Subject: [Tweeters] Re Codes, Abbreviations
Date: Jul 12 21:16:04 2005
From: Kelly Cassidy - lostriver at completebbs.com


Brett Wolfe writes:
"I just wish more birders were open to it, but most birders are not in the scientific community and want to keep it that way."

OK, I'm in the "scientific community." When was the last time you saw a paper in a peer-reviewed journal that used the 4-letter AOU codes? Sure, people use codes in their research for short-hand notes and computer files. I've used codes for plants, herps, mammals, birds (based on scientific, not common, name), numeric codes for vegetation communities, codes for plot types, you name it. Two weeks after I finish a project, the codes start fading. I'm currently using the AOU codes on a project so I (sort of) know them. For this year.

I say, use codes if you want. It's a free country. I delete the code-heavy posts without puzzling over them. Life is too short.

Kelly Cassidy
Pullman, WA
mailto:lostriver at completebbs.com