An operational definition isn’t a “mantra”, no matter how little you like it, nor does it fall into the class of statement that can be proven or disproven.
The approach taken by iNat is internally consistent. Anyone interested in further detail (e.g. “mixed-sex group”) can generate an observation field. I‘ve done that for ripe fruit, variant flower colour, and average temperature of the last month at a nearby weather station. I appreciate the flexibility and don’t need to dictate how this should be done within the core software.