Home› Welcome to the FamilySearch Community!› FamilySearch Help› Family Tree

Duplicate record hints

Betseylee Browning
Betseylee Browning ✭✭✭
March 10, 2022 in Family Tree

When the record hints are duplicates do we still put them in the sources or reject the record hint. I have been putting them in the sources but just noticed that someone is rejecting all of the duplicates. What is the proper way?

Betseylee Browning

2

Best Answers

  • dontiknowyou
    dontiknowyou ✭✭✭✭✭
    March 10, 2022 Answer ✓

    Attach them all, even when they are duplicates.

    If they are not attached, a future contributor finding them is likely to create new, duplicate profiles for the persons on the source. This is especially true if the record hints have been rejected.

    Do you need to know how to un-reject a rejected hint?

    3
  • Gordon Collett
    Gordon Collett ✭✭✭✭✭
    March 10, 2022 Answer ✓

    The source hinting program uses information from rejected hints that are marked "not-a-match" to refine the hinting process so that future hints area of better quality.

    In other words, if you mark a hint as not a match that really is correct for that person, you will get fewer and fewer correct hints because you told the program to ignore correct hints.

    Likewise, if you add all the duplicates, the hints will get better and better because the program uses the information from all those hints to refine its picture of the person and find more hints. A great reason for attaching them all.

    Just to be complete, I'll point out that any incorrect hints attached to a person tells the program incorrect information about the person and will attract more and more bad hints so it is good to periodically check sources other people are adding, and double check the ones you add, to make sure those sources really are on the right person.

    Do try to message that person rejecting the hints and send him here and to this help center article: https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/article/what-do-i-do-with-duplicate-record-hints-in-family-tree which starts out: "Please attach all record hints, even if they appear to be duplicates."

    1
  • Betseylee Browning
    Betseylee Browning ✭✭✭
    March 10, 2022 Answer ✓

    Thanks for your help.

    Betseylee Browning

    1
Clear
No Groups Found

Categories

  • 24.8K All Categories
  • 25.9K FamilySearch Help
  • 130 Get Involved
  • 2.8K General Questions
  • 459 FamilySearch Center
  • 487 FamilySearch Account
  • 4.8K Family Tree
  • 3.7K Search
  • 4.9K Indexing
  • 688 Memories
  • 340 Other Languages
  • 34 Community News
  • 6.9K Suggest an Idea
  • Groups