Valuable thanks
there is no simple answer to any of this. I have compared Global posts with equivalent UK&I ones (year for year and organism for organism, say the same gull in 2016) . Nothing clear emerges, regarding visibility or user interest. Certain organisms get ignored or get a poor response in both Communities.
What emerges is that a few people (whose names you will know) DO browse Global and offer support in a number of good ways - that applies across the World - California to New Zealand, but mostly Europe. I think those people probably CHANGE COMMUNITIES to do that. And I would guess that very few users change communities, except by accident, perhaps when opening a TRUE Global Observation in the Carousel.
I could make a stronger case for boundary changes IF more people made Global Observations and if, say, iSpot was clearer about WHAT IS a Global post. A glance at the Help confirm global observations, shows that Global includes UK&I It is often only UK (funny that).
But there are some clear issues that need attention
This is in Normandy and is a UK Community Observation - Parts of Normandy and Brittany are IN the iSpot UK Community.
And this is in Jersey (which is in the Global Community) https://www.ispotnature.org/communities/global/view/observation/784614/euphorbia-portlandica
It is a good example of how ‘invisible’ Global posts are because it has no input (as I write this) and yet https://www.ispotnature.org/communities/uk-and-ireland/view/observation/714355/portland-spurge is the same - NO input (as I write this).
As I ‘said’ it’s hard to make a case on visibility and interest.
I can make a better case for Dictionary interchange - that is, WE choose which Dictionary to use - proof for that desirability is easy to find (and is illustrated in this thread). BUT it only affects very few users.
Interchanging dictionaries/communities is currently possible but not really desirable.
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I have softened my approach here because I have researched the issue fairly well
These conclusions are my own
1 Revise the UK-to-Global boundary to exclude France and INCLUDE all the Channel Isles (not just Alderney) and the waters around them though NOT too close to the French coast.
2 Include ONLY Global Observations in the ‘Help confirm global observations’ Carousel
3 Update the Dictionaries
4 Create a THIRD Carousel on the Home page RECENT GLOBAL OBSERVATIONS
Understand that enclosing the Channel Isles means only slightly better visibility and interaction but use of a Dictionary that includes seaweeds (the Global does not) that seems really minor and biased but I am trying to be constructive.
There seems NO point in making yet another wish list
Seen this? DESIRABLE CHANGES