I am starting a new forum thread on this topic even though there quite a few comments in an older thread which started the idea. That thread is more difficult to find.
The first observation of the month is shown here:
It allows comments so you can comment on that story directly under that story.
I think we have a volunteer for Jan 2024 and Feb 2024 but need people for months after that. The format is still evolving but at present the idea is that you look through the observations in the previous month i.e. the person doing Dec 2023 looks through the ispot observations for Dec 2023. They select their observation of the month and a small handful of honorable mentions, write a short bit of text about them as mags49 has done for this first observation of the month, and send that text to me. I can then put it on the front page for everyone to see.
If you just want to select the observations and ask me to write the story then I can do that but it is better for you to do the story as well as I won’t know why you chose the specific observations.
It would be good to have a taxonomic range in the observations selected, in this first month we have a fish, a plant and an invertebrate but if all the observations you like are from one particular group then that is ok as well.
Oh really well done all THREE of you
Can a photo from the Ob be shown in all its glory? And a click ON IT takes us to the Ob?
And should I devise and manage a tag for each Ob of the M, so that they can all be brought into an end of the year display?
Tag sounds good.
I will try with the image but the system is not very user friendly so something odd might happen.
update, I can put the image in but can’t link from it i.e. not clickable without hacking the code which might break the system. Janice did manage to do other things with images I think so will ask her when she gets back. Have not put the image in for the moment.
OK I will attend to that in the next day or so. Thanks for trying.
I added the photo above in the normal way, that would be OK.
It’s a simple process - I could do it each time
Interestingly all these tags exist. There are NO occurrences, so I suspect the observations were removed from iSpotza (Southern Africa), coinciding with user migration.
I am yet to decide but Observations of the Month (with no date) exists. The date is implicit in the Observation.
If we are to collect them, then I will add a direct link to my Christmas Days Project, each year. That link will collect ALL subsequent Observations of the Month and could appear on the Home page IN the Observation of the Month item.
well, not sure either. But I would not disqualify an observation showing photos taken out of season (if that’s what you mean).
I feel that each of us should use our own discretion in this process, perhaps not be overly influenced by protocol, ethos or tradition or (possibly) others’ recommendations. We should like it or consider it the best of the month. But it probably has to remain our own opinion.
Ken’s suggestion is good and it is a nice observation but perhaps we should not be nominating (influencing the 'Chooser) until quite late in the month.
In the Southern African example, a few were nominated by users, listed and voted upon.
I have a feeling it might be best to allow the monthly ‘Chooser’ to give us all a pleasant surprise.
After a year the system and method could be changed @miked , there probably needs to be a published list of those who are volunteering for the month and PERHAPS no more than one per person, unless it falters.
It is possible that the ZA obs of the month was mainly done in the forum and that vanished with the recode.
As for whether the observation of month now should be actually observed in the month or uploaded in the month. It might be best to have items observed in the month but particularly good items uploaded during the month but observed at a different time could be one of the others that are mentioned. I am suggesting this as it might give a better range of different items through the year.
As to influencing people then if anyone finds an interesting observation then they can always mention it in the forum so the chooser is more likely to see it but it is still up to chooser to decide.
As to list of who is doing each month then yes I do need a list. will see if it is possible to have a place somewhere where this is visible so everyone can see which month they are doing. Any suggestions on how to do this would be gratefully received, I can pin a topic so it will appear at top of general discussion but not sure that would help or not.
Thanks, I am doing January 2024.
I will choose from those I see over the month, with no hard & fast rules.
If people want to alert me to a good’un that’s fine by me.
We should volunteer.
The V-list should be in the Home Page item, so that everyone ‘can’ see it. Fewer seem to come to the Forum.
I am on for February - I will aim for Observations MADE during that month, so in my case the Observed and Uploaded dates will (probably) need to be in February - though I’ll apply a little flexibility.
Should there be a lack of Volunteers, Miked could ask Admin people to help - I am thinking JaniceA, ChrisV, Miked and perhaps another. to allow it to continue. It perhaps would not hurt for them to volunteer.
This is not as difficult as it might sound - but it should be a personal (or a partnership choice) some reasoning is probably best offered by the ‘chooser’.
We do not need to do this alone. I suggest we MIGHT ask a n other(s) for some assistance.
I do not think we need other users to nominate ones during the month.
HOWEVER this process should not be entirely diviorced from the Forum Favourites Favourites 2024
or Exemplars https://www.ispotnature.org/communities/uk-and-ireland/view/project/816065/ as always, just personal opinions,
Yes if there are no volunteers for a month then I can do it and can ask others on the team.
Would be good to sign up for a couple more months ahead at least.
Will leave the list at top of forum for the moment. Think I have set it so it should appear at the top and (possibly) only I can edit it so it should just have the list of names without comments.
On the front page home page of iSpot but only in the UK and I community - if you open up in Global, it is not there! Just interrupting! Because I am confused just now on a couple of issues re global and UK!!
