Perhaps my frustration at iSpot came through. Last year a record was supposedly confirmed by BWARS on iSpot for a species which is only found on extensive areas of high quality southern heather heathlands, has never been recorded in Essex even in the distant past, and is extraordinarily unlikely to be found in the county today. After being sent more photos by the photographer, one photo clearly showed the wing venation of the expected species, which is widespread in Essex, not the heather heathland one 'confirmed' by iSpot. Accepting this record as a new county record would have done no one any favours.
I think the moral here is that iSpot is very useful, like our own Facebook page, but that it has severe limitations in what can be accepted by accurate recording schemes. As long as everyone recognises this, then there is no problem.