Several nice people have given me sources that list all the four-letter codes, so I can learn them. They miss the point: It is not worth my time to learn them! I hate the damned things. If they are useful to you personally, for your journal writing or for banding, go ahead and use them, but please don't impose them on me or on others who have no use for them. They strike me as a bit of intellectual pretension and flumgummery, as being the secret password needed to become part of some exclusive, superior little clique. "Tonight, mes amis, let us only speak French, with Parisian accents."

Several people have suggested the compromise that a user should write out the name of the bird in normal English first. That would probably be the criterion for getting along on this issue. Fine. Just so I don't have to think more than a millisecond before understanding what you're talking about.

Burt Guttman
The Evergreen State College
Olympia, WA 98505 guttmanb at evergreen.edu
Home: 7334 Holmes Island Road S. E., Olympia, 98503

________________________________

From: tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu on behalf of Joemeche at aol.com
Sent: Mon 7/11/2005 5:27 PM
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Subject: [Tweeters] Re: Four-letter codes


Oh no! Here we go again with the mind-boggling four-letter code issue!
Gadzooks, Batman, can't we all just get along?

Cheers,
Joe Meche (aka JOME)
Bellingham