Taxon page photo browser not displaying photos properly

Platform (Android, iOS, Website): Web

App version number, if a mobile app issue (shown under Settings or About):

Browser, if a website issue (Firefox, Chrome, etc) : Chrome 87.0.4280.88 and Firefox 83.0 (64-bit)

URLs (aka web addresses) of any relevant observations or pages: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1080209-Cimbex-rubidus/browse_photos

*Screenshots of what you are seeing:
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*Description of problem:

*Step 1: Opened taxon page for Rusty Willow Sawfly and see 15 observations, 7 of which are research grade, in stats and seasonality graph.

*Step 2: Click on ā€œView moreā€ under main image and an empty search is returned (see first screen shot). This does not change even if I select different filters (Faves/Date Added, Research Grade/Any) or refresh the page.

*Step 3: When checking the observation page (second screenshot above), I can see all the observations, which can each be opened up and viewed normally. This problem now appears on several other taxa (see comment below)

2 Likes

What I see. Interesting, why it says thereā€™s no observations.

The photo browser is now not functioning for a majority (70%?) of all taxa for me. After having done a restart to my computer, the following taxa did not display their images in a gallery mode:

  • Red-backed Darkling Beetle
  • Red Net-winged Beetle
  • Etorofus propinquus
  • Rusty Willow Sawfly
  • Green Long-lipped Tiger Beetle
  • Genus Scelolyperus
  • White-spotted Sawyer Beetle
  • Billbug Weevils (displayed a single image on photo gallery, despite 2,391 observations)

But, the following taxa did seem to (at least partially, if not fully) work:

  • Asian Lady Beetle
  • Convergent Lady Beetle
  • Western Banded Glowworm

Problem continued until I toggled through the ā€œGrouping =ā€ filter. Then when I returned to ā€œGrouping = Noneā€, the full functionality was restored and all images are visible in the photo gallery. I note that I have never used this particular filter before.

Just encountered the same issue

and then fixed it using this solution as well

Iā€™m having the same issue with viewing images, but toggling the ā€œgroupingā€ filter does not fix the problem.

I still canā€™t replicate after trying in multiple browsers using multiple taxa and filters. Can you please share screenshots of the browserā€™s console for pages where you canā€™t see photos? In Chrome, go to View > Developer > Javascript Console.

Weā€™ll take a look into it this week.

After doing extensive testing, I believe all of the reported issues could be explained by having an annotation filter that might not show in your photo browser options (except in some cases under Grouping - see my other reply) and contains a value that is not relevant to the current taxon. The end result is that nothing matches.

For the impatient, hereā€™s a workaround:

Skip all my lengthy explanation and just find a taxon that has an annotation filter that is set (i.e. doesnā€™t have ā€œAnyā€ value). If youā€™re having trouble in one particular taxonomic tree, go to a different one (like if it is Flowering plants that donā€™t show up, try Animals, and vice versa). The key is to find one that has a menu from which you can choose ā€œAnyā€ again to clear the stuck filter. Once you do that, you should be able to see all photos in your other taxa again.

Whatā€™s going on and how to reproduce it:

The last time I was in photo browser I clearly recall I had filtered on life stage = adult. Today, I tried the photo browser for a taxon for which life stage is entirely not applicable (Usnea longissima). It shows no photos, and no option to unset life stage:

Behind the scenes, it is trying to apply the life stage filter via this API call: https://api.inaturalist.org/v1/observations?verifiable=true&taxon_id=122681&place_id=&preferred_place_id=6853&locale=en&order_by=votes&quality_grade=any&term_id=1&term_value_id=2&page=&per_page=12

Note the presence of &term_id=1&term_value_id=2 filter in the query. That should not be there.

