Why I Left iNaturalist

4 months ago

The author left iNaturalist after 18 years due to disagreements with the current Leadership team's direction and management style.
iNaturalist was initially developed as a collaborative project among students and later joined the California Academy of Sciences for more resources.
The organization transitioned from an unstructured anarchy to a hierarchical leadership model, which the author disagreed with.
The author stepped down from a leadership role to focus on engineering, particularly the development of the new mobile app, 'iNat Next.'
Leadership's arbitrary goals and lack of consultation with the development team led to frustration and the author's eventual departure.
A buyout offer to staff and the Google gen AI debacle further highlighted leadership issues, resulting in a 30% attrition rate.
The author believes iNaturalist should serve enthusiast users while Seek caters to casual users, but Leadership disagrees.
Leadership's management mistakes include failing to listen to staff, abandoning product direction, and mishandling grants.
The author suggests the board should change, advocating for more community-selected members and better oversight.
Despite leaving, the author encourages continued use of iNaturalist and exploring decentralized alternatives.

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