# Blocked for providing a coarse ID (?) **URL:** \ **Category:** General\ **Created:** [September 16, 2020, 4:25pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/blocked-for-providing-a-coarse-id/16369 "2020-09-16T16:25:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![lotteryd](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/lotteryd/32/2490_2.png) [@lotteryd](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/lotteryd)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 3:16am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/blocked-for-providing-a-coarse-id/16369/22 "2020-09-17T03:16:00Z")
> [@Oliverc29](#): > > I don’t think people always understand what coarse IDers are trying to do unfortunately. But, those of is who do really appreciate your efforts, so please keep rolling! :) ---
**Author:** ![kmagnacca](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/kmagnacca/32/7212_2.png) [@kmagnacca](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/kmagnacca)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 4:21am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/blocked-for-providing-a-coarse-id/16369/23 "2020-09-17T04:21:42Z")
> [@Oliverc29](#): > > I do worry that with my coarse IDs I’m inadvertently saying (particularly to new users) “this observation can’t be IDed any more specifically than insect/plant/fungi/etc” rather than “this is as far as I can ID it - hopefully your observation is now in the right category for the right experts to see it”, which is why I do try to include a response explaining why I’m giving a coarse ID every time. One issue I’ve experienced is that if you’re adding a coarse ID to an observation that already has a higher ID on it (and which is in the hierarchy of the current ID), an option box pops up to ask if you’re saying it’s _not_ the one it’s IDed to, or if you’re just concurring with the lower level it’s already at. But IMO the wording isn’t that clear (I don’t think I explained it very well just now either!), so new users might pick the wrong option and inadvertently put in a conflicting ID. ---
**Author:** ![Oliverc29](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/oliverc29/32/12020_2.png) [@Oliverc29](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/Oliverc29)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 6:29am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/blocked-for-providing-a-coarse-id/16369/24 "2020-09-17T06:29:06Z")
Interesting point but I mainly coarse ID unknowns E.G. observations that’ve been left without any identification at all. In this case, the observation wasn’t identified by the user or anyone else at all. In fact, it wasn’t even clear what organism was the subject of the observation: the predator or the prey it was eating. I had to ask the user to clarify. ---
**Author:** ![Oliverc29](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/oliverc29/32/12020_2.png) [@Oliverc29](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/Oliverc29)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 6:40am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/blocked-for-providing-a-coarse-id/16369/25 "2020-09-17T06:40:31Z")
Thank you! I’ve been focusing on my IDing because I’ve stuck in self-isolation for three weeks due to my surgery & I can’t actually get out anywhere other than my garden. And whilst you can find a surprising amount of organisms out there, there’s only so much to see ;) After I can finally leave the house again tomorrow, I’ll probably dip back into making observations instead of semi-obsessively trying to categorize all of the unknowns :D ---
**Author:** ![aphili8](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/aphili8/32/13337_2.png) [@aphili8](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/aphili8)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 2:26pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/blocked-for-providing-a-coarse-id/16369/26 "2020-09-17T14:26:08Z")
Wish you a speedy recovery, Oliverc29! This was one unfortunate incident. I too like to go through unknowns - and I’m glad to report I’ve had more positive interactions than negative ones (although it is most probably there is no interaction at all as it seems most of the users of these are inactive or not regularly active). I think having negative interactions on the internet is always going to exist. If someone does block me (and lets face it, someone probably has) then it’s their loss. I do what I do to help get their identification some attention from someone who does know. I can always move on to the thousands of other users who may appreciate it. ---
**Author:** ![Star3](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/star3/32/73028_2.png) [@Star3](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/Star3)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 10:55pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/blocked-for-providing-a-coarse-id/16369/27 "2020-09-17T22:55:23Z")
> [@Oliverc29](#): > > it wasn’t even clear what organism was the subject of the observation: the predator or the prey it was eating. I had to ask the user to clarify. Just FYI, in that scenario, you could also ID it as animals (covering both predator _and_ prey) and ask the user which is the intended focus. ---
