Patrons with Memory Issues
We need a method to help patrons who struggle with memory issues. I have a couple different lines where I have relatives who repeatedly recreate the same errors. Once I contact them and explain the problems to them, they agree that their information is an error, but after a few days, weeks, or months, they forget, and they recreate the same errors again. These same relatives butt heads with just about every contributor they come across. This constant contention is not emotionally or mentally healthy for these older individuals. Also, they sometimes become aggressive in their responses to other patrons, and because other patrons do understand the nature of the disability, they are sometimes aggressive in return. I really don't think this is the intention, I think they just suffer from some disabilities. I know that FS rejects the idea of requiring patrons to do any type of certification before using the Tree, but I'm wondering if there could maybe be an "un-certification" in place. Everyone could enter the Family Tree on equal standing, but maybe there could be some way to reduce the editing abilities of some individuals if they are proving to struggle with using the tree properly. Again, I am not saying that these are abusive patrons, I just think they struggle with a disability. I know that in their hearts they want Family Tree to be successful, so I think that if they are in their clear minds, they would appreciate the efforts to protect the tree.
I also work at a family history center, and I've had patrons come in and ask about what can be done about their loved ones who have been diagnosed with dementia, but still get into Family Tree and make edits. It would be nice if they could use a version of the tree that prevents a lot of damage.
Comments
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This is an example of one my favorite things about the community sharing ideas. The more eyes you have on a problem the better clarity you get about your audience, potential problems and why they are occurring. Thank you for sharing @HESM. We will pass this along to the product managers for consideration.
Also, please take some time to scan through the other ideas people are posting. Voting and commenting on other's ideas helps familysearch understand which ideas being shared matter the most to people and the comments of others help clarify the issue.
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First, keep in mind the ancient aphorism "art is long, life is short" and encourage other contributors to have patience.
Next, perhaps you could shift a contributor with dementia onto the Beta site. Beta includes a mirror of Family Tree where no changes reach Family Tree.
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To best transition someone onto Beta, clear out their web browser history and bookmarks, then seed the history and bookmarks (and desktop links, etc) with the Beta equivalents.
Discourage use of the Family Tree mobile app. Beta can be accessed from a mobile device using a web browser. Talk up how much better the web interface is, how many more features it has.
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