Don't let an observation attain Research Grade if its location is very imprecise

Feature Requests
132

This is not true, and I recommend you read this iNat help article: https://help.inaturalist.org/en/support/solutions/articles/151000169938-what-is-geoprivacy-what-does-it-mean-for-an-observation-to-be-obscured-

Please consider using the “Location Visibility: Obscured” option for specific observations where you do not want to share that precise location with others. Here’s what this does:

  • Shows you the actual location for the observation.
  • Shows all other iNat users a consistent, randomly selected location within a 0.2-degree-by-0.2-degree box. At a latitude of 40 degrees, this is very roughly 15 km E–W and 20 km N–S.
  • Gives you control over whether you want to share the actual observation location, e.g. with the administrators for a particular project, or with a specific researcher. You are not required to share any observation location.
  • Does NOT allow anyone to get access to the actual location without your agreement.

From that help page:

Geoprivacy: If you set geoprivacy on your observations there are three ways the restricted location information can be shared with others:

  • If you “trust” an individual
  • If you “trust” a project
  • If you join via or affiliate with an iNaturalist Network Node (e.g. iNaturalist Australia)

Note that all of this operates independently from Taxon Geoprivacy, which is a parallel mechanism to allow iNat curators to automatically obscure locations for ALL observation of a particular taxon, e.g. because of risk of poaching.

I think using the Obscured option is a better fit for your needs because it is specifcally intended for that purpose. People understand that an obscured observation is “somwhere within this box”, so they won’t incorrectly infer that the pin location is exactly where you saw something. And you get to decide with whom who you share the precise location, such as your friend who owns the property, or a state wildlife official working on controlling an invasive species.

6 Likes
133

Thanks. I did go through all the help and tutorial pages before starting, but I guess I might have been confused by the term “geoprivacy” whether that was referring to making it “obscured” or “private” and I’m still unclear on whether “trusting a project” is something I might do accidentally due to not being very tech savvy.

I have been obscuring the location in addition to using a wide accuracy circle, so that people can tell it’s obscured by the map icon.

1 Like
134

When you join a project you are asked

Do you want to trust the project admin with your coordinates?
(cannot remember the exact words - but you click the yes box deliberately)

2 Likes
135

Really, I think you just need to choose the Obscured option. All the other stuff with the accuracy circle will be overridden by obscuring the observation.

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136

For underwater observations where GPS does not work, the satellite maps of remote places are often very poor, and many other situations where I make observations, the range has to be large.

3 Likes