**Author:** ![benkendrick](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/benkendrick/32/7856_2.png) [@benkendrick](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/benkendrick)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2020, 12:14pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/blocked-for-providing-a-coarse-id/16369/28 "2020-09-19T12:14:51Z")
As long as you’re learning and improving as you go ;) ---
**Author:** ![lakekoshare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@lakekoshare](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/lakekoshare)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2020, 2:30am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/blocked-for-providing-a-coarse-id/16369/29 "2020-09-20T02:30:42Z")
I had an ID to species level that was as I found out later, incorrect. The problem was that the reviewer pushed the observation (it was a plant) all the way up to Dicots. So the map became a sea of orange. At least it could have been selected to family I think. ---
**Author:** ![sedgequeen](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/sedgequeen/32/1928_2.png) [@sedgequeen](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/sedgequeen)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2020, 4:40am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/blocked-for-providing-a-coarse-id/16369/30 "2020-09-20T04:40:17Z")
Maybe you could identify the observation to family, but maybe the identifier couldn’t. We ID as far down as we can and our skills differ. ---
**Author:** ![jane\_trembath](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/jane_trembath/32/1312_2.png) [@jane\_trembath](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/jane_trembath)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 8:37am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/blocked-for-providing-a-coarse-id/16369/31 "2020-09-21T08:37:36Z")
It is a bigger problem because research-grade obs get referenced by GBIF. It messes up science to have a wrongly identified organism for the wrong reasons. ---
**Author:** ![ocean\_beach\_goth](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/ocean_beach_goth/32/1113_2.png) [@ocean\_beach\_goth](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/ocean_beach_goth)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 9:55pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/blocked-for-providing-a-coarse-id/16369/32 "2020-09-21T21:55:55Z")
Like @Oliverc29 I also only do coarse IDs for obs that are uploaded as “Unknown.” This is to pull them into the right searches for those doing more detailed IDs. I’ve noticed that when I am coarse IDing recent observations that sometimes in the 5 minute time delay between a user uploading as “Unknown” and me throwing a coarse ID on it, the original observer has come back and changed their unknown to something more specific than my coarse ID- but you can only see that when the page refreshes. In those cases, I immediately withdraw my coarser ID, but I have to say after using this platform for a couple of years, if you upload something as “Unknown” you’re throwing it out there as something you want others to triage, so not sure why someone with specific knowledge of what they are observing would upload as Unknown to begin with? Not asking this sarcastically at all- I’m wondering if there’s a strategy in starting with Unknown that I’m just not aware of. This platform does take some getting used to for sure, and like any electronic format, there’s always a range of patience and kindness out there. Most of the people I’ve encountered are wonderful and supportive and fun! Sometimes people are rude, whether intentionally or not, but there’s not much you can do other than post an explanation about why you posted a coarse ID, like @sedgequeen suggested and move on. This said by someone who also stresses about miscommunication constantly. LOL ---
**Author:** ![marina\_gorbunova](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/marina_gorbunova/32/31454_2.png) [@marina\_gorbunova](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/marina_gorbunova)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 10:16pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/blocked-for-providing-a-coarse-id/16369/33 "2020-09-21T22:16:13Z")
Read thread about many Unknown obs (should be found easily), ppl who upload them explained why they do that, it doesn’t make things easier but at least you can understand how they see the situation. ---
**Author:** ![astra\_the\_dragon](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/astra_the_dragon/32/37251_2.png) [@astra\_the\_dragon](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/astra_the_dragon)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 10:25pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/blocked-for-providing-a-coarse-id/16369/34 "2020-09-21T22:25:11Z")
As Melody wrote, there is a whole Forum thread on that question. In short, some people use different workflows for whatever reason. And I’m with you, it’s kinda awkward to ID an observation as eg Plantae and not a minute later the poster has added the species or even subspecies ID. Even worse when it’s someone who obviously knows their stuff but I hadn’t checked the username first (sorry Susan Hewitt…) ---