  • Toggling grouping was ineffective.
  • Navigating to Arthropoda and opening the photo browser gave me access to life stage once more.
  • From here, I was able to clear the life stage filter.
  • Then, I navigated back to the problematic display: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/122681-Usnea-longissima
  • The photo browser shows photos again:

And of course, the observations API call URL no longer includes the annotation filter that was screwing up the search: https://api.inaturalist.org/v1/observations?verifiable=true&taxon_id=122681&place_id=&preferred_place_id=6853&locale=en&order_by=votes&quality_grade=any&page=&per_page=12

5 Likes

Reasoning that my situation (arthropoda -> fungi) was somehow different than yours (maybe plantae? -> animalia), and that made the difference re. Grouping fix, I tried:

  • visit Flowering Plants https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/47125-Angiospermae
  • select plant phenology Flowering filter
  • visit Anura
  • browse photos (no matches, as I expected from my other test)
  • toggle Grouping
    • unlike with Usnea, I had some options other than None and Taxonomic; toggling between those was ineffective
    • however, it does have Life Stage Grouping, which in Animalia corresponds to Plant phenology in Plantae
    • when I toggle to this and back, it fixes the issue

But depending on which annotation filter you set initially, and which one youā€™re having trouble with, you may or may not have a Grouping option available to you that you can choose to workaround the issue. With Fungi you are particularly out of luck because it has neither Life Stage nor Plant Phenology, so there is zero overlap with ā€œstuckā€ filters on either of those.

4 Likes

And with this description, the problem is able to be replicated.

  1. I just opened the photo viewer in Rusty Willow Sawfly and see all the images.

  2. I then navigated to the Monarch butterfly page and selected ā€œLife Stage = Larvaā€

  3. Now, when I return to the Rusty Willow Sawfly image viewer it shows no images.

Thanks Ben!

3 Likes

Hereā€™s a github issue for this: https://github.com/inaturalist/inaturalist/issues/2879

Thanks for all the sleuthing, @benarmstrong!

1 Like

Thanks everyone - I just logged in specifically for this bug that has been peeving me for a while now and I see there is at least a workaround for now.

Please fill out the following sections to the best of your ability, it will help us investigate bugs if we have this information at the outset. Screenshots are especially helpful, so please provide those if you can.

Platform (Android, iOS, Website): Website

App version number, if a mobile app issue (shown under Settings or About):

Browser, if a website issue (Firefox, Chrome, etc) : any (verified with both Firefox & Chrome)

URLs (aka web addresses) of any relevant observations or pages: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/154432-Paracentropogon-longispinis/browse_photos

Screenshots of what you are seeing (instructions for taking a screenshot on computers and mobile devices: https://www.take-a-screenshot.org/):

Viewing the URL above while logged in as myself, I get just the text ā€œno observations yetā€ with no photos. The same thing while I am not logged in shows many photos. It must be some sort of filtering, but thereā€™s nothing specified on the URL (and ā€œFilter by Placeā€ isnā€™t on). What else is sticky?

This has been happening for some time, and I just kept forgetting to report it.

I have been getting this for quite some time, too. Using Firefox on a PC. I havenā€™t tried to see if it is different if not logged in.

PS- In reading further down the forum I discovered other posts about this issue, and the work-around of the ā€œGroupingā€ setting.

Platform Website

Browser Chrome

URLs (aka web addresses) of any relevant observations or pages: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/31281-Calotes-versicolor/browse_photos

but the same results seem to happen on any species I try.

Description of problem When on a taxon page and you I click View more photos, no photos are shown even though there are plenty of observations of this taxon (See screenshot).

Interestingly enough when i open an incognito window and go to the exact same URL it works and displays photos as expected. Then, after I log in in that same incognito tab, the photos are then gone as soon as I log in.

nobs|690x343

The same has happened to me quite a few times lately; For some reason it shows ā€œNo observations yetā€, no matter what species you try to see ā€œmore observationsā€ of. However, after a while it works again - seems to be one of those intermittent things?

Seems mostly fine now but just got it on

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/78886-Rosa-rubiginosa/browse_photos

Web Version 87.0.4280.88 (Official Build) (64-bit)

Change grouping workaround works as expected.

Platform (Android, iOS, Website): website
Browser, if a website issue (Firefox, Chrome, etc) : Chrome
URLs (aka web addresses) of any relevant observations or pages: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/42069-Vulpes-vulpes (= example of a species page where you can click on the ā€˜moreā€™ button to get an overview with pictures of the species)

PROBLEM:
When I click the ā€˜Moreā€™ button on any species page to see more pictures of that species, then (see next picture)ā€¦

ā€¦ I get an empty overview showing ā€˜No observations so farā€™

Am I the only one with this problem? :)

Thanks in advance.
Thomas

1 Like

iā€™ve been having this issue as well!
edit: itā€™s working now, weirdly enough. it wasnā€™t the other day.