Thinking inside the CPU

[JW Mills]

We've all heard the expression 'think outside the box'. Well now it seems we have to think 'inside the CPU' as well. Here are a couple of examples.
 
Let's say I wish to check out Colonel Samuel Smith Park on eBird. Being human (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) I would type in 'Colonel'. A list of eight sites appears in a drop down menu and I would have to scroll down to the bottom to find Col Sam. But if I type in 'el sam' it's the only site that shows up!
 
The same thing happens on Cornell Labs. If I want info on Blue Jays I would normally type in 'Blue'. A drop down menu appears with fifteen birds and I have to scroll down to find Blue Jay. But if I type in 'e j' it's the only bird that shows up!
 
So, if one day I post 'Saw an e j at el sam' you'll understand.

[Brian Bailey]

I've never tried those combinations, but you have hit on an effective search technique! I've noticed that eBird (and BirdLog) does a full text search as you type, but my brain isn't quite nimble enough to think of the ending letters.  I type "gna" rather than "blu" if I want Blue-gray Gnatcatcher because it's a much quicker match.  


BB

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[Dinusaur]

Neat observation