Platform(s), such as mobile, website, API, other: all platforms
URLs (aka web addresses) of any pages, if relevant:
Description of need:
The scientific core data of every iNat observation are: date, location and evidence (photo/sound). While editing an observation e.g. to add or improve a note, or swap the sequence of pictures. The core data of date and evidence are relatively well protected (as one needs several clicks to modify them). The location data on the other hand is not: a single accidental click on the map can mess up location of an observation. Here the layout in the android app. A single (even accidental) click on the map will change location data.
In the last 3 days i found 2 observations where somebody had obviously (accidentally) modified a location and i know it already happened to me either.
Feature request details:
A checkbox with a text like:
enable location editing on the map.
Would solve the problem and make accidental compromise of core location data much less likely. I think this is a feature primarily in the interest of data integrity and iNaturalist as a data provider.
Also - Where were you ? - location notes, can, and should be edited by the observer. Default text from Google is often unhelpful. And that text is independent of where the location pin actually is, so can be flat out wrong. School in Alabama, but pin in central Africa, location notes an unfunny joke.
Since the GPS data already requires an extra click, it would probably be sufficient to combine GPS and map into one user interface element. Are you okay with this approach in lieu of a checkbox? I assume that would be okay so I added my vote (for the concept, not necessarily the offered solution).
My point is: while duplicating an observation or editing an observation note, the core data shouldn’t be prone to accidental modification. The geo-coordinates are prone to such accidental modification as the interactive map is by default already active. So the solution is to make the map “not active” in standart editing view, with the possibility to activate it with an extra click, if needed.
Where this extra click should go, is a question of webdesign and not the primary point of this request. Certainly there is already an “Edit” button you have to click to edit the coordinates in the number field. This very same button could also be used to activate the map.
The title of your feature request mentions a checkbox, which is why I asked. Perhaps you could reword the title to be less prescriptive and more general? Something like: Protect location data during observation edit. Or something like that.
