Hello everyone, I am new to iNaturalist and am wondering if people tend to find others’ notes on observations worthwhile, obnoxious, or ineffectual. I am autistic and can have a difficult time understanding standards of conduct (I’m not even sure if this forum post should be made, haha). I am aware …

notes are good, also a lot of us are autistic, see https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/neurodiversity-and-inaturalist/17268

[image] jtkindt: I put them on my own observations for all sorts of reasons: sometimes because I’ve noticed something cool or puzzling in the photo and want to hear what others think about it (beyond an ID), sometimes just to help me remember where I might go back for a follow-up visit, sometime…

Hi @moonjam ! Personally, I like notes and make them on my own observations for many reasons - from adding context so that others can more easily ID what I observed, to just waxing grateful for seeing something beautiful/astonishing/amazing/humorous. I think the act of observing is unique to every …

[image] richyfourtytwo: I found massive amounts of comments like ‘I have seen that species too’ or the like on my observations, I might be a bit annoyed. On the other hand, I recently posted that I had been to the exact same tree as the observation, and the observer seemed pleased.

As a note of caution, if you are adding comments about edibility on your observations there is always a possibility that someone may see that and eat something that they wouldn’t otherwise have eaten. Even if the information is accurate, misidentifications happen (either theirs or yours) and you don…

I always read the notes on the bottom of observations. Some of them can be quite witty, and I can appreciate a good pun. I write notes on my obvs too because my memory is objectively horrible, and I might want to remember something about the way a specimen might be behaving. If you want to includ…

I would have been pleased too. Note that I also wrote: [image] richyfourtytwo: massive amounts :-)

Welcome to iNat! I enjoy a detailed and informative note; as others have mentioned it’s great for jogging one’s memory later on. But I don’t write them often enough myself.

Information about the behaviour observed, situation, habitat, any detail that couldn’t be seen in the picture, jokes: All great.

[image] ionam: just wrote a truly terrible poem, if you can call it that, on one of mine Loved it! And if you ever come across a specimen that has met with a grievous bisecting injury, you could always borrow these lyrics from MP: Half-a-bee, philosophically Must ipso-facto half not-be. …

New User, Are Notes Typically Encouraged or Discouraged?

General

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What do you include in the ''Notes'' sections in your observations? General question	32	1124	May 9, 2025
Observation Comments: To further ID or may I use it for notes on the organism in general? General	11	756	November 10, 2020
Is it useful to write out my identification steps? General	52	2077	March 30, 2023
ID based on observer notes General question	47	1342	November 23, 2025
Dissenting ID Comments Would be Useful General	49	2961	October 30, 2023

New User, Are Notes Typically Encouraged or Discouraged?

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