On Fri, 12 Jan 1996, Lisa M. Smith wrote:

> Hello Tweets (and Alan Richards),
>
> Regarding the post that follows from Alan Richards: Many thanks for the
> correction! Perfectionist that I am, I would appreciate knowing in the
> future when I misspell anything I encounter while transcribing the
> messages from the Birdbox. As for the other misspellings in "various
> places" (as you mention, Alan), please let me know the specifics.

I empathize with Lisa. There perhaps is nothing more frustrating to
someone taking information off a birdbox or rba tape machine than not
understanding what the caller is saying. I spend about 1.5 hours every
Friday writing-up the N. ID / E. WA hotline and often because I have to
replay the tape several times to understand the caller. You'll notice in
the hotline I'll occassionally have a (sp?) after a name or location,
indicating my best guess.

Anyone calling the birdbox or a regional hotline should take compassion
on the listeners or compiler and speak slowly, clearly and spell the
weird or easily mis-understood locales or personal names. Keep in mind
the end user of our services might be someone from out-of-region who
just got off a plane and is looking for good birds.

Remember, the information relayed is only as good as the information
received.

Kas Dumroese
Moscow
dumroese at uidaho.edu