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Suggested 'How to ask for an ID' post


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1 hour ago, Charlie Spencer said:

Sure, but I'm going to have to figure out how to use tags myself first!  Should it go in the second half with the other suggestions?

When you start a new thread, right under the title field, there is a tags field where you can add them in. I'm terrible about not using them myself ?

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Are we happy with the first half?

@Administrator, I've added instructions for including tags.  I'll include the revised second half in another post shortly.

Personally, I guess I don't see the value in tags.  If I'm searching for a string a bird name, for example), it's likely that it's already in the text of the individual discussion.  I don't see how adding the same information as metadata results in a more accurate search.

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Are we pretty much done with the first half?  Here's the revised second half for your critical pleasure:

That information is usually enough, but some birds are very similar.  These items can be useful in narrowing down the options:

⦁    What was the local environment?  Was the bird in a forest, desert, beach, urban area, etc.?  Was it raining, snowing, windy, etc.?
⦁    What was the bird doing?  Was it hopping, flying, singing, sitting still, etc.?  If it was eating, what was it having for lunch?
⦁    Were there other birds?  Did they look like the mystery bird or were they different?  Were there a few of them or many?

If you think you know what the bird is, please enter its name and location in your post's title or tags (or both!).  Tags make it easy to search for related posts.  Below the new post's 'Title', look for 'Tags' and click '+Choose'.  Enter your tags separated by commas, such as 'Carolina Wren, Eastern Kentucky' (without the quotes).

Please limit your requests to five birds per post.  When there are more than five ID requests in a single post, it becomes difficult to follow the discussion of each bird or photo.

Please be patient.  We have many active members, but we aren't Facebook or Twitter.  It may be a few hours before our members respond, especially if your request requires research.   If you don't have a reply within 24 hours, feel free to 'Bump' your question.

Sometimes a bird can't be identified.   All of us here have had sightings and photos that left us scratching our heads.  That's just part of birding.

Thanks for joining us!   We hope you come to enjoy birding as much as we do.

Edited by Charlie Spencer
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4 hours ago, Charlie Spencer said:

Are we pretty much done with the first half?  Here's the revised second half for your critical pleasure:

That information is usually enough, but some birds are very similar.  These items can be useful in narrowing down the options:

⦁    What was the local environment?  Was the bird in a forest, desert, beach, urban area, etc.?  Was it raining, snowing, windy, etc.?
⦁    What was the bird doing?  Was it hopping, flying, singing, sitting still, etc.?  If it was eating, what was it having for lunch?
⦁    Were there other birds?  Did they look like the mystery bird or were they different?  Were there a few of them or many?

If you think you know what the bird is, please enter its name and location in your post's title or tags (or both!).  Tags make it easy to search for related posts.  Below the new post's 'Title', look for 'Tags' and click '+Choose'.  Enter your tags separated by commas, such as 'Carolina Wren, Eastern Kentucky' (without the quotes).

Please limit your requests to five birds per post.  When there are more than five ID requests in a single post, it becomes difficult to follow the discussion of each bird or photo.

Please be patient.  We have many active members, but we aren't Facebook or Twitter.  It may be a few hours before our members respond, especially if your request requires research.   If you don't have a reply within 24 hours, feel free to 'Bump' your question.

Sometimes a bird can't be identified.   All of us here have had sightings and photos that left us scratching our heads.  That's just part of birding.

Thanks for joining us!   We hope you come to enjoy birding as much as we do.

This looks good to me; most critical stuff first and more concise, more details later for the readers ? However my overly logical mind is having a conflict between "put the species name in your title" and putting up to 5 birds in one post. Probably not a problem really.

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10 hours ago, Aveschapines said:

This looks good to me; most critical stuff first and more concise, more details later for the readers ? However my overly logical mind is having a conflict between "put the species name in your title" and putting up to 5 birds in one post. Probably not a problem really.

Ya know, you're making a stronger case for tags.  How about this, and move it after the 'Please limit your request to five birds..." paragraph?

"If you think you know what the bird is, please enter its name as a tag.  For multiple species, it's easier to use tags than to list them all as a lengthy title.  Also, tags improve search results.  You can enter the location as a tag, too.  To use tags in a new post, look for 'Tags' near the top and click '+Choose'.  Enter your tags separated by commas, such as 'Carolina Wren, Blue Jay, Lexington, South Carolina' (without the quotes)."

Edited by Charlie Spencer
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I'm one who is guilty of not always putting in the location. I link to Flikr, and the information is under the photo. I will correct my mistake in future posts. The information you are working on is very good. I read it all, and understand the process much better. Thank you!

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I wanted to suggest one more thing before you publish this.  To make the post stand out more you can add a tag to the title.  I believe this is done by typing in a tag (maybe PLEASE READ! or something like that) in the tags box below the title box then selecting that tag in the Item prefix drop down menu.

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6 hours ago, Charlie Spencer said:

@Aveschapines, it looks like we're ready.  Should I start a new topic and notify you, or is there some other method of publication you'd prefer?

The other option would be a moderator announcement; see the rules and "Why doesn't my old account work" messages at the top of this page. I have mixed feelings as to which would be better. The announcement can be customized with a different colored stripe, and I can set it to appear in certain forums. But a pinned post can also be copied in other forums. I can also add the tags to that as the Bird Nuts suggested. So I'd be happy to go either way; we can always change it later! So why don't you post it, and I'll watch for it so I can pin it and add tags if you want me to do that.

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18 hours ago, Aveschapines said:

The other option would be a moderator announcement; see the rules and "Why doesn't my old account work" messages at the top of this page. I have mixed feelings as to which would be better. The announcement can be customized with a different colored stripe, and I can set it to appear in certain forums. But a pinned post can also be copied in other forums. I can also add the tags to that as the Bird Nuts suggested. So I'd be happy to go either way; we can always change it later! So why don't you post it, and I'll watch for it so I can pin it and add tags if you want me to do that.

Okay, it's up!  I assume you'll want to unpin this one.

Thanks for your contributions, everybody!

Edited by Charlie Spencer
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