Virtual storage space brings issues of power use and global warming, climate change - which naturalists care about.
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The amount of climate change caused by inat is infantessimal compared with its value. Not a reason to delete data.
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And today’s temporarily photography-challenged users may be tomorrow’s voters most interested in climate change, if they are respected here.
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I found this discussion very interesting and productive. It made me think about why I use iNat, and I’d like to offer my own statement of purpose: “To connect people with a shared interest in nature through discussions centered on their personal observations.” For me, the key contribution of iNat is connecting people with each other. If we look at iNat from that perspective, all observations have potential value if they lead people to converse intelligently and respectfully about what they have observed,
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That’s a good insight. The personal-observation aspect of iNaturalist assures that people don’t participate passively. Either they are out there observing or they are actively identifying, or both. People learn by being curious and by building on what they know, and iNaturalist fosters exactly those activities. And the more people know, the more they care.
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I’ve noticed a recent uptick in people whining about photos they think are blurry, difficult, or not aesthetically pleasing, even when they are identifiable. I find it really frustrating and pointless, and I am wondering if there is a canned response to send people when they do this, because when i respond i am always cranky because it makes me cranky when people act like annoying pests. Or, flagging the comment if it’s chronic, or something else? Is there clear language somewhere that people should not do this that I can link to? Some of my photos are pretty, but i use the site to document and to share biodiversity, not to make pretty post cards of different plants. Some of the post card contingent don’t seem to understand that, and it gets tiresome constantly dealing with them.
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I personally have not noticed such comments. I figure if an image is not that great and can’t be IDed, a reviewer would just skip it and withhold the commentary (as I do). Not sure what sort of response would be appropriate for the whiners, other than ignoring them. Except maybe a canned comment like “The preceding comment is not helpful or productive.” .
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I do lots of ID and i always just click R and keep moving, unless i think there’s a helpful comment to be made, like ‘it’s generally not possible to identify a sedge based on leaves alone’ or whatever. But then I get comments by a repeat offender sometimes (or see them on other people’s stuff). Maybe it’s not a big uptick and just something i had bad luck to encounter more than once in a short time, but I just know that i will be less likely to be cranky and create drama if i can just link to a page that tells people not to do it.
The City Challenge has drawn some exquisite photos which are aesthetically pleasing - but almost impossible to see which plant it is.
If comments are whiny, not nasty, ignore them?
It depends, are they telling you NOT to upload blurry photos, or just commenting that they can’t id because it’s blurry. If the first, then I agree… It would bug me tremendously. I use text blaze and it’s a simple thing to set up a boiler plate response to such things, but my photos must be mostly good, as it hasn’t been something I have encountered much.
comments like ‘this is a blurry photo’ or ‘this is not a good sample’… after it already has research grade and has diagnostic features… in one case a diatribe from some self proclaimed Ailanthus altissima expert that someone’s blurry photo from a road could not be identified and they should have stopped to take a ‘better’ photo (on an interstate highway) when the photo was very clearly Ailanthus and they could not name any other possible plants it could be. Then furthermore you could pull up Google Street View and clearly see a thicket of Ailanthus, seeds and all, with the very same individual tree trunks visible. It was discouraging to a relatively new user and also super condescending and obnoxious So i told him off, which i am probably not supposed to do, and he went away. But… it’s just frustrating to find such bad behavior here.
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My new favorite phrase for that group 
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On the other hand, would there be a “For Science!” contigent? ;)
I think both contingents would have a beneficial role in the forward momentum of the site though. The postcardy observations are probably more likely to make someone go “Wow!” and get more interested in something. Really, some eyecandy is a good thing if you want to fight various kinds of species blindness.
BTW re “for science!” your username rocks.
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the postcard thing is fine as long as it’s not forced on others. But, i save my postcard pretty stuff for instagram, mostly.
Thank you!
And for the record, I do love seeing the Instagram/postcard worthy photos that get posted
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Has anyone who frequently IDs the photos of others tried using the Comment space for something like:
“The bloom is so beautiful! This area of the park has 3 lookalike flowers. Maybe you can take a photo of the leaves and whole plant?”
or
“I recognize 2 of the 4 green plants in your photo but I’m not sure which one you want to ID. If you go there again, can you try to take a photo from a different angle?”
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Yes, I often ask the observer if they remember if the plant had prickles, etc, if they don’t show in the photo. Some say they remember, but quite a few say they will go back and look and take more photos, or if they aren’t close by they say they’ll try to notice that next time. I think those comments do help the quality of observation.
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Thanks, Janet. I was thinking that this might also encourage a new casual observer to go on another nature walk. In my county, vandalism is a problem in the conservation areas and the suggested solution is to encourage more people to visit so the vandals have less privacy.
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I find ignoring is the best option in general for my own productivity and emotional well-being …but sticking up for someone vulnerable is important, isnt that the point here? We may never change the negative comnenter, but having someone jump in to defend their observation will make a big difference for many.
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