Robert, Even when I'm posting to a bird-banders chat group I rarely use the 4-letter codes as I feel it can disrupt the thought process of the reader and inhibit clarity. I use them where they were intended, in my banding notebook and also in my birding field notebook, where only I have to decipher them :-) Allen T. Chartier amazilia1(at)comcast.net Inkster, Michigan, USA ----- Original Message ----- From: "Robert Royse" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 8:46 PM Subject: [Ohio-birds] four-letter codes Those 4 letter codes are very annoying. They have a purpose for banders, but in written in reports they're like a secret code that I feel like I have to decipher. I certainly have no qualms about people abbreviating bird names as long as it is apparent what you're talking about with a quick glance. My 2 cents. Bob Royse Robert Royse [log in to unmask] www.roysephotos.com __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 4488 (20091007) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask] ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]