… you can see the Identify interface scroll past your eyes as you fall asleep
… your mind insists on labeling everything you see as that one species you’ve been looking at for the last three hours. that’s a cat, not a plant…
… or as some species name that just stuck in your mind for no reason. Euphorbia tenax? I hardly ever look at those??
… you’ve stopped counting how many IDs you do per day and measure it per month or year
… while you are still happy to provide knowledge and advice to the strangers that tag you, it’s not quite as thrilling as it was when you started
… you forgot the full name of a species because you only think of it by its shortcut, eg. eup tit
… you forgot the shortcut because your muscle memory has taken over and now who even knows what the name of it is, it’s just typety typety next
… you make a thread like this seeking reassurance you’re not the only one
Whenever I use any non-iNat pages/software with a search function, eg Google search, MS Word, I can’t stop myself from auto-pilot typing a shortcut version of whatever I’m searching for…always takes me a few seconds to register why the search isn’t working properly…
My favorite is using the common names of Ranunculus spp… try having a discussion about whether an observation is a Hairy Butt, a Bristly Butt, a Large Butt, etc.
The muscle memory bit makes me feel … only half human, and half of me is virtual.
(My name is Diana and I am addicted to IDing on iNat - I only have 3K dicots to clear from my own corner of the Southern Bioblitz - have cleared my Everything else)
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
I have a second tab open for taxonomy and filter down to find smaller slices. Then it is easier to sort out
that is NOT whatever
but that one is This plant
Ultimately a little more taxonomy sticks in my head, for next time.
on those sorts of days, I’m really grateful that 2 IDs are needed for RG. and also that Nathan Taylor will sometimes look through my IDs and totally call me out on my million mistakes
You spend an hour tracking down the original 1905 description of a moth just to cover all the bases (after having looked at three website images of the moth).
You have ten tabs open to moth identification websites.
You search for species names rather than bothering with genus because the species names don’t change.
(I’m sure I’ll think of others!)
After typing bombus imp 472 times, you inadvertently type it ten more times on things that aren’t Bombus impatiens because your stupid fingers took over.
Your descriptions of why ID’s are wrong don’t have any conjunctions in order to save time.
I type full names too! I sometimes use shortcuts on iNat, but search for species on other websites and they need the full name. My biggest problem is that I read the names wrong - something like Agnorisma badinodis becomes Agnorstorma badicollis in my head. Doesn’t work in a search!
I am bored tired of typing common big names and start learning scientific name for that purpose. easily disappointed when you know that the common name you learn is not in inat, so you start finding scientific name of that organism.
if it’s a name already in use, please add the common name to the taxon page. we want iNat to support people from all places, including the names they are used to using.
I did this sort of thing (in a lab, under a dissecting microscope) for a student job in college and got paid $6 an hour for it. But because I started having chronic health problems I didn’t get to go to graduate school. I ended up working for state wildlife & fisheries doing database work in the office where I often used my eye for detail in trying to read bad handwriting. But then had to quit that because I got worse. That’s when I really got into citizen science. It gives me meaning and purpose. Helps with depression.