Need assistance with regaining my account
Hi everyone:
Several years ago, I became an indexer, and later an arbitrator. At that time, I had transcribed well over 100 batches. I trained to be an arbitrator through one of the Sisters. I haven't had much activity in the past few years. However, I've since retired, and wanted to get back in to helping out. However, familysearch now shows that I've never done any indexing nor arbitrating. It's possible that there was an issue with my email address changing. Can someone please point me in the right direction to get my "credentials" restored? I don't really want to start over and have to go through the arbitration training again.
Thanks in advance.
Answers
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Hi Mike. Welcome back! There is no longer a system for arbitration. In web-indexing, an indexer completes a batch and then it goes into a review pool. A reviewer then checks the entries for accuracy. If the reviewer changes 20% or more of the indexers work, the batch goes on to another review.
You must index 1000 records in web-indexing and then you will automatically receive reviewing rights.
Here are a couple of great videos that explain web-indexing and reviewing.
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Hi Melissa:
Thanks for the response. Unfortunately, it appears indexing is much more stringent. At the time, I did my share of "arbitration"/reviewing rights. Guess I'll let the younger folks go for that honor. I do appreciate your response. I shall bow out gracefully, and count on others to do the right thing, since I was stripped of the honor.
Thank you.
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Oh, it is not more stringent! It is much easier than arbitration because there is no record matching involved. (Although I will admit that was my favorite part of arbitration.) I hope you will give indexing and then reviewing a try again. It is very easy to index 1000 records in this program (not batches, just records).
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Thanks for your response. Really.
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Unfortunately, I dealt with the "harder" arbitration due to having to be tested by Sister Millet and her husband from Ephrata, Washington. I was tested several times over a two week period. I passed with flying colors as indicated in subsequent emails, which I can produce. I'm okay with that. But, to strip me of my "reviewing" capabilities tends to leave a sour taste in my mouth. Understand that I will honor the current direction that familysearch wishes to go, especially with a "non-member" of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Hmm... Start over, or just give up? I'm leaning toward the latter.
However, seriously, I do really appreciate you engaging with me. Bless you.
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Mike
Welcome to the "Community.FamilySearch" Forum.
I am just another 'lowly' User/Patron ...
Just in passing ...
Seriously ...
We REALLY could do, with some GOOD and EXPERIENCED, Indexers and Reviewers ...
Many of the 'younger folks' lack the "Experience" ...
And, for some, "Quantity", seems to be the driving force, rather than QUALITY ...
PLEASE; Please; please, reconsider ...
Let us ... 'twist your arm' ...
Assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Every little bit helps.
Brett
ps: You may, even be able to, help/assist, in this "Community.FamilySearch" Forum
This Forum was established, a number of Year ago, on the premise of:
Users/Patrons, HELPING / ASSISTING, Users/Patrons.
ANYONE can Participate; and, 'Answer' the various 'Questions'; where, they can.
That way, you are helping/assisting in two ways, in Indexing; and, in this Forum.
.
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Just so you know, you weren't the only one who was "stripped" of their reviewing rights. There was a very short period of time in 2017 when folks were grandfathered into reviewing if they switched over to web-indexing. Being that the programs were alot different, and web-indexing "lacked some of the tricks of the old program", I think they ended that practice pretty quickly when the old program ended in 2018. I am a non-member and was also trained to arbitrate by a Sister, however, I had to complete thousands of batches prior to training. That was in 2014 when it was suggested that before becoming an arbitrator one should index 30,000 records. Comparatively, It is pretty easy to index 1000 records in a month or two! I have found in my retirement years that volunteering in web-indexing and on other transcription sites brings me great joy while exercising my brain! Best wishes, Mike, in whatever you decide to do in your retirement! But, please reconsider this excellent program.
P.S. Just another thought - If you have previously indexed in the "new" web-indexing program (since 2017-2018), and you can't access it now, you need to call FamilySearch Support to have your "account reinstated". You can find their contact numbers by clicking on the question mark in the right corner and Contact Us at the bottom of the pop-up. Good luck.
