I’ve been looking but I don’t seem to see any topic that goes over this.
Is there a normal rule for tagging other people you think may be able to help with an ID? I know some people have it listed on their profile but not everyone does and I was wondering what the general consensus was.
The most recent example I have is: I was going through old obs stuck at the kingdom level trying to push them just a tad further when I was stumped. Frankly, that isn’t uncommon, however I thought of a user I know is in my area who may have an idea so I just tagged them even though this obs wasn’t their main focus. The obs was of a plant, and their main focus is insects.
If you are going through and need help with an ID how do you decide to tag someone? Do you check on the species “most frequently ID’d by” or do you typically stay within people you know from your area?
Funny enough I was just working on a draft for a journal post about this exact topic. I wrote at the end “I want to give thanks to all of these great identifiers. Not all are experts, but all are willing to help identify their expertise. Please don’t tag one identifier too much, they are not required to identify your observations just because you tag them.”
Generally it is only a good idea to tag on something said person is normally interested in. If they are only/predominantly identifying insects, best not to unless they have a side interest in said taxon (plants).
If they are someone who IDs basically everything in the specific area, perhaps give it a shot, they might know.
It’s ok to look at the top identifiers usually, but make you see what exactly they identify. If you know someone from your experience, that’s ok.
Identify for others - then you will see who else is active - who else shares your interest in taxon / location. Sometimes I send a PM and ask if they are willing to help.
Check their profile for preferred taxon / location - or a do NOT @mention me warning.
Only ask for obs with reasonably pictures (or audio) enough info for them to use.
Don’t tag them too often - one of mine says - once in a day (or they get swamped!)
Tag one person at a time. Then wait a bit before asking the next one.
Slightly off topic. Poaceae? Yes Poaceae - means everyone already engaged with that obs gets notified.
And then your tag calls their taxon specialist - and you know who to ask for that next time.
PS IF you ask for help, and you get a thoughtful reply - do withdraw or change your ID as appropriate. Otherwise it looks as if they are wasting their time.
You still need to use your judgement as “expert” has a tricky multilevel meaning.
The more you pay attention to the iders, the more you’ll pick up on it. Use the id to look up more info, it’s a good way to expand knowledge .
Withdrawing my original id is often as far as I can get, and eventually someone else will come along.
Yes, even years later.
There are times when I will hit agree because I have done what I need to id and it avoids my typos.
Is it common to do this? Yes.
Is it good practice? No.
Everyone makes mistakes. Even experts. Maybe 99% of their IDs are correct, but today they were tired or inattentive, maybe they selected the wrong option when typing in the ID, maybe they misinterpreted a tricky photo, etc. The reason two IDs are required for RG is meant as a sort of check, to increase the likelihood that observations get looked at by more than one person and mistakes get corrected.
You should only agree to an ID if you can confirm it yourself. Ideally this means: you understand how the ID was made (what characteristics are necessary for ID); you are able to interpret the photos (you know what the relevant characteristics look like); and you know enough to exclude possible lookalikes in the region in question.
It depends on each obs.
If the wrong ID is from an observer / identifier who has abandoned iNat - then I lean more towards supporting taxon specialists.
If there are very few obs for that taxon - I will try to find another competent person. I don’t want to be on an exclusive leaderboard.
And if my ID has served its purpose I will withdraw it - altho that leaderboard starts at 7K so my solitary ID is irrelevant either way ;~)
Tag someone who did ID’s in your area for the same species. So if you want an ID for a diptera on Hawaii do not tag people from Europe who has never been there.
(I did tag a guy from Australia who ID’ed a genus in Europe… He was born in Germany…)
For sure the IDer leaderboards are helpful to answer the question of who to tag. But make sure not to just tag the first names on the list, but do check if they are also active in the area the observation is from and do check their profile .. but it seems you already do that.
If you are unsure about whether your tag is appropriate, leave a note either on the comments or maybe even as a private message asking for clarification on how they stand on the tagging subject.. especially if you think you might want to tag them again in future.
It’s true you shouldn’t just agree to a the ID by an expert or a person who is on the leaderboard for that taxon. However, I consider it entirely legitimate to agree after checking up on the ID a bit. Search the suggested organism name in a field guide or on iNaturalist or elsewhere on the internet. Does your photo seem to match? Does the distribution seem right? Are there comments somewhere about identification problems? Once you can make a informed (though not expert) answer, go ahead and agree.
If you’re involved in trying to outvote a wrong ID things are different, but if the only ID’s on one of my observations are my initial broad ID and the expert’s, I feel comfortable leaving it at Needs ID. Sooner or later (maybe much later) somebody else will come along and add an identification.
For my own observations my general rule of thumb is my ID stays unless I’ve learned to the point that I’d be able to ID further next time. I try to keep my responsibility in my ID to something I can either repeat or defend. emphasis on the try.