ID Please!

We've all probably used the "ID Please" check box. When you add an observation, it is right next to the "What did you see" entry box. It's a great feature that allows us to get help from the amazing group of naturalists on iNaturalist Vermont. Recently, I have noticed that sometimes many of us also forget to remove ID Please after we get a few good identifications. A search of the database reveals 1,216 observations with ID Please indicated. Check it out at http://tinyurl.com/mx55b27. It is important that we do this so that folks that use the search tool to find observations that need an identification are not bogged down. Do you have some observations that could have the ID Please box turned off now? Go to your observations on your dashboard and use search to find them. I have over 100 to go through and correct! Cue the red face....

Posted on 24 November, 2013 22:42 by kpmcfarland kpmcfarland

Comments

Sometimes I use 'ID Please' to denote uncertainty. I know that's not optimal, but... well, there is a field for certainty but no one seems to look at it. I guess after a while I should just assume there wasn't enough to go by and and ID won't be forthcoming. I turned off a bunch of mine recently but probably have plenty more/

Posted by charlie over 10 years ago

I do to Charlie, and I think that is fine for awhile. But I think like me, a lot of folks have a bunch we could all just turn off. Maybe we should point out where the uncertainty field is in a short note like this one above.

Posted by kpmcfarland over 10 years ago

Sounds good. Which field have you been using? I've found at least three. I guess it doesn't matter too much but..

I think that would be a nice thing to eventually put into the site itself. For instance I might not want 'unsure' observations shared as research grade without a higher standard of consensus than a normal post (IE, if I post a moth and one person identifies it, and it seems right, I will 'agree' but I don't really know anything about the moth beyond what that person told me so it's really research grade off of just one person's ID).

i wanna get out there and get more observations, but it's so COLD! I've been doing short drives and checking out some of my local back roads I hadn't seen before, which is lots of fun, but limited in what I Can do without spending more time.

Posted by charlie over 10 years ago

Charlie,
There is a field called Identification Confidence. it is a dropdown. I have used that. This one has it added: http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/464435. Yeah, I would dig that as a regular feature rathern than an added one for sure.

Posted by kpmcfarland over 10 years ago

Is the ID_Please field still an option? I haven't seen a button or option to ask for ID help.

Posted by highlinecanalcons... over 5 years ago

any observation is now counted as needing an ID unless it's marked as casual (as with a cultivated specimen) or already research grade (already has 2 or more IDs).

Posted by charlie over 5 years ago

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