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Mike,
I am another volunteer, not anyone special. I urge to just give it a try. You are retired and it might give you something to "pass the time" and help others as well. It really does not take that long to regain your revew rights. I am retired and believe me, there are times when the weather is not conducive to going out or there really is not much of anything to do some afternoons or evenings. You don't have to commit to doing a particular number of batches every day so if you don't feel like doing any, you don't.
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Like Melissa, and you, I am a non-member who was an Arbitrator under the old desktop program. I took a couple of years off and came back to indexing in early 2018 to find the Web Indexing program in place. For a moment, as a former Arbitrator with many records under my belt, I resented having to index 1000 records before being able to Review. But, as Melissa wrote, it's a piece of cake to get those done and voila you will be a Reviewer. I predict that you will appreciate the opportunity during that "break-in" period to watch a few training videos and get accustomed to the look, feel, tools, and tricks of the new platform. It's still a fun, rewarding, productive, and satisfying way to spend some of your retirement time. I urge you to give it a try again.
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I did extraction then desktop indexing and finally web indexing. Along with most everyone else I had to do my 1k indexing records in order to review. When I started the web indexing it was new and I hated it with a passion. It didn't take long before the kinks were worked out and it ran pretty smoothly. It was a good thing I was not reviewing while I was learning indexing in this version of the program. It was a pretty big change! Still after learning it I discovered it was so much easier than ever!
We need dedicated indexers and reviewers. Come join in the fun!
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I was one of the Beta testers for the current Web Indexing program. I didn't fall in love with it right away! But it didn't take long to get used to it and it has some great features. I almost never think about the "desktop" program that I did hundreds of thousands of records in.
New users have the advantage of some great videos which we didn't have when web indexing was new. It takes about 10 batches to feel comfortable with web indexing. Reviewing is a piece of cake compared to arbitration which often included tedious record matching.
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Thanks to everyone for the responses. I will take a look at the web interface and make a decision from there. It's one thing to learn a new interface, but quite a different thing to have to go through the entire training of how to read records and learn a new interface.
Much appreciated.
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There is no training unless your ward has something. There are videos if you want to watch them. Pick a batch and jump in! Right now I see no beginner batches so I might suggest US Militia Rolls? You can find it on the bottom of the intermediate list. If you have any questions ask here or call. We have plenty of people who can help get you started.
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I want to add a note here. I was called and set apart by my bishopric to be an Extraction Specialist, and someone was supposed to come to my house to train me. I was looking forward to this. When they arrived, they trained me to be an indexer, not extraction. I want to be a good sport, so I went along with it.
The first few batches of indexing I did, several of them disappeared into cyberspace and my work was lost. But the software presented me with a reassuring message that it was not lost, just looked like it. I wondered if this was a lie, but I continued to do indexing for many batches.
I noticed that there were other flaws in the program. I submitted suggestions for improvement, which were stoutly dismissed. I have been programming computers for over 50 years, and I worked in the petroleum and aerospace industies where a minor error can result in people getting killed or the loss of millions of dollars and years of work... so I've learned to work carefully and write software without bugs. I've gone thru a cycle of first being astonished there were bugs in church software - indisputable the most important, crucial on earth - then came to loathe and detest it (I think Utah folks figure what's the big deal, software must be easy so let's hire the cheapest vendor); now I have settled on patience and resignation.
Between here and Kolob there are numerous levels of admin. Each level is brighter than the one below it. Ergo, the level just above us is less than perfect. That's why we experience such difficulties. The bunny is, not to rail against the imperfect system, but to get it to work for you. We sit in quorum meetings and ward councils and whatever and we can see that our brothers and sisters are motivated to help us to the best of their abililty. This is the way it is, so we should see all these admin peeps, seen and unseen, as our friends and try to work with them and not come unglued if there's a glitch.
It may well be that someone like you or me is just not suited to indexing. There's lots of other work that can be done. I like to go into my ancestors' pages on FamilySearch and find terrible tangles and get them straightened out. I've developed software tools to help with this task. I doubt that anyone will ever care or ask me "What tools have you developed?" but so what. They work, and they make the job a lot easier for me.
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