There Was An Attempt: Hardest and Easiest Butterflies/Moths to ID in the U.S.A

For me, for every obs I made, I made 0.02 IDs. How embarrassing. Do I have to make IDs?

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Yep! That’s iNaturalist Order No. 228, “Thou shalt have an obs to ID ratio in excess of that of @teamvalor786succulentsandcacti.”

Unfortunately for you, good sir or madam, it is impossible for you to have a ratio in excess of your own ratio. So, off to the gulag with you! You shall be forced to perpetually ID, as a means of rehabilitation!

Edit: Just in case - I’m joking; no, you don’t have to make IDs. :slightly_smiling_face:

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No you do not have to. IDs range from no obs and a gazillion IDs, to thousands of obs and no IDs. Bear in mind that identifiers are all volunteers, probably with RL commitments, perhaps a day job. Some taxon specialists patrol their patch which can be a monumental task. Sometimes thankless as well!

Presuming you start your obs with your own ID, a ratio of 1.25 covers the IDs you need from others (the .25 covers disagreements) - so it is kind to give that back in turn to others - if you can, or want to follow iNat’s first rule - Be kind. The future of nature is in your hands - in your own words ;~)

Many people choose to (attempt to) maintain a certain ratio of obs to IDs, with the idea that they want to give back some of the help they have received. Much like you might consider looking after your neighbour’s pet or plants common courtesy after they’ve done the same for you.
I try to make 2 IDs for every obs of mine. Of course not all IDs are the same type (I tend to make very broad IDs to help experts find things, only rarely IDing to species) and it’s not as if I am only IDing things from the people who helped me. So a little different than the neighbours example, but you get the idea.
Out of curiosity I looked at the average number of IDs any one obs of mine receives, and after a happy half hour spent with a calculator and the inat app open I can report that it is 1.4
A little sad really as it means quite a few of my obs must have only one ID, but interesting nonetheless!

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