Possible Name Change for LIFE SKETCH - Related to NEW person page
Want to start a new thread to get input from users about LIFE SKETCH name consistency.
Based on user input, user testing and the addition of the new ABOUT person discovery section which now includes a person LIFE SUMMARY section (that is auto generated in 8 main languages); there are new changes to how LIFE SKETCH is intended to be used in the following summary:
1) There is a NEW special kind of person note that can be set called an ALERT NOTE. This is to be used for any special notes on a person that provides an alert of caution to other users to review all the research and sources on that person before changes are made. If an alert note is set, there will be an "alert" banner at the top of the person page to warn users that much research has been completed on this person and please read the notes.
Because there is now an option for this type of function at the top of the person page, users are encourage to use the ALERT NOTE and to NOT use LIFE SKETCH for the place to add that information.
2) The new ABOUT view has a LIFE SUMMARY section at the upper left side of the page. That is auto generated by the computers using ONLY person information added by users in the vitals and a few other event/fact conclusions. It is designed to be written like a short bio of the person in story form, so it may seem to be written by other users, when it is really done by the programming code. It is available in the 8 most common languages used on Familysearch.org. (Note: It is not an easy tasks to accomplish this, but with inspiration and very talented developers, this complex challenge produces a LIFE SUMMARY that seems user written).
NOW, to allow users to create a personal or user written LIFE SUMMARY that can REPLACE the "auto-generated" one, a new option is being added to the LIFE SKETCH when a user adds or edits it.
So now we are linking the LIFE SUMMARY and the LIFE SKETCH.
3) Related to #1, the LIFE SKETCH section will not be at the top of the person page by default.
INPUT REQUESTED PLEASE:
It is proposed that there is only ONE name/label for both of these (LIFE SKETCH and LIFE SUMMARY). There are 3 best options we have researched and each have pros and cons, of course.
** Know that the LIFE SUMMARY is also used on a person page that is created and used for users that do NOT have a FS account or are logged out. There is usually this type of web URL: .../ancestors.familysearch.org/tree/person/(person ID). So users search on the Internet can more easily find that person on Familysearch.org
Please let us know which of the these labels works best overall for ALL users (both new, intermediate and expert(power) users like you that respond most to these posts:
1) Call both of them LIFE SUMMARY
2) Call both of them LIFE SKETCH
3) Change both to a new term; BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Comments
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I prefer the term Life Summary. One concern I have, though, is that the information should clearly indicate whether the information was computer-generated or whether it was written by a patron. The reason I say this is because the autogenerated summaries I have seen are full of errors. Patrons look at those summaries and think that they contain factual information, when in fact they don't. I think that if the information is computer generated, there needs to be a disclaimer on the information that indicates the information is computer generated and has not been reviewed by a human being. My hope is that encouraging human review of those computer generated summaries will improve the quality of information.
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Label 2) Life Sketch for both is fine with me.
Questions: Am I understanding correctly then - that only if Life Sketch is edited on Person Details - it will automatically replace the computer generated Life Summary in the About page?
Will both remain in each page or will there be just one resulting Life Sketch location (it isn't really clear - but previously it was stated "We are planning on integrating Life Sketch and Life summary on the about page") ?
I assume Life Summary will remain uneditable - so only editing Life Sketch will initiate the change?
I suppose if someone wanted to keep the computer generated Life Summary - they could copy and paste that into the Life Sketch and use that as a starting point/template for a Life Sketch. However, would it be possible to just auto-populate Life Sketch with Life Summary by default - giving that starting point for editing?
1) There is a NEW special kind of person note that can be set called an ALERT NOTE.
There is or there will be? I am not seeing this new ALERT NOTE feature. Is it being rolled out a little at a time?
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I agree with @HESM that labeling the computer-generated text as computer-generated could go a long way toward clearing up a common source of confusion. This is true independent of any other changes to the page(s).
@genthusiast, given the phrasing "that can replace", no, I don't think we're talking about automatic replacement. I imagine it'd be something like a checkbox: "use this text in place of the computer-generated biography on the About page".
I know it's not much help, but any of the three options for labeling works fine for me. Perhaps it's because I'm bilingual and thus tend to remember things in terms of concepts rather than specific words. (This has its drawbacks; witness my continued inability to keep Notes and Discussions straight, or my lifelong struggle to remember which word goes with which direction.)
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Since I haven't used the Life Sketch to this point I wasn't going to comment. But since you only have 3 comments out of 34 views, I'll share my thoughts as someone who has always been fascinated by the complexity of language and the subtlety of words:
1) Life Summary - too bare bones. This sounds like it should be names, dates, a couple of major events.
2) Life Sketch - too lighthearted and fluffy. Caricatures and comedy routines are both referred to as sketches.
3) Biographical Sketch - both to formal and informal. "Biographical" is going to scare people off.
4) A Brief Life History of [insert name]. Tells people to keep it short, keep it historical, and keep it focused on the person. I would use the same heading on both the About and the Detail pages.
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@HESM great observation. We will start on that.
@genthusiast It will NOT replace the life summary automatically. Users will need to use a checkbox to mark it a "replacement". The "Alert Note" feature will be enabled before the end of Oct.
@Julia Szent-Györgyi Thank you for the input
@Gordon Collett Really like the "Brief Life History of ...
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I'd even be fine with leaving each with their current name: Life Summary and Life Sketch
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@PowellTodd23 , thanks for asking for input! Here's mine:
- Thank you for enabling alert notes! I expect that they'll be extremely helpful.
- The name "Life Sketch" has been used since FT rolled out in 2012. It's short and descriptive; I don't see a compelling reason to change it.
- Agree with @HESM that there should be a clear indication when the Life Sketch is computer-generated.
- As long as the mini-bios on the two pages can be different, I think having different names is helpful. I'm good with Life Summary on the About page and Life Sketch on the Details page.
- It could be useful to have the option to import the computer-generated bio on the About page into the Life Sketch on the Details page. I'm curious what others think about this.
- In an ideal world, I'd recommend keeping the mini-bios on both pages in sync, using the computer-generated one only if there isn't a human-written one. Maybe that's a future state to aim for. If that happens, I'd use the same label.
Thanks!
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