Diario de dejaym

Much has happened (hasn't it just) but I have passed by and though these pages quite frequently, stopping off to support Observations or to add a few comments here and there.
I am not lazy, I just need to feel in the mood or find something that might interest the wider audience.
I aim to add more observations through the coming months and, particularly, to enhance my collection of seaweeds
.
I have just added this https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/93589822 and became the top identifier for the Organism (by a long way!)

We may have short days and a few frosty nights but we don't have arctic style Winters here. It's rare to have snow last for more than a few days and last year 2018/9 we have no snow at all below 800metres.
However it does feel cold in the breezes, with wind-chills to minus 7°C - nothing to fear nor brag about.
I have not spent much time in iNat because I am loyal to iSpot but I am beginning to appreciate the interchanges here, in Nat, after a cool reception and a, generally, cold start.
I do find the whole interface here easy and more user-friendly than Spot, so may be inclined to share more in this place

I sprung back for a day or so. I have been busy elsewhere but have not stopped observing, recording and submitting. For me, time to complete an Observation is lengthy, as I am not satisfied with one illustration and little text and, to be honest, I like the obscure. I need to 'prove' it to myself before showing others - not exactly Citizen Science I suppose.
When last here I spent quite a while responding to others' Observations of seaweeds and may have become 'unpopular' suggesting that one picture, no descriptive text and no other evidence was no way to assert species of any any kind, let alone Marine Algae. A few people did not like my challenges.

Things appear to have slowed down here, in iNat. Not quite so many people are engaging with Observations and there seems to be far more observations needing agreements.
I do not like the way people add the first agreement without saying WHY, let alone those who disagree and say nothing! Oh yes, it takes a few extra minutes to do that. See perhaps https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/7349535#activity_comment_2850318
I came back to add three Observations and I am already VERY grateful for the interaction.

I continue to find, to my horror, that Scientifically unverified records, of seaweeds particularly, are collected in the GBIF Portal as Research Grade Observations.
I spent some of Christmas Day wandering iNat's Hawaiian shores looking at a few - MUCH better value than even Free TV though no better than iSpot's comradeship
I found such delights as the only iNat confirmed record of Ulva expansa
https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/1841195209 - do they disappear when the ID changes?
Seen here https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/11430729 yet with no 'hard' evidence and without a challenge.
I will never disrupt the flow of Observations here, whatever I do or write, but I do think there is a serious principle at stake.
Is iNaturalist a Citizen Science Site or a Citizen Observation Site?

I have been wading just within my depth for a couple of weeks.
I have been 'put right' by some good and well-meaning people and made some strong friends and I have used some of iNat's facilities to good effect.
I was surprised to learn that "....observations with photos and which have obtained the "research grade" are automatically transmitted to GBIF by iNaturalist." (https://www.inaturalist.org/posts/13900-sharing-your-observations-with-the-community-at-gbif)
This seems a little curious, as many of the organisms cannot, in theory at least, be identified from a photo alone and few are supported by ID text. So one has to hope that at least the one agreement that has promoted the RG setting, is based on good science or extensive knowledge.
Beyond which, I like the way Curators quickly engage when required or when asked.
I have launched a couple of Personal Projects, which I am using mainly to store relevant information. In particular, I have managed to bring together all the information I hold about the gorgeous Blue Rayed Limpet, seen only in very limited marine areas of Western Europe but with one VERY interesting Observation in the USA. One of three posts shown below
I may wade a little out of my depth (have to swim), but not yet.

I have waded in recently. It is not cold here. In fact, I have found some quite warm water by offering opinions, never very safe in a scientific community.
I have spent a share of recent time with Marine Organisms. I like 'thoroughly' observing an organism, offering some of what I learn in the process, usually in the form of descriptive texts or annotated photos, perhaps even external links. This inevitably takes more time than the more common alternative, I will never be a prolific Observer here.
I believe that if I offer an illustrated organism with a fairly certain ID, I ought to wade through some, if not all, of the Other Observations, particularly those not at Research Grade.
I believe others should do this too, specially if they are convinced that their own ID is correct. This is not always an easy, or safe, prospect, as there are often several hundred Other Observations and some misidentified ones to be tackled (or avoided).
I am learning to be calmer and more patient - surely a good philosophy when wading in unknown waters.

...would describe my activity here. I am still here but I am quite still (not very active)
I am still in that Other Place https://www.ispotnature.org/
And we still battle on, still discontent with the lack of progress which still verges on hopeless
BUT I STILL come here and browse the pages, still wanting to add more, promising myself, every time I come.
I will; that's STILL a promise.

INFREQUENT

would describe my activity here - I am not finding it so easy to convert (or rather flit) from iSpot to iNat methods. It's a question of practise and commitment, there's time for neither (here) at the moment

I am having difficulty spending time here. I owe a lot to iSpot and it owes me something too. I enjoy posting there. The Community Spirit continues, in a diminished form, through its ongoing difficulties caused, mostly, by shortage of funds are very evident
I am not prepared yet to shift my allegiance to iNat but need, from time to time, to add stuff here to stay abreast of developments and get used to its ways.
Here, then, is a resolution -
I will post more Orkney UK Seaweeds and Leaf Miners in the very near future.

I don't have much for the Journal of 2017. But 2018 will see more commitment here from me.
I am specially interested in Marine Alga of the North-east Atlantic, where I live on an Island