[obol] Re: eBird, and wrentits
- From: PWhite <phillip@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: obol <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2015 17:07:59 -0800
Mike and Dave-
Sorry you guys missed the point I was trying to make. I¹m sure it was the
fault of the writer, not the reader. But seeing as how they're never going
to re-engineer eBird to suit the likes of me, it¹s really no big deal.
Good birding and good luck,
Phil White
North Bend, Oregon
**********
On 2/23/15 7:03 AM, "Phillip White" <phillip@............> wrote:
> >
> On 2/19/15 10:52 PM, "DJ Lauten and KACastelein" <deweysage@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> wrote:
>
>> On 2/19/2015 7:46 PM, Mike Patterson wrote:
>>> It must be February...
>>>
>>> I heard a thing on NPR the other day that people who complain a lot
>>> live longer. Something about stress reduction.
>>>
>>> As a long time eBird complainer, I suspect I've added years to my life.
>>>
>>> We all want ebird to do what WE want it to do, but I think we forget
>>> that it is, more or less, a free service provided to us; that the goals
>>> of the Cornell Lab for Ornithology are not necessarily "provide a free
>>> place for folks to track, in near real time, the occurrence rarities to
>>> chase and keep track of personal life-lists". These are byproducts of
>>> eBird not its goals. And perhaps more importantly, the vetting process
>>> is done by volunteers. The definition of volunteer is: donating time
>>> and energy to do a thing free of charge out of the goodness of your
>>> heart.
>>
>> Amen.
>>
>>>
>>> If you have ever worked with volunteers (and I have), you know
>>> that volunteers bring the skills they have, not the skills you or I may
>>> think they are supposed to have. They donate the time they have not the
>>> time you or I might think they should spend. I turned down the
>>> opportunity (more than once) to be an eBird editor. I don't have the
>>> time to do it right or the patience to deal with all the folks who get
>>> upset about being questioned or corrected (you know who you are).
>>
>> Amen. I did the same.
>>
>>>
>>> The only reason I can think of for why we NEED to have near real time
>>> confirmation of rare or unusual species are egocentric. In
>>> biogeographical terms rare and unusual species have little or no meaning
>>> as individuals. The only folks who need that kind of turn around are
>>> folks who like to chase stuff. If we are reaching an era when we have
>>> to depend on eBird to announce and track rarities, then we all need to
>>> get used to disappointment. It's not the right tool for the job and was
>>> never intended to be so. Near real time reporting is why God created
>>> phone trees and twitter.
>>
>> THAT'S what OBOL is FOR!!!!!
>>
>>>
>>> When you hear me complain about eBird (and don't think I won't continue
>>> to do so) it will seldom be about the editors or speediness of the
>>> confirmation process. If you have issues with the turn around on record
>>> vetting, volunteer to be an editor yourself. See if you can do better.
>>>
>>
>> Cheers
>> Dave Lauten
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
OBOL archives: www.freelists.org/archive/obol
Manage your account or unsubscribe: //www.freelists.org/list/obol
Contact moderators: obol-moderators@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Other related posts:
