April, 2016 -- What's New on FamilySearch

For some time now, FamilySearch.org has been posting a monthly update of the changes and new features on the website. Some of the updates are a little premature and give glimpses into changes that are still in the future. Some of the changes, such as the long awaited upgrade to the Research Wiki go unnoticed in the list of things that have changed. Notwithstanding these limitations, there are always a few nuggets of information about the changes to the program.

One of the features that was already announced previously and implemented some time ago, is the ability to see how many people are watching a specific individual in the program when you make a change. I know this exists, but I have only run into it very infrequently since it was introduced. It looks like very few people are watching those ancestors I am concerned about. I did have a rather pleasant interchange with one user who was making unsupported changes to individuals without checking to see in the sources she was adding really applied to the person they were being added to. But apparently, telling her that I was watching that individual did not deter her from making an inappropriate change.

My Great-grandfather, Henry Martin Tanner, probably has tens of thousands of descendants. If I go in to make a change to his Details, I see a notice that says that "10 users of Family Tree are watching this person. If you change this information, these users will be notified." Here is a screen shot of the "warning."

The last change was the addition of a source attached and the addition of his baptism as a "Custom Event" in 1860. This is a duplication of the information in the Ordinance list that shows his baptism on 11 June 1860. Do I delete the duplicate information or let it stand? Additionally, the source cited, the Utah, Early Mormon Missionary Database, is not a valid source for ordinance information. Where do we end up drawing the line on changes?

FamilySearch is still waiting to add an Updated Person Card to the searches and they are planning to expand the ability to send messages directly through the program. We will continue to watch for these changes when they come.

FamilySearch did make it easier to add an unindexed image as a source in the Family Tree. They described this as follows:

FamilySearch has made it easier to attach an image that has not been indexed to a person in Family Tree. If you find an unindexed image that has information about your ancestor, you will be able to edit the title, select the Family Tree person to attach the image to, provide a reason statement, and attach the image to other family members who may appear or be mentioned in the image.

Anything they can do to make attaching sources easier and more efficient is much appreciated.