Snapshot Serengeti Talk

I'm still enjoying doing this, but...

  • MaggieF59 by MaggieF59

    I found the classification interface on the previous seasons was easier to use. It broke animals down into catgegories, which this one doesn't. I also liked the option to find an animal based on horns, tails, etc. Just a thought - it's still an amazing project.

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  • ajg by ajg

    Ummm...you can do those things?

    There is a "Looks like" menu and then the color, pattern, etc. buttons to click.

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  • arfon by arfon in response to MaggieF59's comment.

    Hi Maggie

    I'm not sure I follow. Nothing has changed with the classification interface since the last seasons. Are you seeing something different?

    Cheers
    Arfon

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  • paulj201 by paulj201

    Could do with a learning section showing photos of various bits of animals that had since been positively identified. Very good project though. Takes me back to Zambia. Almost like being there so thanks for the project guys. Would love to see the results at the end of it.

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  • dms246 by dms246 moderator in response to paulj201's comment.

    Keep an eye on the project blog, paulj - the scientists will be posting stuff there as they analyse the results. Lots of other interesting posts there too. 😃

    http://blog.snapshotserengeti.org

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  • skybabe by skybabe

    I agree this is a fab project. But am a bit miffed I still haven't received a reply asking for guidance about the following: If I can clearly see there is something in the photo, but it's completely unidentifiable - e.g. close-up of fur only, or long shot of bunch of animals on far hillside, or eyes in the dark with sort of ghost-y image of some kind of animal ... the only option seems to be Nothing Here. Why not a simple option [like they do on Zooniverse Seafloor Explorere] of "Can't Tell". Any thoughts?

    Never been to Africa - this must be next best thing!!!

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  • dms246 by dms246 moderator in response to skybabe's comment.

    I'm sorry skybabe - where did you ask about that? I can't see any other posts by you here? Anyway I'm sorry you never got a reply to your query about that. In fact, the lack of a "Can't tell" button is deliberate. One of the scientists, @kosmala , posted an explanation in the project blog, along with some details of how they analyse the data we provide. Even when there's very little info to go on, they want us to make our best guess - the blog post will explain why. 😃

    http://blog.snapshotserengeti.org/2012/12/14/we-need-an-i-dont-know-button/

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  • okopho by okopho in response to dms246's comment.

    Just a thought: might it be a good idea to make this a Sticky Thread on the Help Board? It seems to come up rather a lot...

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  • dms246 by dms246 moderator in response to okopho's comment.

    Yeah I was starting to think the same, okopho. Got some other stuff I need to do right now, but I'll put something together and get it up there later this evening.

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  • skybabe by skybabe

    Hi dms246 and thanks for your caring reply. Honestly I can't remember when/where I asked. But thanks for the info.

    BTW - I think making the info sticky is a good idea. Though imho, when you get a totally black screen except for some eye-lights - I can't think of any "guess" that would be helpful to anyone. Mebbe that's just me :0)

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  • dms246 by dms246 moderator in response to skybabe's comment.

    😃 Taken on its own, in isolation, it probably wouldn't be. What makes it work is when it's analysed in comparison to what all the others who classified the same image came up with. So, if 10 people all say "1 elephant, eating", the image can pretty confidently be categorised as "1 elephant, eating". If, on the other hand, those 10 people all came up with different species, saying "1 X, moving", but all of those species are small, then the image can be categorised as "1 small indistinct creature, moving". Then if someone is studying data on large mammals of any kind, they can exclude that image from their data set, without needing to know what actual animal it contains - it's a small animal, and they're only interested in, for example, elephants. So sometimes our guesses can define what is not in the image. And then if those 10 people all come up with different species, all different sizes and colours etc, then the image can be categorised as "unclear". It can then either simply be excluded completely, or viewed by someone in the science team to see if they can extract any more meaningful info from it.

    Hope that helps! 😃

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  • roggeveenb by roggeveenb

    Sometimes a best guess is an educated one. Black and white and Wildebeests. Zebra and Wildebeests tend to hang together. Black hair with mud is likely a buffalo. Wildebeests tend to hang together, One wildebeest and 4 reflected eyes at night at about the right height tends for me to lean toward 5 wildebeest and the hope that others either override my decision or confirm it. That is the good part about having multiple identifications.

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