Even non-governmental organizations can be affected by governmental policy and actions, directly or indirectly. Hacking by unfriendly entities is also always a concern. So without going in details of politics or economic interests, it is fair and wise to suggest here that iNaturalist should, as perhaps it does, maintain multiple backups of all its data as well as of this forum, stored in more than one location, with some of it on external storage that is unreachable by hackers.
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iNatâs funding is currently mainly coming from the generous grant we received from a private organization, iNatâs not a government organization so itâs not really vulnerable to whatâs been happening of late. As for other organizations, some are definitely dependent on US government money and would be at risk if funding collapsed, Iâm sure.
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even 5 years ago, i think it would have been really hard for many folks to conceptualize a world where any of whatâs happening now would even be possible. i hope it doesnât happen, but things can always get a lot worse, and if things get really bad, i donât think itâll matter if iNatâs support comes from non-government sources or not.
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Thank you for the clarification.
It is not political to be concerned about how a current government affects the sciences.
Or rather, there is a difference between being apolitical and being ignorant to change and why changes are occurring.
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How disheartening to see the censorship in this thread. I wish we had the old system where not so much was hidden.
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Would funding for GBIF be at least partly at risk? The National Science Foundation is a funder. Iâd hope it is at least cushioned by the large number of funding bodies across many countries, though Iâd have no insight to the proportions.
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I would ask them directly, I doubt anyone here would be able to give you a useful answer.
A post was flagged as being off topic and it was hidden. The person who made the post has a chance to edit it and it will again be public once itâs edited. If itâs flagged again, it will be hidden indefinitely unless a moderator chooses to unhide it.
The reason Discourse (which runs this software) no longer allows people to see hidden posts is that doing so would mean that basically any hateful or insulting content would still be there and there would be little incentive for people to not post something hateful or insulting in the first place. If you have further issues or question with forum moderation, please message me, or forum_moderators, or post in Forum Feedback so that this thread doesnât go further off topic.
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also, the large majority of flags on this thread have been dismissed without hiding anything.
we are aware this is a sensitive topic.
in a better world, it would be scientists and not politicians who made decisions about science. this kind of conversation wouldnt be a âpoliticalâ one in the first place. we donât live in that world⌠not yet.
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I get this, but in practice the kinds of science decisions the govt makes affect peoples lives in ways that go beyond pure science. A decision to fund is either a decision to tax or a decision not to fund something else.
A decision to protect a species or location may involve regulations having the force of law that affect people in various ways. I think if voters donât have a say in taxation and lawmaking that affects them we end up with problems
To be clear, I do not support widespread cuts to science funding, promoting this will weigh against candidates in my mind when I vote in 2026
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I think it best to try to keep this conversation close to the topic identified by its title. Discussion of what should get priority for funding involves complex societal tradeoffs, and therefore is a highly political topic. Discussing that in detail here would be a slippery slope toward a rabbit hole.
The topic identified by the title concerns the safety of data. Aware that there are those external to iNaturalist who may wish to damage data on biodiversity, we should make sure that data about biodiversity gets backed up safely in a manner that is impervious to destruction, regardless of whether whether the threat to the data is through official channels or through potential hacking by rogue actors.
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One advantage that iNaturalist has is, that there is at least a basic backup of the data (even though without images) in the GBIF database which is outside of the direct juristication of the US (Denmark it seems).
Another advantage that iNaturalist has, as mentioned earlier, is that it is not a governmental site. However, that does not make it immune from unofficial actions. Be safe; make safe backups, and keep some at undisclosed locations. That need not be seen as political; itâs just good policy for any operation.
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I agree with what people are saying about backing up data, whether due to hacking, funding problems, or even just technical glitches or disasters. As a kid I remember one of the science websites I used went down because hurricane Katrina flooded the servers
Iâm a bit confused why people think iNat is a target (any more than any website is a hacking target) but maybe there is some attempt to suppress this kind of data that I am not aware of?
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I have not seen any evidence at all that iNat is a target. However, some people do not like policy that seeks to preserve biodiversity, so they might not like caches of data that could be used for that purpose. Not everyone is ethical, and many hacking incidents occur. As you also mentioned, natural disasters could destroy data as well. So just back up the data - itâs relatively easy to do that, and better to devote extra effort than to have regrets after something happens.
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There is one hidden comment.
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I read quickly through the posts, and I have been thinking about the information here. As a teacher (not in the sciences but I am certain this applies), it is going to be much harder to maintain access to the necessary resources, including data, to create and move forward curriculum. I am anticipating more state oversight of curriculum which will affect the quality of the curriculum and teachersâ access to materials. I am certain, knowing the dedication of my colleagues, that teachers will push forward the teaching of strong science programs, but as much information needs to be preserved as possible, and teachers will need access. Publicly funded science education programs may see their funds reduced or cut. Save everything you can and support education. If this post is deemed too political, by all means remove it. I am not certain how I would edit itâI have already focused and chosen my language carefully. My concern is education in all areas.
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You can save articles in pdf format and share them with colleagues offline, in case they get withdrawn from public access due to pressure.
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It is very important to look at all the funding for all organizations that our tax dollars are being spent on. Yes, your elected representative should be alerted to your desire to have any organization using your tax dollars, demonstrate transparency and accountability. In recent years, extreme political views have crept into many organizations that have nothing to do with nature observation. Can anyone tell me how, inclusive language, sex, gender, sexual orientation, rainbow flags, race, Diversity, Equity Inclusion (DEI), Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG), and theories on questionable climate science affect identifying species and observing nature?
The United States has never ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). As GBIFâs membership is organized primarily around parties to the CBD, the U.S. does not participate as a full member state in the traditional sense. Despite this, the country remains one of the worldâs largest producers and mobilizers of biodiversity data, and U.S.-based research institutions and agencies have consistently contributed resources that benefit the global data-sharing infrastructure GBIF offers.
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Extreme political views? Thereâs nothing âextremeâ about inclusive language or climate science.
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