I keep seeing taxon swaps where a taxon is made inactive. What is the purpose?
From the curator guide:
Changing iNat’s Taxonomy (Taxon Changes)
What Taxon Changes Are
Taxon Changes represent changes to our taxonomic classification where existing “input” taxa get replaced by new “output” taxa. They come in a few flavors:
Taxon Swap (One-to-One)
Replace one taxon with another. Use this for simple name changes where the new name describes exactly the same group of organisms as the old name, e.g. assignment to a new genus, fixing a spelling problem, etc.
Taxon Merge (Many-to-One)
Merges several “input” taxa into a single “output” taxon, e.g. when multiple names are lumped under a single name. Suitable for combining a lot of synonyms at once. You could use swaps for this too, but merges just helps consolidate the description and sourcing.
Taxon Split (One-to-Many)
Splits a single “input” taxon into several “output” taxa, e.g. when a species has been revised and determined to contain several distinct, named species.
Taxon Drop
Deactivates a taxon. You could also just edit the taxon and mark it as not active, but making a Taxon Drop allows you to explain and cite your sources. That said, just deactivating a taxon, whether with a drop or through direct editing, is almost never appropriate. You can almost always map a name to some other name. Drops are not a way to just get rid of names you don’t like for some reason.
Taxon Stage
Stages a new, inactive taxon for activation. Sometimes we (the iNat team) make sweeping semi-automated changes based on a taxonomic authority, and stages allow us to release a bunch of new names at once. Again, like drops, they are almost never really necessary.
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So, like if Auplopus architectus was moved to Phanagenia we’d have a taxon swap?
Auplopus architectus would be inactive, and Phanagenia architecta would be active?
Sounds correct
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