A user account allows free and full access to the site's features. Users can post mushrooms on the map both publicly and privately, view an unlimited number of publicly posted mushrooms on the map and gallery, and keep track of their own personal map and gallery submissions.
Create New Account:
Click the "Sign In" button at the top-right of the menu bar. Next, click the "Create New User Account" button on the sign in page. Fill in the requested information and click the "Create Account" button.
Check the email account that you provided for your new user account. You will receive a new user account validation email. If it doesn't arrive within a couple minutes, make sure it didn't end up in your spam folder.
Follow the instructions in the email to validate and enable full access to your new user account.
Sign In/Out:
To sign in, click the "Sign In" button (top-right on menu bar). Enter your username and password and press the "Sign In" button.
To sign out (while signed in), click the user icon (top-right on menu bar) and select "Sign Out" from the dropdown menu.
Edit Profile:
To edit your user profile, click the user icon (top-right of menu bar) and select "Profile" from the dropdown menu.
The profile information is not required, but allows you to personalize your user account.
If you choose to enter city/state info, it will be used to automatically center and zoom the map to your area on sign-in. This is a future feature improvement that hasn't yet been added.
If city/state info is entered, it will be kept private unless you uncheck the "Keep Address Private" box.
To save any changes made to your profile, press the "Update Profile" button.
The Gallery
The gallery displays pictures of mushrooms that have been submitted to the site. When a mushroom is submitted, the owner may mark it as public to allow anyone to see it, or private to keep it from being shared with other users. To see a larger, zoomed view of any of the mushrooms displayed in the gallery, click on its image.
Public:
The public gallery displays pictures of all of the publicly posted mushrooms by all users. This is a good way to see cool mushroom pictures shared by yourself and others.
Personal:
The personal gallery shows the user only their own mushrooms - both public and private. It is an easy way to see only your own submissions.
The Map
The map shows the locations of the mushrooms that have been submitted to the site. When a mushroom is submitted, the owner may mark it as public to allow anyone to see it and its location, or private to keep it from being shared with other users.
Public:
The public map displays locations of all of the publicly posted mushrooms by all users. To view a mushroom's name and thumbnail image, click on a mushroom marker on the map. To then view more details and photos, click on the newly opened name/thumbnail infobox.
Personal:
The personal map shows the user the locations of all of the mushrooms he or she has posted. It is an easy way to keep track of your finds and submissions. To view a mushroom's name and thumbnail image, click on a mushroom marker on the map. To then view more details and photos, click on the newly opened name/thumbnail infobox.
Add Mushrooms:
To enable adding mushrooms, select "Add Mushrooms" under the "Map" menu.
Manually pan and zoom the map to the desired location OR press the button to use location services to pan and zoom the map to your current location.
Click the spot where you want to place the mushroom. A window will open to allow you to fill in info about the mushroom sighting.
Enter the name(s) of the mushroom. At least one name is required - either common or scientific.
Update the date the mushroom was observed if the displayed date is not correct.
(Optional) Add tags to group mushroom sightings by club, foray, event, etc.
(Optional) Add up to three pictures of the mushroom.
To keep the mushroom post private (not have it displayed on the public map or gallery), check the "Keep this entry private" box.
When you are satisfied with your post, press the "Submit" button to post it, or "Cancel" to abort the submission.
Search with the Filter:
The filter can be used to limit the mushrooms displayed on the map to ones that only meet the search parameters. The common and scientific name fields will match any mushroom name containing the text entered. For example, a common name of Amanita in the filter will match against all entries containing that word, including Amanita, Amanita rubescens, Amanita muscaria, etc.
After choosing filter options, press the "Apply" button to perform the operation.
To reset and clear the results of a filter operation, click the "Clear" button.
Filter parameters can be combined for more complex searches. For example, to find all mushrooms containing the word bolete in their common named posted after 1/1/2021 that have a picture, enter the word bolete in the "common name" field, select a "start date" of 1/1/2021, check the "Has Pics" box, and press the "Apply" button.
Using Tags:
Tags can be used to group mushrooms by specific clubs, forays, or events.
For example, assume that the fictional Digital Mushroom Club wanted to have their members post all the mushrooms found during their official 2021 foray. The club would choose a tag to use (ex: DMC2021) and then instruct the foray attendees to include the tag on each mushroom posted at the event. Later, to see all of the mushrooms posted at the foray, a user would enter the DMC2021 tag on the map filter and press the "Apply" button. Only mushrooms including the specified tag will be displayed.
button to use location services to pan and zoom the map to your current location.