iNatForum tutorial

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  1. I find this forum difficult to navigate. Is there a tutorial somewhere about how to get around within it? If so, where.
  2. When someone leaves a ID or comment on a sighting, is it customary to not give any supporting comment as to why a photo is or isn’t a particular species?
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Regarding 2)
There are a lot of observations for identifiers to get through and an identifier shortage for many taxa. So it’s usual to submit your ID and move on to the next observation quickly.
I personally like leaving comments because comment I have gotten or seen on other‘s observations have helped me a lot. But I still don’t leave comments every time. It just depends on my mood, I guess, and whether I think the person will see it and/or care.

If you want comments, I‘d suggest commenting something (like a question) yourself. At least for me, that‘d make me likelier to leave a comment as well.

Regarding 1)
There is a New User Tutorial, and I wanted to link to it, but I cannot find it… :sweat_smile:

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You can talk to @discobot, which is a robot that will take you through a Discourse tutorial. This video may help: https://youtu.be/2Mu5TYoXACA?si=QXnNuHdDgpYhuQ_c

Many identifiers on iNaturalist used to write prolific notes explaining why they chose a particular species, but most observers didn’t care. Many of these identifiers would be delighted to explain, IF you make it clear to them that you are genuinely interested and would like more information.

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Hi! To find out what I can do, say @discobot display help.

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I see you have made lots of IDs. Are you asking if you should comment each time? I find brief comments helpful - a recent one I read - ‘forward facing biting mouthparts’. But nobody can comment every time - unless they do VERY few IDs.

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Whoa!!! @ tagging Discobot makes it post a reply!

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Hi Diana: I’m not asking if I should give an explanation, as the only two photos I’ve posted were things I was quite unsure about, and wanted suggestions (supported) from others. I’ve virtually no ID’s on iNaturalist (2 tentative ID’s, do they count?), but I’ve made 100’s of 1000’s of bird ID’s in the field over the past 45 years, some of them recorded on our Audubon chapter blog. I’ve learned to suspect unsupported ID’s. I don’t always give the reason for an ID in the field but I’ve got one if anyone asks and when I’m leading a trip, I tell people that at the start. Thanks for the inquiry.

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Many thanks for both your suggestions which were and will be enlightening.

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Someone shares your user name on iNat then.

Ask your identifiers why is it, or not, that ?
People are happy to explain when asked.

Or you can tell your problem upfront - not sure whether this is the blue, or the purple. Hybrids have also been seen here.