Just to follow-up, there are many specific issues with starting to identify on iNaturalist that has become second nature to power users (so much so that I don’t think about them much). These include things like:
- Techniques for cutting down the number of notifications you recieve.
- How to manage being overwhelmed by increased notifications.
- How to deal with uncertainty when your ID is questioned.
- How to determine whether the other identifier knows enough to make the ID they did.
- How to assess one’s own level of expertise.
- How to determine the observation in question is beyond your current level of understanding.
I don’t know how much training on these items went into the ident-a-thons, but these could be important items to focus on moving forward. At the very least, perhaps a little information on the importance of follow-up combined with offering a more advanced course on these topics.