Potential for data loss

[Mark Tutty]

A user can make an identification on an observation and include comments attached to that identification (ie the comments box filled before the "save Identification" is selected. When the user deletes/removes their observation, the comments are deleted/removed as well. Often the comments include useful information about the observation even though the identification might be tentative, and the loss of that information in the comment may not be desired. It is not obvious to the identifier that the comment will be deleted as well, and they may or may not notice that it deletes. Hence it is a potential for loss of (useful) information.

The identifier does still need to be able to delete comments where appropriate, but I think it should be a conscious thing rather than a consequential thing.

Perhaps if the identification and comment are separated when they are committed?

ps can we have a tag "for discussion"? or what tag should be used for this?

[Mark Tutty]

Oh, and another problem with the connected comments... In the Needs ID! page, if there are comments made on an observation they appear as a collapsed list labelled "See 3 comments" or something like that., However, comments attached to identifications do not appear in that list. This is evident when someone makes a comment referring to content of the attached comment, but you can't see the attached comment until you enter the "view observation" page. Separating the comment and identification would solve this problem as well. :)

[Scott Loarie]

Hi Mark,

So you mean someone might delete their ID and not realize that the
comments associated with the ID will also be deleted?

Fair point.

One thing I've been kicking around that might solve this is to remove
the ability to Delete IDs and rather just cross them out (ie make them
not 'current' in the database which is what currently happens add a
new ID to an obs that they had ID'd before). These not current IDs
don't have any effect on the community ID, but there'd still be a
record of what happened, including comments associated with
non-current IDs.

I can't see any real reason to delete IDs (because as you say, they
have information which is useful in following the comment thread)
rather than maybe embarrassment, I know I've added my share of doozies
I'd like to forget ;)

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--
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Scott R. Loarie, Ph.D.
Co-director, iNaturalist.org
California Academy of Sciences
55 Music Concourse Dr
San Francisco, CA 94118
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[Scott Loarie]

You're right, comments on IDs should appear there. I won't file an
issue though, because I know replacing that Needs ID section with
something more useful for IDers is in the queue. It will certainly
include those comments