This is the inaugural post from my blog regarding a topic which has really been eating at me over the past few months, well years I guess - shitty Ontbirds posts. Now I don't mean to be rude, but the quality of some of the posts on Ontbirds has in my mind been deteriorating.
Take this past week as an example....we had a certain individual report about his usual jaunt over to the nude beach on the Toronto Islands, some 'random' reporting her car was broken into in the ghetto of Toronto (go figure), and some shitacular sightings of common birds from the Cambridge and Scarborough areas. I had suggested we use stricter guidelines for Ontbirds a while ago, but a certain person from TO was very against this, which kyboshed it.
But anyways, we'll see if something good is reported on Ontbirds over the next 24 hours. There should be a mega somewhere in the province.
Cheers.
ONE OF THE BEST POSTS I HAVE READ IN ANY BLOG FOR AWHILE!!!!! YOU ARE NOT ALONE WITH THESE THOUGHTS!!
ReplyDeleteps if you want a ride to Rainy River area I am going up there 4-5 times this summer.
Oh I forgot was there a Connecticut Warbler or 10 over on the Nude yet?
ReplyDeleteDon't be hating - I think I'm gonna chase that Wild Turkey in Scarborough!
ReplyDeleteWhat there really should be is 2 listservs - one for actual rare birds that people might want to chase (strongly moderated) and one for general stuff which is a little less strict.
Good luck on the island...
I definitely agree with Josh. It would be easy to set up another site/listserv. And it could easily be better than Ontbirds (e.g. have it send text messages so if you're in the field you can be notified immediately, and more user friendly).
ReplyDeleteI think part of the problem is that ppl don't know that local listservs exist. If someone could compile a list of all the local forums, and send that to Ontbirds. I'm sure it would help cut down on the posts that may be of more interest to locals.
I'm down for collaborating on either or both of those projects...
There is a yahoo group set up several years ago to deal with this problem and allow for general conversation. It is called Ontario birding and currently basically a dead group. People ignored the rules of ontbirds and this group and kept on doing what they felt like.
ReplyDeleteSo yes I agree there needs to be a new strongly regulated listserv for rarities.
My sympathies lie with the moderator and those who receive an email with ever message from ONTBIRDS.
ReplyDeleteYou should take a look at what Alaska is doing. They have one listserve dedicated only to rarities. These rarities are put into formal reports and culled from the flotsam that is the other listserves. They also take the rarest birds from the regional summaries such as the Fairbanks RBA and the Gambell reports once Lehman gets up there and put them on that listserve. Just suggesting something you should look at.
ReplyDeleteAlso reading the Gambell Island reports as they come in are fascinating.
Right on the money Ken! I've learned to look at the poorer quality posts as a source of comedy gold, instead of letting it irritate me. Two listserves is probably the best way to go in my opinion - but not with a moderator, only because nobody deserves to have that brutal job. Some poor reports will still get through, but it should be cut down at least...
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ReplyDeleteHey everyone,
ReplyDeleteSorry for not responding sooner, I didnt think there'd be such a large response! I'll try to dig up the recommendation that Mike and I put together and maybe put it up on the blog?
You're going to love that last post to OntBirds.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you should consider creating a forum for road kill! :)
New to birding and Ontbirds. Ontbirds does provide humor - broken down cars, bathroom breaks, and the last was a hoot! Roadkill. I did send a question into the coordinator of Ontbirds a got a very polite response back with a link on how to unsubscribe ! All I wanted to know what was the importance of reporting Roadkill
ReplyDeleteOk this is hilarious. I too am new to Ontbirds hoping to get good tips on locations to expand my horizons around Essex County for treasures unknown to me and sightings of birds I would have a hard time identifyng by myself without a little help. Instead all I see is the suspicioulsy large number of Fish Crows EVERYWHERE and birds that have been in my backyard in Windsor for most of the winter. Good rant Ken. Headed to PP for the weekend hoping to discover something I haven't seen before. :-)
ReplyDeleteLol!
ReplyDelete