OK, I didn’t know.
I don’t know if it has been said before, but similarly to this, I would much appreciate the places search box to use the same places as the “place” filter in the filter-menu or the ID-module. Currently, if I type in something like “Germany”, “United States”, “Europe”, etc. the country or continent doesn’t show up.
Instead I get “USACE Managed Lands - Little Goose, Lower Granite and Lower Monumental Projects, US” in case of typing in “united states”, I get a rectangle instead of the exact border outline for “Germany”, and an option for the continent “Europe” doesn’t show up (Instead I get Europe in Paris, France, Europe Square in Tiflis, Georgia, and European Square, Mount Tacoma Drive Southwest, Lakewood, Washington, USA).
Those search fields are searching different sources (Google vs iNat) so I don’t imagine one would be dropped. Perhaps they could be switched or more clearly labelled though.
3 Likes
Interesting. I didn’t know that. Thank you! :)
Still, though, I don’t really see the value of having the search box if it doesn’t give you what you are looking for. (Especially because the Location filter is a bit more hidden, it might be frustrating for someone new to iNat to use the place-search which is intuitively and visibly placed at the very top next to the taxon search, but not finding what they want).
If it were possible, I think combining the sources to output one list would be a good compromise.
FWIW, here’s a help page that goes a bit further into how the Location search is meant to be used. Agree that the current solution isn’t great, but it’s an attempt to help people get to the right area.
3 Likes
add a more instructive text into the search bar instead of just ‘location’?
S.th. along the way of ‘Google locations’, so that it is more clear where the search results come from?
2 Likes
Google Location vs iNat Places - would make it easier for us to remember which to prefer each time.
If you start typing in the Location box, it says “powered by Google” at the bottom.
3 Likes
Yes, but that’s not sufficient in my opinion, and it’s clear by so many forum questions that it is an ongoing source of confusion.
It should be made clearer what typing into that field means (before clicking into it).
Ideally I’d see both location searches next to each other but my suggestion would be a first step and easily implemented
Personally, I think the Explore feature is great.
I just miss (much, lol) a checkbox to hide the species I’ve observed, what the query string flag “unobserved_by_user_id” already does. I added my thoughts to this old feature request https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/about-the-feature-requests-category-please-read-before-posting/69, but in summary, I feel the need to “fill the gaps” in my observations space, or search for new things I haven’t observed yet, when visiting any place. This is the same regardless if I am visiting a new area, or I am in my local surroundings. Observing new things is probably a common desire for many people; personally, I refrain for uploading the same species once and again, but the idea that there are things I haven’t seen yet motivates me to keep searching.
I am talking mainly and specifically about the Apps, btw.
Just adding my two cents, while I explore the forums and github repos and I learn how roadmap decisions are made :)
Every once in a while I might “re-lifer” something that I saw once, many years ago (per the marginal notes in my field guide), and then forgot. But this is so rare that it always surprises me. Usually, a lifer is so memorable that I know when I’m seeing something I’ve seen before.
Are you saying that this is not so for you?
I feel the same, actually it’s surprising for me how I know first sight if I’ve seen something before.
But no, what I meant to say is that once I’ve observed something, I tend to lose interest in recording it repeatedly and my focus shifts to new things.
In familiar areas, I am interested in filling observation gaps. While exploring new areas, I’m interested in finding species that are completely new to me. And that’s kind of a core use for me.
For this, I have some crafted URLs for pending lists with the query param bookmarked, that I use in the desktop … but using those in the mobile in the browser is a difficult experience.