[texbirds] Re: eBird's position on documentation
- From: Jim Sinclair <jim.sinclair@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 10:22:26 -0500
Well, there seem to be a lot of folks that think I should have included a
smiley face.
I typically only use such devices when the subject is ambiguous. To me, a
smiley face is similar to a laugh track - and I don't like laugh tracks.
I would have thought that my post was so outrageous (GREATER Flamingo -
that isn't even on the Texas list - vs American Flamingo (what I actually
did send to Mary) that is on the Texas list) plus the number reported - 10
(also sent to Mary) that everyone would realize I was joking (or a complete
idiot - take your pick).
And for those of you who DID understand my intent, no, I am not replacing
any of your keyboards.
On Thu, Mar 20, 2014 at 5:03 PM, Jim Sinclair <jim.sinclair@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:
> Well, I know that I will never, ever forgive Mary Gustafson for
> questioning my report of 10 Greater Flamingos on the Norias division. My
> report should have stood on it merits.
>
>
> On Thu, Mar 20, 2014 at 4:55 PM, Steve Gast <segast23@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>> I find it enjoyable to find and submit something that gets flagged. I
>> don't look for these on purpose but do get a kick out of finding something
>> out of the ordinary. I have made mistakes in data entry and a few times I
>> don't have a good enough description for it to be accepted ( yeah - OK -
>> sometimes too I just blow the ID) But that is ok because I end up learning
>> how to study a bird better or how to ID a bird correctly the next time. I
>> am sorry for putting reviewers to extra work though. I really don't want to
>> do this on purpose and so I never complain about either having to submit
>> more details or volunteering to pull the record down due to insufficient
>> observation. I have the lesser amount of work to that of the busy eBird
>> reviewers ( God bless 'em)
>>
>> The process however it plays out should be a learning one and enjoyable.
>>
>> Steve Gast
>> Houston TX
>>
>> > On Mar 20, 2014, at 3:00 PM, Brady Surber <supersurber@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>> wrote:
>> >
>> > It would be much easier to document flagged sightings if one knew ahead
>> of time what would get flagged, to my knowledge there is no way to view a
>> list of what the filters hit. Frequently I get flagged for species that
>> shouldn't be rare(granted that can only be fixed by more sightings with
>> documentation) or that are in unusual numbers. Cases such as this if it
>> were possible to know or see a list by region of the filters /with expected
>> numbers it would be astoundingly easier for all of us to document things
>> better.
>> > regards,
>> > Brady Surber
>> > Vernon, TX
>> >
>> >> Date: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 08:52:18 -0700
>> >> Subject: [texbirds] eBird's position on documentation
>> >> From: heraldpetrel@xxxxxxxxx
>> >> To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> >>
>> >> Texbirders
>> >> I thought I would chime in here and provide some insight into how eBird
>> >> views the process of documenting rarities, and why that is important.
>> >> Photos are not required to support a record, but they are an excellent
>> >> source of documentation. That said, before digital photography was
>> widely
>> >> accessible to the public, birders adequately documented birds through
>> >> careful description. In some cases, a careful description can be better
>> >> than a photo. Photos in the absence of any text description are
>> >> problematic. Ideally, a record would have both. eBird editors should
>> not be
>> >> invalidating records with text descriptions as a rule. On the contrary,
>> >> they should be evaluating these to the best of their ability. If that
>> is
>> >> not happening, I need to know about it. That said, some people refuse
>> to
>> >> provide details, and it can be tiresome for volunteer editors who spend
>> >> countless hours trying to keep the database clean for scientific
>> purposes
>> >> to request details and get none. The eBird review team in Texas has a
>> huge
>> >> volume of records to review every day, and this is generally a
>> thankless
>> >> job. Without them, eBird would cease to function, so please do your
>> best to
>> >> help them by documenting any flagged records you submit to the best of
>> your
>> >> ability.
>> >>
>> >> Please see the links below to learn more about the eBird data quality
>> >> process, and how to adequately document your records.
>> >>
>> >> Data Quality: http://help.ebird.org/customer/portal/articles/1055676
>> >>
>> >> Documentation:
>> >>
>> http://help.ebird.org/customer/portal/articles/973980-reporting-rarities--elements-of-a-bird-description?b_id28
>> >>
>> >> Thanks
>> >>
>> >> Brian
>> >>
>> >> --
>> >> ===========
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> *Brian L. SullivaneBird Project Leader *
>> >> www.ebird.org
>> >>
>> >> *Photo Editor*
>> >> Birds of North America Online
>> >> http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA
>> >> -------------------------------
>> >>
>> >>
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>
>
> --
> Jim Sinclair (TX-ESA)
> TOS Life Member
> Kingsville, TX
>
> "The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of
> thinking we were at when we created them." - Albert Einstein
>
--
Jim Sinclair (TX-ESA)
TOS Life Member
Kingsville, TX
"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of
thinking we were at when we created them." - Albert Einstein
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