I haven’t seen this topic on these forums yet so I figured it would be interesting to bring up. What’s your most “controversial” observation? Which one sparked the most debate? The most alternative ID’s?
While I’m still extremely new to iNaturalist, for me it would have to be this moth, which at the time of this forum post, has 3 disagreeing species level ID’s.
Lots of disagreement-related comments on this one and this one of mine, and then of course there’s the terrible barnacle saga 
Fascinating! I’ve yet to go towards anything coastal, Mollusca & Annelida seem like a few cans of worms I really do not want to open, near all of them look the same to me.
This is the first time I’ve seen images used in comments though! Really interesting I didn’t know that was at any time a feature. Your explanations and deductions were really interesting, nice job!
Gray Wolf, Coyote, Domestic Dog? In a valley in Yellowstone NP: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/84068938
It’s not really controversial but it did spark some discussion. A possible hybrid swallowtail. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/173078886
I think this duck is my most controversial observation. I’m still not convinced it’s a domestic mallard (and to be fair, I identify a lot of ducks, including domestic mallards, on here and on FB). But if I’m outvoted, I’m outvoted, haha.
Is there a way to search for an observation with lots of identifications/comments? Or is everyone just happening to remember their observations that fit this description?
pretty onesided controversial, but it was pretty awesome moment of enlightment for me :-)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/38681756
I couldn’t find much but it’s probably this one, likely attributed to the awkward angle. The tail shape changes from photo to photo.
I posted this hawk because I couldn’t tell if it was a sharpie or cooper’s… lots of conflicting opinions made me feel better about my own inability to judge :)
I like controversial observations when the controversy includes discussion of why there are disagreements that helps me learn. This was one that I appreciated, very early in my iNat experience.
This fish observation is interesting on a larger scale and interesting in its own right.
There are some annoying controversies within the iNat universe that are unnecessary and pointless, leading to things like photos appearing in the wrong species page because moderators decline to apply rules but I won’t link to any because they aren’t mine.
In terms of taxonomy I don’t think I have had many controversial ones. Notably there is this salamander that we are unsure of the species:
as well as the saga with hybrid kingsnakes on the property. I am certain they are almost all intergrades between L. nigra and holbrookii and disagree with the 2019 paper due to lack of data from Mississippi.
this one in particular I think needs to be put back at genus.
My most controversial observations are the ones that are ambiguous if they are wild vs captive. such as the abelmosk i linked. There is no question in my mind that it wasnt planted in random locations throughout the neighborhood, but due to how seedy it is, I am surprised it is one only a handful of observations of the species in the US. another notable example is this oenothera
I apologise if I was a bit aggressive with my language. Sometimes I very passionate when IDing. Sorry about that!
As far as I can tell it’s people digging up discussions they remember on old observations, looking through old forum posts I don’t think there’s a way to search for observations with comments. (if I’m mistaken please let me know)
Oh hey I actually remember seeing your fish observation in another post a while ago under another forum thread! I believe the ‘Extinct Species’ one!
They really are an interesting story. Well, I think so, anyway.
Not controversial, but I did accidently confuse several people by making a bad guess at what I thought was a Hill krait, which several people agreed with, until someone pointed out it wasnt.
I admire your democratic instincts. 
I have had a few that became controversial. Three years ago, this one seemed straighforwardly research grade, but then controversy flared up about a month ago: nightshades (Genus Solanum) from Otjozondjupa Region, Namibia.
Similarly, this one was also research grade, until someone came along who was aware of a recent taxon split: Anoles (Genus Anolis) from La Yagua, Villa Magante 56000, Dominican Republic. There was more controversy on the taxon flag than on this observation per se, but it was part of the same controversy, as I started the flag because of seeing this happen to a lot of other observations besides mine.