Step 2: Filter by Category ‘Unknown’ (not sure if this is important, but when I had the problem it was with Unknowns)
Step 3: Attempt to add an ID to a certain observation, but fail (as shown)
This is a tricky one since it only happens with a few observations. The first time I took screenshots intending to make a Bug Report, but then the observation disappeared! Literally. It was gone. I had enough info on the screenshots that I should have been able to find it again, but I couldn’t. Even when I filtered Identify by its observer only a few things came up - and not the one I was looking for. This time I made sure to get the URL, but not sure it’ll even work.
The only explanation I came up with is that the observer deleted these observations between when I loaded Identify and when I tried to identify them, but I don’t know if it fits. Why would someone delete an observation anyway?
[Edit] The URL works, so it can’t have been deleted.
For the URL https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/55298548, did you find that URL by:
(1) looking at the user’s observations?
(2) at the time of the error, if you clicked the Unknown on the pop-up ID modal did it bring you to that page?
If the former, it’s possible they deleted the observation (under a different URL) and then re-uploaded it as the one you found.
I found the URL by clicking the Unknown on the pop-up ID modal, not by looking at the user’s observations. (I was afraid if I left the page it would disappear.)
I tried multiple times on both, it just kept doing it. Also, I could successfully ID a different observation, then return to the problem one and it still wouldn’t work. I have never had any internet problems, so I don’t think it’s that.
Was IDing obs yesterday and it happened a few times. Now today it happens with all obs of a user who does mega bulk upload. Probably related to bulk upload?
Bulk uploading could be the issue for the user you found, but I don’t think it is the root cause for everyone.
In the OP’s non-deleted example, the user’s observations show 5 observations added on August 3rd, but they are a few minutes apart, and all show they were added via the Android app (I think bulk uploads are only through the site).
Sometimes you need to refresh the Identify page if it’s been open for a while, I believe because the authentication token expires. I usually keep a pinned tab open to Identify, and if I don’t use it for a day, none of my IDs are added, and I need to refresh the page.
EDIT:
To clarify, when you load a page, we use an authentication token that expires after 24 hours. So if you try to make an ID, comment, etc, after the page has been open for more than 24 hours, it won’t save. You have to refresh the page.
The exception is the web uploader - the token expires after 24 hours, but if you try to submit observations after its expiration we’ll show you a pop-up and allow you to refresh the token without losing your work.
This just happened again, with https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/100805457. I was in Identify, tried to add an ID of Dicots, and got the error popup shown above. I then clicked OK, marked the observation Captive / Cultivated, and tried to ID it again - this time it saved, no problem.