**Author:** ![teellbee](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/teellbee/32/15498_2.png) [@teellbee](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/teellbee)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 10:54pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/blocked-for-providing-a-coarse-id/16369/35 "2020-09-21T22:54:00Z")
> [@ocean\_beach\_goth](#): > > if you upload something as “Unknown” you’re throwing it out there as something you want others to triage, so not sure why someone with specific knowledge of what they are observing would upload as Unknown to begin with? Some people like to upload their observations in bulk and comeback later to finish the process and provide IDs. To try to avoid stepping on those toes, I try to remember to set a date range on my Unknowns query to eliminate any uploaded in the prior week. ---
**Author:** ![sedgequeen](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/sedgequeen/32/1928_2.png) [@sedgequeen](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/sedgequeen)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 11:08pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/blocked-for-providing-a-coarse-id/16369/36 "2020-09-21T23:08:46Z")
teellbee wrote: To try to avoid stepping on those toes, I try to remember to set a date range on my Unknowns query to eliminate any uploaded in the prior week. Sometimes I do that. Sometimes I don’t. The work flow plan of identifying after uploading works for some people, but I think that the reality is that if a person uploads something as “unknown” he’s opening it up for identifications. The responsibility for the kerfluffle, if there is one, rests with the poster, not the identifier, in this kind of case, in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![lakekoshare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@lakekoshare](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/lakekoshare)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 12:51am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/blocked-for-providing-a-coarse-id/16369/37 "2020-09-22T00:51:16Z")
Later they identified it to genus after I sent a couple of notes to them ---
**Author:** ![pitm](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/pitm/32/6358_2.png) [@pitm](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/pitm)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 12:48pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/blocked-for-providing-a-coarse-id/16369/38 "2020-09-22T12:48:43Z")
Isnt providing a coarse ID bringing it to attention of someone knowledgeable in that category? Not sure why someone gets upset when you are breaking it down further than it was. ---
**Author:** ![DianaStuder](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/dianastuder/32/43358_2.png) [@DianaStuder](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/DianaStuder)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 8:54pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/blocked-for-providing-a-coarse-id/16369/39 "2020-09-22T20:54:04Z")
If I begin to recognise people for objecting to me IDing their Unknowns, I remember their name - and mark as reviewed, next please, in future. I still have many thousands to go! ---
**Author:** ![mamestraconfigurata](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/mamestraconfigurata/32/10149_2.png) [@mamestraconfigurata](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/mamestraconfigurata)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 9:19pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/blocked-for-providing-a-coarse-id/16369/40 "2020-09-22T21:19:50Z")
I don’t have much to add to what has already been said. I usually reserve the coarse id to new users who post as ‘Unknown’, saying that even that is better than an unknown id. Occasionally I will add a coarser ID to something that has been identified to species if I know it is **wrong** , then explain why I think it is wrong. Nothing is carved in stone - I’ve had Research grade ID’s go back to Family level because another, more experienced person disagreed. It is hard to get past the process - it feels personal, but in my experience it’s not. Keep beavering on!! ---
**Author:** ![Star3](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/star3/32/73028_2.png) [@Star3](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/Star3)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 11:36pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/blocked-for-providing-a-coarse-id/16369/41 "2020-09-22T23:36:34Z")
You can also block their observations, I think (or filter them out). I think Cassi posted the method in another thread once; I’ll see if I can find it. [addendum: [here](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/amount-of-unknown-records-is-decreasing/8594/303), by using `¬_user_id= ` to filter, and [here](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/filtering-out-a-particular-user/2606/) to block] [Previous page](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/blocked-for-providing-a-coarse-id/16369.md?page=1) [Next page](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/blocked-for-providing-a-coarse-id/16369.md?page=3)