Am I the only one? If I’m identifying and one of the observations is moving it puts me on edge and I have to quickly go to the next page. If people want to add GIFs I would prefer them to be the 2nd photo, not the one that shows up in Identify. But perhaps I am the odd one out?
And another thing - Yesterday I found one GIF observation that has been unidentified for years because there is no clear image of the subject. There is only the GIF which jumps around and you can’t stop it to look at what it is of. So please, if you really want to use a GIF, include one still image as well so that people can get a clear view of whatever it is.
I’ve not yet come across GIF observations, but can see how that’d be annoying when primarily using the site as an identifier. If not using already, maybe hotkeys on the computer to quickly swap through media can help (Via identify page, if used)
I’ve seen GIF observations. I feel indifferent mainly because I don’t identify that much, but like @amanitamozart said I can see why it would be frustrating. When I do come across them though I think they’re nice because it gives the observation a more “real” feeling, but I agree- it would be a good idea to keep them on the 2nd photo out of respect for the hardworking identifiers.
Migraine city. Years ago someone said - nothing should move on my screen unless / until I tell it to. And I have never found a way to disable moving images. Even the ads that ‘get around’ my adblocker sometimes move. Sound clips and moving images I skip for someone else to ID.
If that GIF has slipped into taxon pictures … deleted for a still image.
I love gifs, maybe i am the most uploader of them. I dont think they are stupid, sometimes, body movements or behaving can add extra information to the observation.
I also dont understand complaining about it. Noone forcing someone to watch a gif.
I dont complain but, I also find listening to sounds very disturbing. I never listen to sounds in audio observations because I need to wear headphones. But since people find it useful, I add sounds to my own observations just for them even i hate listening. I think it’s important to be open to different ideas and styles, way of thinkings.
BTW there are only 17231 gif observations. This is 0,005% of the total valid observations.
If the GIF is the first file in an observation, and that observation appears on a page I am identifying, then the constant movement is very distracting, and I am either forced to see it, or skip to the next page (my normal response). Obviously not everyone feels that way, and that’s fine, but I find it unbearable.
There is a project for observations with GIFs – https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/animated-observations
If you are sensitive to moving images, you might be able to use the workaround of excluding observations in this project from your searches with the url not_in_project= . (This does require that the observations have been added to the project, but a lot of people who upload GIFs seem to be aware of and use it.)
I have very occasionally uploaded GIFs even though I am aware that they are not officially supported and may be deactivated at some point. When I have done so, it is because there was some interesting behavior I wanted to document that couldn’t be captured in still photos. I always use a still for the first photo, which I think is considerate to other users who may not wish to see them (I agree with others in finding GIFs annoying when I am scrolling through thumbnails, though I don’t mind them so much when looking at an individual observation).
The ones that think gifs are fine may have never had motion sickness and are probably not sensitive to flashing lights either. Having not experiencing any problems, most do not comprehend the difficulty and are unaware or lack the (?) empathy to understand these things can cause physical discomfort.
I feel for people who struggle with motion sickness when viewing movement on their screens but I really think GIFs can capture weird movements that might be interesting or aide in identification; I’m grateful that it’s an option!
Here is one of my observations of a weirdo little moth that had extremely weird movement, and I’m so happy to be able to share its erratic motions! I think going forward if I add any gifs I’ll make sure not to have them as the first photo. I just feel very strongly that it’s such a good tool to have access to! I think making the gifs not the first photo is a good compromise. Maybe have a little symbol that shows there’s a GIF as part of the image set? That way identifiers who are affected by the movements can easily skip those uploads without clicking through
If people suffer from motion sickness, instead of viewing others’ freedom to upload these GIFs as a lack of empathy, they can simply block them with a browser extension.
Ugh! those disturb me, too, because I suffer from migraines and motion sickness - although I know that no one is intending to make me sick…
I don’t use Chrome, and don’t know how to use browser extensions to block such things. But I just figured out that on my iOS device (where I do most of my iNatting) I can go to Settings > Accessibility > Motion, and Toggle OFF “Auto-play animated images.”
It works - I tested it by opening those links above that include GIFs, and none of them opened!
Audio that disturbs you does not automatically play and is clearly marked with an icon so do you get the choice. GIF does not offer us the same “warning type” of icon.
No one said gif was stupid or do not have worth, just that as first photo they can disturb others. Those of us who do have these issues compensate more often than you realize. I doubt any of us actually expect any of you to change your habits for us.
Sometimes we need to be heard.
There doesn’t seem to be any reliable ones for Firefox. The best solution I have found is to go to about:config and change image.animation_mode to once, which will play animated gifs only once when the page first loads. The animation can then be replayed by forcing a page reload with Ctrl+F5 or Ctrl+Shift+R (or Shift+Click on the toolbar refresh button). It’s also possible to completely stop all animations by using none instead of once. The default setting is normal.
I don’t like the little film clips, either. They don’t make me sick, as they do for some people, but I do have other problems. First, I consider the movement a distracting annoyance, like moving ads and those enthusiastic clapping hands or whatever that people sometimes post as comments on Facebook. (Please don’t.) Second, I can’t really see and evaluate the traits I’m looking for when the subject is moving. That may be just because I have lots of experience examining still photos and very little with films, but it’s real. Additionally, I can’t seem to get the film clips to magnify. I appreciate that @salix-babylonica posts stills from the film as well as the little movie. I click on the stills for identification. When other people post only a film clip, I usually skip right past without identifying.
I’ve understood GIFs as a way around the inability to directly post video to iNat. I don’t think they should be the first image on an observation though.
I think I have only one GIF that I’ve used in an observation.
I stumbled upon a very unusual predation attempt of a grackle persuing a bat one afternoon.
The interaction was so brief I barely had time to switch to video mode and point and shoot. But a tiny portion of my attempt was clear enough to show the action. Using GIF’s ability to pause and slow the attack down, I created a rather jerky multiframe sequence which I added to the observation. (With an explanation in the note)
It certainly shows the incredible flight agility of the bat as it executes a 180 degree turn and then dives.
It’s this step-through, slowed-down ability of a GIF that I think has some valid application for observations.
(But maybe I was wrong?)
I’ve also noticed that aGIFs do not move past the first frame when using the iNat phone app (Android). But it does display okay through a browser view.