Where to post non-life observations - Wiki

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This list is for things that are not appropriate to post on iNat. It is a question that has come up a few times and I thought it would be handy to have the list in a single wiki post. They are not always equivalent to posting on iNat and I will go a little outside the box.

State of matter - mineral. Geology, Rocks and even fossils.
https://rockd.org

State of matter: Man-made litter. Plastic, cigarette, paper, can, bottle, etc.
https://litterati.org

State of mind Existential observations, ideas, aspirations and dreams. Inform, inspire, ignite change for the common good. (If not right here on the iNat forum)
https://commons.commondreams.org
I like this one about climate change

Astronomy
Aurorasaurus
More about volunteering to help classify than posting, but anyway
Zooniverse

GPS data like tracks or POI (point of interest)
OpenStreetMap

Landscape shots
Pics like a wetland, a shoreline, a waterfall, mountain range, clouds, etc… that are just natural environments and have no particular subject that is relatable to a life form. We can sometimes salvage these as an observation by finding something in there that can be IDed with some accuracy and confidence. Generally, though, pretty pictures of scenic natural landscapes are more appropriate for sites where you can just show off your photos, like Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/about).

Something I would like to see, but cannot find: anthropology. Cave paintings, middens, stone tools, ruins, historical evidence of ancient humans, etc.

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and there is forum.inaturalist.org for some of the state of mind stuff too!

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anthropology has a long and sad history of vandallism and ‘collection’ - much more so than most species. You all know i am not an auto obscure zealot but i would not want real locations of anthropology features posted. They don’t grow back.

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I think some of the more tangible things listed have been covered in iNat guidelines.
Abiotic signs of human activity are usually indicated as “Homo sapiens” (and often flagged for removal from the site, if postings are repeated). (See “inappropriate content”.)
Fossils would be identified as to the organism. The taxonomic pick list includes fossil species.
As the site is science-based, it would be very unexpected if astrology would be somehow accommodated.

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I have editing my post to avoid confusion. I was specifically referring to things that do not really belong on iNat and did not mean that iNat should accommodate these. In other words: if you tell someone not to post something on iNat and they ask “then where do I post it?”; this is the reply to that question. I hope it make more sense now.

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Gotta have somewhere to make all those Bos taurus sightings!

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as if the mapping precision isn’t bad enough imagine mapping entities that are light years away from their point on the map!

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Wouldn’t 3 points in space make a consensus?:blush:

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And most locations/structures/creations of interest can be added to Waymarking.com. They have over 1000 categories for different buildings, historic locations, art installations, survey monuments, etc etc
Full list of categories: http://www.waymarking.com/cat/categorydirectory.aspx?f=1
I have a couple hundred waymarks for places I thought were worth sharing / documenting online.

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As a former archaeologist I sincerely hope that no-one ever makes a citizen science app to record archaeological sites, rock-art, or anything else like that. The looting of even minor sites by both casual collectors and professionals makes the poaching concerns in iNat look like nothing.

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So true! I keep my discoveries secret.

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I wonder if there are trackers for ghosts, zombies, and aliens?.. i assume bigfoots (bigfeet?) and loch ness monsters and such could be captures in iNat…

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they need to be taxonomically described first though haha.

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Zombies = Homo sapiens ambiens
Ghosts are just deceased Homo sapiens. There has been discussion on how to deal with them.
There are many alien species. Here is a guide and there are also projects.
Bigfeet, Loch nesses or Tokoloshe can be added to this project

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Bigfoots herding sheeps! :)

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