Hi Suricate,
I am not sure what point you are trying to make here but forgive me if I get the wrong end of the stick. My job is in Wildlife Enquiries and I have the support of my line manager to contribute to Internet forums. There is more to this but more about that in the New Year (hopefully). I do not see this as getting information for the RSPB but trying to engage people in talk about birds hence why I retracted my comments when Anthony kindly dug out the transcript of the show. In fact, since I came to work at the RSPB, much of my time is taken up with events that are unpaid and I rarely catch up with my time in lieu. It is perhaps not how I would have chosen to be involved in conservation but it suits my interests. Forums by nature, should be a two-way exchange of information and that is what I try to do. My main job is as a frontliner for the RSPB and that means answering the telephone whilst sat in front of a PC. If there are few letters and emails (as is often the case in winter) then it makes sense for me to look for extra work and BF is ideal in this respect. The difficult balance I have is how to present the points of discussion to the community. Essentially, you are talking to Ian Peters but I have to be ever mindful of the fact that I revealed my identity and I am seen to be representing the RSPB. Having worked in welfare, I have the experience to talk about a range of issues that are not necessarily within the RSPB remit and this is difficult to balance out. My other area of interest is predator - prey relationships and population dynamics (hence why I am drawn to this type of discussion). I had this interest long before I came to the RSPB but the advantage is that for the most part, I can draw on the second largest natural history library in the UK. Now comes the problem and it is down to human nature. Occasionally, people call up and want to shout at me (and my colleagues) and it can get personal. I guess what people are objecting to is RSPB policy but Ian Peters still gets it in the neck. I sometimes wonder if I would have not been better off by telling anyone where I work here on BF. Anthony said that he did not know if he was talking to Ian Peters or the RSPB but equally, I am sometimes unsure whether the person responding is talking to me or debating with the RSPB. Is this a fair summary? It is certainly something to think about and could potentially impact on the future.
Ian
