Tags not working in notes section

Bug Reports
1

I’ve noticed two instances recently where I have not gotten a notification when someone tags me in the notes section. Is this a bug or intentional? I can’t think of any reason it would beneficial for this, so I assume bug. As far as I’m aware I’m still notified of tags in comments.

URLs (aka web addresses) of any relevant observations or pages: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/137402451
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/138404186

Description of problem (please provide a set of steps we can use to replicate the issue, and make as many as you need.):

Step 1: User tags me in notes

Step 2: Submits observation

Step 3:

2

(since I’ll delete the observations and associated comments now, posting this here)

I tagged you in the notes section of 3 observations and you then let me know you got all 3 notifications. Hm…

  • tag added after observation was already uploaded
  • tag added at time of uploading (observation made via web)
  • tag added at time of uploading (observation made via Android app)
3

@bouteloua thanks for the help, wonder if this could be an iPhone app-specific issue? My phone is android too, so I’d offer to help but unfortunately can’t do so.

4

For one of the observations, it looks like you made your ID 2 minutes after they made theirs, so I wonder if you were on the Identify page and just hadn’t refreshed it yet? Or perhaps the notifications were slightly delayed in both cases and you just happened to see the observations before getting the notifications?

5

Yes, this happens a lot - I will run across things people tagged me in weeks or months later, never got a notification it. I only seem to get notified if the tag is in a comment.

Edit: I use the website only

1 Like
6

As far as I can tell, I didn’t get notifications at all. For the one I’m able to check, there is no mention notification in the notification dropdown or my feed. I was on the identify page when I saw the recent observation, but not for the first. It’s possible I may have opened that observation just minutes after I was tagged too though. Strange that there wouldn’t be a notification at all.

7

is this the same as https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/tagged-users-in-notes-arent-notified/30236/9?

2 Likes
8

Seems like yes, that’s probably the case.

9

I thought tags were only supposed to work in comments. Have I been overloading people with notifications when I put their names in the description/notes section? I just wanted to link to their accounts if we went together so that anyone who saw my obs can see that and go see their obs from that day.

10

i think this is a slightly different problem that what is contemplated in the original post. i suspect this would explain the “delayed” notifications: https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/mention-notifications-months-later/9527/19.

11

What I’m talking about isn’t delayed notifications, it’s never getting a notification at all when someone @'s me in the “Notes” section of of an observation.
For example, someone uploads a plant observation and wants me to take a look at it, so they do @graysquirrel in the observation notes before they upload it - I will never get a notification for that. I’ve recently stumbled across several such instances by accident while working on IDs.

12

It’s definitely a bug. Our dev wasn’t able to replicate it last time they looked but I re-replicated it this week for them. We’ll be looking into it again soon.

13

OK, this has been fixed. It’s working for me.

1 Like
14

Thanks @tiwane !

15

FWIW it only happened when the observation had a photo. If the observation had no photo, a notification was generated. My inital bug report didn’t include that detail (I wasn’t aware of that wrinkle) so it wasn’t reproducible at first by our devs. That’s why we always ask for as much detail as possible, as well as screenshots or better yet screen recordings. Which I also need to remember to do as well. :-)

1 Like