Information on the project
I read about your site in the Scout Project newsletter (http://scout.wisc.edu/). Could be a very useful way for people to share species observations.
I don't see any information on the website about who is behind the project, or who supports it. I'd like to see this to give users confidence in the motivations of the site and use of the data. I also do not see any privacy statement, which would be pretty important since you have users sign up for accounts and then share information about their locations and observations. Thanks!
bb1769,
Thanks for the post. I've added a brief "About" page to the site that hopefully will start to answer some of your questions. A terms of use and privacy statement for the site are in the works and will be added to the site soon as well. Generally, as others who use the site can see the information in your posted observations, you should not post any information you do not feel comfortable sharing with the community, ie location information, any personal identifying information, etc. In addition to being used on the Species Explorer site, your observations will potentially be shared with other scientific and/or educational organizations with an interest in monitoring and conserving species, or who share the same goals as those described on the Species Explorer web site.
These points will be elaborated on and made clearer in the terms of use and privacy policies that are forthcoming. Thanks again for your post, and please send more feedback as you continue to use Species Explorer!
best,
Max Antinori
Founder, Species Explorer
Yes it's good to see your about page.. But I hope to read more about you and this website so that your viewers could have more idea about this site they are entering to :-)
I would love to see more people mingling and sharing in this blog.
Anyway I would also like to commend you with this web template.