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 >> >> ------------------------------- >> >> >> >> >> >> Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at >> >> //www.freelists.org/list/texbirds >> >> >> >> Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking >> permission >> >> from the List Owner >> > >> > Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at >> > //www.freelists.org/list/texbirds >> > >> > Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking >> permission >> > from the List Owner >> > >> > >> Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at >> //www.freelists.org/list/texbirds >> >> Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking >> permission >> from the List Owner >> >> >> > > > -- > 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 Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at //www.freelists.org/list/texbirds Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking permission from the List Owner