What we need is a website with common abbreviations and a few maps or
links to google maps of common locations. Does the list-server page
have the capability/facility of coming up with a few pages of text
and links? If we're talking about the same information being referred
to on a regular basis then let's put the information together in one
place so people don't have to search. The list-serv could attach a
signature to each email with a link to the "common knowledge" page
and posters could refer to that link as needed.

Maps would be especially helpful for some very common things like how
people refer to the ponds at the fill or what the heck the dime lot
is. Having web pages of terminology would also promote more standardized usage.

Mark
Seattle (Ballard)


At 07:11 PM 10/28/2007, Scott Downes wrote:
>Tweets,
>Thought I'd throw my two cents in on the topic. There are valid arguments on
>both sides of this discussion; yes one could ask if they don't places, they
>can google it etc..; yes a poster can provide more clarification. I'd like
>to provide some realism to the clarification message. Lets take an example
>of a day filled with birding many common places around Puget sound. A birder
>covers Nisqually NWR, then traveled up and birded the Port of Tacoma for
>Gulls, Kent Ponds (Green River NA), UBNA (the Fill), Discovery Park and a
>couple more places. Active birders often cover many places during a day and
>you could insert this for many parts of the state. Some people have
>suggested that one might not post directions to protect a location as a
>"secret", here is my perspective from a very active birder in Washington
>having lived in both eastern and western WA and been actively birding in WA
>for almost 17 years (moved to WA in early 1990). I have just come home from
>a long day of birding and want to get out my results to share with people
>who might be interested in knowing what is being seen, possibly plan birding
>for Sunday (if this was a Saturday), the places mentioned above have had
>directions posted to them many times and it would significantly lengthen a
>post to put directions to them. Where do we draw the line, should everyone
>clarify every place they bird? That could get very lengthy. So my goal in
>not posting specifics, but rather "The Fill", Port of Tacoma etc.. are meant
>for quick reference points that I can post the information of my sightings
>quickly and get the information out.
>Yes, I know some people may not know the spot and I see places I'm not
>familiar with all the time in posts both E and W Washington. However if the
>place is a common spot, why in the responsibility on the poster? If I want
>to know where a spot is I know the tools (and they've been discussed here
>most of them) to find that information. If the spot is a new location or an
>fairly obscure location then the poster should elaborate. Some may disagree
>with this approach but it does work every day in the state for many birders
>and many of us have only so much free time and we'd rather spend it birding
>in the field or looking at new identification techniques than to post long
>messages about directions to Ocean Shores or some other common place that is
>readily referenced in birding guides and many tweeters posts. If the
>standard becomes overkill of clarification I know quite a few birders that
>might stop posting on tweeters and I can guarantee that the collective
>information level will go down. One can also search the tweeters archives as
>most places have had directions posted to them at least once before. For
>those not familiar with places, you are very welcome to email me for
>directions if you find something confusing in one of my future posts.
>
>Just my two cents.
>
>Scott Downes
>downess at charter.net
>Yakima WA
>
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