Some cameras with wifi or bluetooth built in, also have available apps that can be downloaded to a phone and the phone and camera can “talk” and record coordinates. There are also available separate units that can be attached to a camera to record GPS.
You could also set up the camera on your phone to record the GPS of each picture and do a duplicate picture with your phone.
If I can just add my own frustration to this discussion. I posted this observation of a Canadian Beaver.
https://inaturalist.ca/observations/25622957#activity_comment_3247568
In the description, I included the detail that it slapped its tail shortly after the photo. A couple of reviewers agreed that it was a Beaver. Then one claimed that it was a Muskrat. So I mentioned in the Comments that it had slapped its tail. That reviewer tagged someone else who has also ignored both the description and the comment.
Why do you say the description was ignored? Looks like the IDers don’t think the evidence provided (a photo of a large rodent in the water with furry ears) justifies the ID of beaver. Don’t muskrats also slap their tails?
From what I can see, it’s a beaver and not a muskrat. (But I could be wrong.) The tail slap, although included as an additional piece of evidence, is not something a reviewer can independently verify. So I would suggest that it can be excluded by a reviewer if they see evidence in the photo(s) that suggests something else…
I agree it’s a beaver. I think this is a phenomenon that happens fairly often, that people have been given some quick ID feature like “furry versus naked ears” and they take this as gospel, whereas people who know the species well take more features, and individual variation in specimens and photos, into account. When I see this I try to make a “rise above” comment that acknowledges the person but educates them a little: “‘Furry ears’ is a good feature to look for, but here are some others that show that despite the ears that may look furry in this photo, this is a beaver:”
It still also goes back to the quality of the photo. Better photo, less ambiguity, less debate.
@lotteryd, this is helpful, thank you! Have done exactly this in the past and not thought to use that check box. Obvious now you mention it.
I’m not certain, but isn’t it possible to turn off notification of comments? It looks like it in the account settings. I’m wondering if the person even receives notifications that anyone is commenting.
Yes you can, and even if you don’t, the identifiers that are most active will have hundreds a day, and they are going to quickly lose interest in following up on those, especially if they haven’t set the “only notify for different IDs” part. Also, if you click the notification balloon, and follow to any of the ten listed alerts, you also clear the list, so you no longer know how far back you need to go to see all the new alerts. The balloon can only show so many, so if you have lots of alerts, many of them will never be followed up on.
Direct messaging, or PM as some call it, is a little different, in that they won’t clear when you look at the alerts for observations. So even if you have 1000 alerts on ID’s or comments, the alerts for the PMs will remain and are typically only a handful at a time. People have to consciously be trying to send you a message to get those alerts. Just as in the forum there are the blue “Like” alerts etc, and then the seperate green “mail” or direct message alerts, iNat has the speech bubble for identification and comment alerts, and the envelope for mail or PM alerts.
If you want the other person to definitely get your message, then PM is the way to go… and if that gets ignored, then the next step is to escalate to staff at iNat. They will be in a position to a) decide if action needs to be taken (maybe what they are doing is actually fine!?) and b) more forcefully get the message across by potentially suspending the account until they respond or take notice.
The way I like to think of it, is a large hall with lots of enthusiasts, all shouting and trying to talk with one another. Some move through the hall very quickly and don’t stay put long enough to have a conversation with, but that is fine, there are others that stay still long enough! If you need to get their attention, you can grab their arm (PM)… and if you think what they are doing is disruptive enough and they are unresponsive even when you grab them by the arm, bring it to the attention of the organisers of the meet (iNat staff)!
I’ve reached out to them via a direct message a few days ago, with no reply. Looks like they haven’t been active in a few days.
Speaking as someone who’s spent way too much money on photo equipment, it’s not always possible to get a great photo, even with the right equipment. A photo is better than no photo at all, and description of behavior is also helpful. Finally, civil debate isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as I certainly learned something from that beaver/muskrat discussion.
It seems to me this topic, both specific to the one user and in general, has been pretty hashed out, I’m going to close it.