I have to agree and add: a lot of times if I can get to the genus level via the Latin name, that narrows down the possible species to a point where I can compare their traits and perhaps identify the species. This is really true in trying to learn about new groups of critters such as dragonflies or spiders, both of which I am trying to learn. Some spiders don’t even have a common name. And in my journal here, I had a really nice French gentleman ask me politely to use the Latin names for my dragonfly and damselfly journal entries because he was unfamiliar with the English names.
So even for someone like me (no expert–just your run-of-the-mill person) there is a lot of value in learning and using the Latin names. It should never be seen as elitist or whatever–it simply provides more clarity.
This conversation has gone all over the place from the initial intention, which was
From there, it seems to have devolved into another discussion about common vs Latin names, which has already been rehashed in several other threads.
I have at least once deleted an RG observation because I was embarassed about how bad the photograph was. I see the threads on here asking for recommendadtions about camera gear, and I don’t read those, because (1) that’s too much money for me to spend, and (2) I dont have professional level photography skills anyway.
One example is in the reply just before this one:
“[Using Latin names] should never be seen as elitist or whatever–it simply provides more clarity.”
It may provide more clarity for many of us under many circumstances, but the fact that it comes up for debate over and over again should be an indication that it is a matter subject to preferences.
Another example is taxonomy itself. When I was a graduate student, our lab was aware of the paper in which the former North American Rana and Bufo had been transferred to Lithobates and Anaxyrus; but we still used Rana and Bufo because of a sense that the revision was not as well supported as its authors thought it was. But does a novice know about issues like that? Tell a novice, “it isn’t Rana, it’s Lithobates,” and the novice will probably take your word for it rather than reading and understanding the revision for themselves and making their own informed decision.
Hah, oh man, I was just at a native plant festival this morning chatting with someone about taxonomic chicanery. And this hit multiple levels of the conversation, because were getting into potential taxonomic splits for the genus Cornus in the US and how a lot of people have simply ignored the papers suggesting it, along with potential upcoming splits for Allium tricoccum… and while we’re having this conversation my husband & cousin are just staring at us wide eyed because they know all of this by the common names and not the binomials.
Then again, said cousin was looking for a specific Monarda species and ended up walking past the plant she was looking for because the vendor wasn’t using the common name she was expecting for it. Which also happens.
Stuff is messy because humans are messy, nothing is ever going to be perfect
Not that those amphibian genus revisions are now accepted by all herpetologists. One can waste a lot of time debating taxonomy with frog people instead of more important matters like their conservation.
I joined Mindat as well in 2016. At first I found it a useful and welcoming site. The last correspondence I received from one of their contributors (not an admin) was that my mineral specimens were mostly “crap”. This individual has made many similar remarks to others and has never been stopped by the admins. Unfortunately I see that happening on the iNat Forum recently as well. This type of criticism is not conducive to member retention.
But. On iNat. Flag the cr*p when it crosses your barrier.
We have good (kind) moderators like @anon83178471 - who communicates (where I would just hide delete block, don’t need to see that again)
Thanks. The problem is that on iNaturalist itself the word “flag” clearly states the option whereas the picture in the forum is not so clear, at least to an analog type like me.
Yep. Just make a cautious but casual attempt to be polite and experts become easy to talk to. Works just as well with doctors and the like as it does with some bloke down the pub you wanna chat science nonsense with over a friendly pint.
