tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3793782800729950147.post2269695144515283282..comments2024-03-26T21:29:07.190-07:00Comments on Rejoice, and be exceeding glad...: How Stable is the FamilySearch Family Tree?James Tannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02989059644120454647noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3793782800729950147.post-4620539251193094032018-03-21T17:14:13.018-07:002018-03-21T17:14:13.018-07:00Thanks for keeping me track. Yes, GetSatisfaction ...Thanks for keeping me track. Yes, GetSatisfaction is the go-to place for resolving problems. My point was that the actual number of real problems is far less than the number of complaints by people who really never use the website. James Tannerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02989059644120454647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3793782800729950147.post-23163255938063296002018-03-21T17:08:46.504-07:002018-03-21T17:08:46.504-07:00The screen shot you posted from getsatisfaction is...The screen shot you posted from getsatisfaction is quite deceiving. It just lists which posts got flagged with the most stars. Looking at it, you wouldn't think much was happening on the feedback boards. <br /><br />However, to the contrary, the board is very active. I would guess it averages over a dozen new posts per day. Most concerns are quickly answered by other users. Most posts don't get, or need, more than half a dozen answers and most don't get "starred." <br /><br />I will agree that having just over 18,000 participants on the board is a tiny fraction of the users of FamilySearch, but its corps of active participants do a great job answering questions and giving assistance to the people who post a question or concern.<br /><br />Over the years I have been part of it, many suggestions posted there by users have been incorporated into Family Tree. Also, many problems have been reported and fixed. For example, just today someone reported a problem in how a date got standardized, a couple of other users confirmed the problem, someone from FamilySearch acknowledged the problem was real, and nine hours later an update fixed the problem.<br /><br />Gordon Colletthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10501621351412089615noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3793782800729950147.post-73404961197895444222018-03-21T13:25:21.163-07:002018-03-21T13:25:21.163-07:00Thanks Holly. Interesting comment, I hadn't th...Thanks Holly. Interesting comment, I hadn't thought about it but I realize that is probably the case. James Tannerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02989059644120454647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3793782800729950147.post-1271584851201674612018-03-21T13:24:37.669-07:002018-03-21T13:24:37.669-07:00I very much agree. We use almost the exact same ta...I very much agree. We use almost the exact same tactics and find that changes virtually disappear except with people back in the 1600s. James Tannerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02989059644120454647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3793782800729950147.post-70294190704034313142018-03-21T10:55:13.143-07:002018-03-21T10:55:13.143-07:00Nice post James. With all the people I help with F...Nice post James. With all the people I help with FamilySearch.org's Family Tree, I find that most of them have not had anyone change their data. Then there are those who don't want to use it because they "heard" someone will change their data. I see more problems from what someone "heard" than the reality of actually using it. I love Family Tree!Holly Hansenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03192346387752835477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3793782800729950147.post-78212794394898983912018-03-21T10:02:05.399-07:002018-03-21T10:02:05.399-07:00To minimize the changes, there are several things ...To minimize the changes, there are several things that I have found to be effective. <br /><br />1. I make sure every person I work with on FSFT is fully sourced with citations that can be used to locate the original record, not only with sources from FamilySearch Historical Records, but also from other sites as well as material that may not be available online. I also add whatever stories exist about that person and provide sources for those stories. The more information I can include, the less likely someone will come along and make changes. <br /><br />I make sure that every conclusion (fact) that is in a person's record actually applies to that person and I have included my reasoning why that conclusion is the right one. Remember, there is no room for speculation, which is not fact. If I am unsure about some aspect of a person's life, I put that information on the person's page in notes, discussions, or even as a story, especially if an old well-worn family tradition is involved. <br /><br />2. Every time some one makes a change or merge that I feel is incorrect, I use the FamilySearch message system to leave them a kindly written message as to why I feel that what they have done does not apply to that person. If they have not provided a source or a reason, I try to remind them that sources are crucial to establishing conclusions and facts, and that a person's reasoning is needed to let others know what research and thinking was done to reach the conclusion. <br /><br />3. I am prepared to not receive a response from the person. They have the choice to respond or not respond. I try to always thank them for adding sources, making corrections, and helping reduce the number of duplicates. If I had to clean up the record, I let them know what I have done, along with the reasoning behind my corrections. <br /><br />4. I am well aware that not everyone works with FSFT every day or extensively, so there are many different levels of knowledge being applied. I try to help others understand things like the differences between primary and secondary sources and that published family and locality histories often contain errors and are not sourced. I let them know that unsourced material needs to be treated as hints, not as facts. <br /><br />By taking an active part in working with a few of my relatives, I have found that bad changes either stop, or slow considerably. To track what changes take place, especially with critical persons in the tree, I put them on my watch list. <br /><br />The most gratifying part about taking an active role, I receive thanks from those who made changes, especially since I go into great detail about what I know of the person and their immediate family, the area, and the families who were neighbors to our common relatives.<br />Tom Huber (Old Timer Too)Old Timer Toohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07617396452386960798noreply@blogger.com