturbing.
Let me explain that in my working life, as an accountant, I worked for many years with computers including solving complex problems and training staff with no previous computer experience how to become competent in their use. Since retiring I have maintained an interest in computers and their use. My home office currently contains four computers (three desktops - a Dell, an Apple and one I built myself completely from scratch and a laptop) and I also have an iPhone and an iPad. I run a wide variety of software and don't therefore consider myself a complete novice when it comes to computers.
It hasn't yet been pointed out that all the members of the LBC will have their own individual ways in which to enjoy the birds and other wildlife in the county. No two people will be the same and apart from complying with a few basic rules (eg the Country Code) all have the freedom to choose the methods and preferences they employ in getting satisfaction from their chosen hobby. One choice I have made is not to join any of the social media sites and I don't think that this detracts from my enjoyment of watching and photographing the wide variety of bird and other wildlife in this large county.
One earlier post which caused me some concern seemed to me to say that the writer thought that he knew everything and had done everything and so the rest of the members should forget their freedoms and follow the choices which he personally had made. I was particularly insulted when the same writer suggested that I should go to him for assistance if I was incapable of carrying out the simple task of joining a number of social media sites.
It has also become apparent that other members have the view that those who don't choose to join social media groups must in some way be illiterate or incapable and are some sort of inferior beings who maybe shouldn't be members of the Club.
I noted also that the writer, who I referred to above, was instrumental in setting up the Boston RSPB Group which he says was very successful - "but its closed". If this is a measure of success I wonder if in a few years time people will say the LBC was a great club but it isn't there any longer!
I don't see anything in the posts on this subject which is likely to encourage new members and I think some parts will encourage existing members to leave - eg treating older members as "has beens" rather than making use of their knowledge and experience. Perhaps those in charge of running the club should wonder why the membership is so low in relation to the population of the county and ask whether they are really running it for the membership of the club, which is so wide and varied, or are they just doing it to boost their own egos.
I don't really feel that I want to belong to a Club where belonging to a number of social media groups is going to become a requirement of membership and for that reason "I'm out" and don't intend to renew my membership. I will continue to enjoy my hobby in my own way and not as dictated by others.

That's interesting Trevor, I have reflected on my realtionship with the Group in terms of how it enhances my ornithological interests and before this discussion had began I had felt a sense of invisibility and no real social benefit. I too have decided to allow my membership expire even though I am a very social person.

I would be interested to know whether the previous contributors were members of the LBC prior to the Forum being created or joined because of the Forum? The LBC is much more than just another social media outlet.

Trevor,

First i need to apologise if something i said upset you as its obvious its me you are talking about, that was not at all my intention but i feel i need to answer some of the things for have said.

First, i can see nothing saying that people had to use social media, its obviously their own choice. What i was trying to put over was that bird news is appearing more and more on social media and without doubt the forum is not used as it was in 2004 when it was installed.

Forums are an early form of Social Media so sorry i just don't get the issue, posting here is using social media.

Personally, I have made very few posts on Twitter in my lifetime so am similar to you. I, like a lot of others just don't get Twitter, but the fact is that bird news gets on to twitter more than in this forum, says it all. No one can stop progress (if in fact Twitter is progress), its the way it is.

I also want to make it clear that in no way did I say that people who don't use Social Media are as you describe them, they are your words, not mine and i do not agree with them.

Me saying "If i can help, contact me" was just as it says and my offer stands to anyone.

As a club we need all our members but with such a small stretched team of volunteers doing all the work, its difficult to suit everyone and it will always be that way.

As to your remark about the RSPB Boston Group, it was a great success and i was proud to be involved. My wife and I left the committee in about 1997 and at that time it was still growing.
I only heard about it closing a few months ago so to make out in any way it was my fault is downright out of order. Its closing was nothing at all to do with me whatsoever.

I have listened to what everyone has said, i made it clear form the start that I could not secure this current forum. Its content cannot be transferred so it has to be locked.
I asked members what they thought about using Twitter and Facebook. Then because some members like yourself said "No", I installed a new (secure) forum on the new website.

As to you saying "I'm out" i really hope you reconsider as we need all the members we can get especially ones that are vocal and say what they think, like yourself.

I appreciate you taking the time to explain what you thought and I thank you for posting, but when "those in charge of running the club" asked for help, i came forward. There wasn't anyone else in the queue.

Perhaps it would be best if I stand down, stop what i am doing and just leave things as they are, however doing so will not change the fact that this forum cannot be secured and at some time in the not to distant future will get hacked. I am sure from your background you understand security and backups and that If that was to happen there would be no club website or forum.

Regards

Colin