I am daily cognizant that Obol subscription grew more than 50%from 2014 to
2017(?). The 1700 odd members has been flat since then, non? Several stellar
subscribers , either amateur or professional ornithologists, have unsubscribed
and l am confident they will never return. Their gravitas was real.They made
Obol seem like an entrée, at times it's now more of an appetizer or amuse
bouche. The list used to be flooded with FOS Orange-crowned Warblers and
the like. Hundreds of posts in April that while never redundant as data were
just that for entertainment value. Such content is infinitely more useful on
eBird where it is archived and READILY accessible to not only researchers
anywhere on Earth, but birders in Perth,Australia and Perth,Scotland who might
be planning a trip here. I have long been skeptical of dichotomy. Far
more platforms are at play than Obol vs eBird. There's at least one Facebook
page for Oregon birds and one for eBird nationwide. I subscribe to neither.
There's a Facebook page"North American Gulls","Western Palæarctic Gulls" , and
"Mafur i Islendi". I subscribe to them all and never visit them. Dave Irons
once described the typical birding listserves in other states as "dull as dirt
". A rumor l heard a year or two ago that some members of OBA wanted to
restrict Obol to species observations only was highly alarming. But l also
believe OBA itself is in chronic decline. I have absolutely no complaint
with either Obol or eBird, am just making observations that resonate with the
reality that systems no less than living organisms have a life span. Continuous
commercial distribution of huckleberries in the Pacific Northwest has at least
a 3 1/2 millenia history. I expect we all have more modest expectations for
electronic bird related platforms. Anyone remember phone booths? But Superman
seems to keep getting another movie,non? I shouldn't say since the last time l
visited a cinema was for Peter Jackson's butchering of J.R.R.Tolkien. My evil
cousin's idea not mine. What century was that in?Sent from my Verizon, Samsung
Galaxy smartphone
-------- Original message --------From: Teresa Hertzel
<teresa.hertzel@xxxxxxxxx> Date: 8/7/20 6:41 AM (GMT-08:00) To:
larspernorgren <larspernorgren@xxxxxxxxx> Cc: Obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Re:
[obol] eBird undermining Obol Lars writes: While the two have great potential
to be complimentary l fully expect Obol to continue eroding.This is a
perspective I hear from time to time, that OBOL is "eroding," or that fewer
people post to OBOL now than in the past, or that eBird is growing while OBOL
is shrinking, and so on. Every time one of these statements pops up, I am at a
loss to understand what ground it is rooted in. In 2014, OBOL had 1100 members.
Today it has 1740. To me, the always-growing number of members is a good
indication that OBOL is strong and healthy.Treesa HertzelOBOL ModeratorOn Fri,
Aug 7, 2020 at 4:10 AM larspernorgren <larspernorgren@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:I have
to agree with Paul. I find eBird maddening on a regular basis. I use it many
times a week but after several years still can't automatically share a list or
other very simple functions. I probably give up at least 50% of the time when
trying to go beyond recording a point count. A pleasant place and awesome birds
is rapidly spoiled by chronic dead-ends. I also wonder how much overlap
there is in user groups. It wouldn't surprise me if 4 out of 5 eBird users
never use Obol. While the two have great potential to be complimentary l fully
expect Obol to continue eroding. Fate drags by the hair she who resists it,
leads gently by the hand she who becomes it.Sent from my Verizon, Samsung
Galaxy smartphone
