It’s interesting to see the overlap (or lack thereof) with the top 10 feature requests based on number of replies. Some topics get lots of discussion but fewer votes. Here’s a listing of the top 10 based on activity/discussion (number of replies).
Change wording used by the system when downgrading an observation to an higher level taxa
254 replies / 18.1k views / 38 votes (not in top 10 above)
Obviously a perennially frustrating and controversial issue based on how frequently it pops up in discussions on the forum.
Easy way to mark multiple-species observations
218 replies / 11.7k views / 128 votes (#3 in the top 10 above)
Implemented/closed
Implement Photo Blur on observations annotated as “Dead”
149 replies / 7.4k views / 39 votes (not in top 10 above)
Declined/closed
Automatic iNat suggestion for “unknown” observations that reach a certain age
148 replies / 11.3k views / 57 votes (not in top 10 above)
Under review
Make captive/cultivated not automatically “no ID needed”
130 replies / 9.2k views / 172 votes (#1 in the top 10 above)
Don’t let an observation attain Research Grade if its location is very imprecise
126 replies / 6.4k views / 6 votes (not in top 10 above)
Lots of discussion compared to very few votes in favor.
Change account deletion functionality to allow account anonymisation and prevent deletion of IDs
121 replies / 2.3k views / 104 votes (#9 in top 10 above)
Leading subspecies IDs should change the obs taxon like leading IDs of other ranks
118 replies / 10.2k views / 76 votes (not in top 10 above)
Implemented (git-hub issue made) in 2023
Use OpenStreetMap maps
109 replies / 13.4k views / 77 votes (not in top 10 above)
Implemented (web) in 2024
Bulk Selection of Observations to Add to a Project
83 replies / 15.1k views / 34 votes
Declined for bulk additions other than one’s own observations, but implemented adding observations to a traditional project from the Identify page
And just to be thorough, I also checked for the top 10 based on number of views, assuming that maybe some topics may rise up that are of interest to the “silent majority” that neither votes nor participates in discussions but still searches for answers on the forum and reads those threads. Based on that, the following not captured by looking at number of replies would be in the top 10 list based on views:
Separate ‘Like’ and ‘Bookmark’ buttons
12.1k views (19 votes) - closed in 2019, not moving forward
Limit Cache Size or Allow Cache Clearing for Apps
11.8k views (32 votes) - closed in 2023, new request should be made for new apps if this is still an issue
Search and filter identifications
11.0k views (#6 in the top 10 by votes)
Recognize sounds automatically
11.0k views (4 votes) - closed in 2020 with a note that it might be implemented if feasible but improving image recognition will be given priority