I might be pedantic but I cannot see how obscuring data can have a negative implication whatsoever?
If an agency doesnt know something is somewhere, putting it or not on iNat is not going to change that.
Telling the agency there is an endangered plant in their jurisdiction can have a positive impact.
Telling the internet where there is a fragile/vulnerable organism/ecosystem means telling the worse people you know on the internet. And that can have a terrible impact.
I really like the obscuration feature. It gives enough info. Keeps your data slightly more protected. And if somebody wants more details you can let them know under more controlled circumstances than just screaming it onto the worldwide web.
did you read the thread? itâs covered in detail. There are many reasons obscuring can be harmful. That doesnât mean it doesnât have a time and place, and i think herps that are experiencing poaching pressure is one of those places. But⌠if you actually want to know⌠read the thread.
Hi marina you must refer to somebody else? Im not asking.
I just disagree the obscuration feature has downsides.
iNat is not the channel to communicate to an agency or land manager that there is an endangered species in their property. Agencies have their official channels for that.
You cant expect posting exact gps coordinates on iNat is going to let somebody know they must protect something. You need to tell them.
We users still learn there is something cool in an area with the obscuration feature. I might be wrong but I believe obscured observations still show up in projects created for an area if the original pin is there.
Plus I fully support giving locations if somebody asks. I ask and I share info when asked. Its a more controlled audience of presumably nature lovers.
But you can be sure some horrible or ignorant human being will do damage with the info posted openly in the internet if they get hold of it. Just look at the damage instagram has done to many wild pristine places or vulnerable lands.
I agree with that. iNat might provide the records (obscured or not) to the public at large, including agency people, but the resource managers have their own data, which might not be open to the public, and they communicate with each other. Which is not to say that they never get a âheads upâ alert to some undiscovered population via iNat.
I just didnât see the point of posting again the detailed description of why obscuring locations make the site mostly useless for what i use it for including in a professional land management sense. Itâs nice that one person doesnât have that issue, but itâs inaccurate to say it has no impact when in reality it just has no impact on you