as long as we're kvetching
Lists don't work reliably. Places don't work reliably either.
No further interest in these features.
Just don't even get me STARTED on Identotron
Lists don't work reliably. Places don't work reliably either.
No further interest in these features.
Just don't even get me STARTED on Identotron
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I usually don't use Identotron but I have used it to ID a few mushrooms. In my experience, it's all about how you set your parameters. And really, it is easier (if not quite as thorough) as one of my other methods consisting of looking at every single species of a genus on USDA Plants and checking the range, descriptions, and photos of each. Of course, Identotron is not perfect (it can never replace field guides and dichotomous keys), but I think it's pretty decent when you don't know much about a group (i.e., fungi) and your list of possibilities is not endless.
Here is what i know about Identotron.: when i first started on here, i was adding observations from a visit to Caprock Canyon. There were no previous observations at that location.
I added a grasshopper. I added some Nama. I added a plant i wasn't sure about (Eriogonum). What is this? Let's try the Identotron Cullen told us about. Identotron suggests it's either a grasshopper, or Nama.
Identotron knows nothing but what's been added in the vicinity.
Perhaps it's useful in over-observed sections of the world. It is of no use where I'm working! The thing is just reading back to me the junk I already have entered nearby.
If you're breaking new ground, don't trust it.
You can reset the parameters to include all of Texas, all of the Southwest, all of the Llano Estacado, or even all of a certain county. You're right in that it doesn't help much for very poorly documented places or taxa, but it gets better with each observation. There is always a bias towards better-explored areas (even and especially in scientific literature). That's the whole reason I think naturalists are important: to expand understanding of the more poorly known areas. For the mushrooms, I had to set the parameters for all of Texas and didn't get them all. Still, it was better than what I had before and knowing very little about mushrooms, I'm satisfied for now.
all true
I LOVE the Identotron -- it's an eternal work in progress, and the more observations you add and ID, the better identotron gets. It's pretty dang cool, in my opinion. :) But yes, when you're in an area that hasn't been explored much, it may not be as helpful.
In Dallas/Fort Worth, the identotron works like magic. :)
example of a LIST fail: I have lots of gulls. Ring billed gulls. Search my observations: there they all are.
Now look at my life list. Lots of birds. Including gulls/skimmers/terns. See any gulls on that list? Nope.
I saw Ring Billed Gulls in your list.
That's weird. Because i do NOT see them. I have to send you a screen shot, which will come in the form of an email
Just so anyone else reading this knows, when I searched again the gulls were gone.
There are a few bugs on the lists -- on the google group they've tried to re-create some of those bugs but have had some issues. I think it's gotten to 'low priority' though...
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