Fumbling as to how to enter a comment on this page without starting a new idea.
Throughout my career I have had management parrot to the staff - "Change is good."
If you think about it, "Improvement is good. Change is stressful. Change without perceived improvement is frustrating and demoralizing" .
While not wanting to squelch initiatives that are perceived as improvements, I need you to know this about the upcoming change in format to the details page -
The early December page of how to override the revised version and default to the previous version was well done.
HOWEVER, the message that has appeared on the top of my details page this morning informing me that the former format will no longer be available as of early 2023 is TERRIFYING. If the intent is to discourage use of family search... this will surely accomplish it. Please , please. please, DO NOT discontinue the old format.
Comments
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While I am not so strongly opposed to the new Person Page as the above comment, I still strongly favor the "old" Person Page, not the new one.
And that brings me to the real point of my comment - I could not agree more with the initial sentiment expressed above regarding change for change sake. And quite frankly, with so little warning or even explanation after these nearly constant changes lately, it's getting very frustrating trying to keep track of how to accomplish various tasks in the Family Tree. Plus, we teach a 5-week FamilySearch class in our community that is exceptionally well received - except the last two. It's very frustrating trying to keep track of all the changes that just show up one day, without explanations on what specifically has changed, and then explain it to people who may be somewhat familiar with FamilySearch but are taking the class to get updated - and find that most of what they knew is now outdated anyway. And there's nowhere (that I've found) to learn specifically which features have changed, and why.
Now FamilySearch has gone and done it again with the new pedigree views. Deleting the "invert colors" option from the pedigree chart may be just fine for a 25 year old with great vision. But for some older individuals, that bright white screen is just too much! My wife particularly has a very difficult time with it, due to a physical problem within her eyes that makes it exceptionally difficult for her to look at a white-background screen for any significant length of time. It is very straining on her eyes, and it seriously limits her time on FamilySearch as a result. Not everyone has perfect eyesight, nor perfect eye structure. Why take away something that people need? The programming necessary to invert colors cannot be that difficult to retain with the new look. Just because a 25 year old engineer thinks a change is good is exceptionally short-sighted (pun intended) when it comes to making FamilySearch accessible to all!
Also, it says to use "Feedback" to make comments about that specific new change (the new Pedigree view). Yet finding anywhere to post it in the Community is an absurd time waster! The "Feedback" link at the far left of the page does not work!
Bring back the "invert colors" option!!!! It's not just a preference, it's a visual necessity for some people! Do you only pay lip service to the concept of making things accessible to everyone where possible, regardless of disability? And do you do any kind of reasonable piloting or use of test groups before rolling out changes? The appearance strongly suggests you (FamilySearch) just come up with changes that a small little cell of workers think would be nice, implement them for everyone, and then let the general public do all the alpha testing, not even just the beta testing. Very poor design procedures!
--Chris
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"So little warning"?? The new person page was available for testing and commentary starting in the spring!
There's a group for commentary on the new pedigree view. It is my impression that the invert colors option is not permanently removed; they simply haven't gotten to that yet.
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I wasn't referring to the new person page with that comment, though I can see how it could have looked like it. There have been other changes that just suddenly show up (such as the new pedigree chart view). And as for the group commentary on the new pedigree view, I'd appreciate a link to that. I searched diligently for it and never found any Community dedicated to that topic. The new page invites people to click the "Feedback" link on the far left side of that new page, but it was and still is inoperative as I type this.
I still find it frustrating that when the changes come (such as the new person page) there is no summary of what the changes are - we just have to try to find them ourselves. As just one example, the little "Options" icon over on the far right no longer has any label above or below it as it did before, and all the other icons that were over on the upper left moved over with the now-unlabeled "Options" icon. That's a key feature to the person page, yet new users would have little idea what that unlabeled icon even does. We have to learn what the changes are by hunting around or trying out various things with no guide or summary, and the large number of changes can be very frustrating to long-time users, particularly older users who don't adapt to change as easily as some others (the apparent whole point of the top post that started this thread).
The change in the print function from the old to the new person page was another example - it's functional, but not an obvious function anymore, requiring multiple clicks use it after having been a visible single-click link. The "Print" menu used to be completely visible at the bottom right of the old person page, requiring just a single click for whichever print function was desired.
By themselves, each individual change doesn't amount to a particularly big deal, and new users will simply learn how it all now functions, but more experienced users are very frustrated (I hear that from a number of experienced users including other FamilySearch missionaries). If we at least had some summary of changes, it would be very helpful. If that exists somewhere, it's certainly not well announced or prominent, based on many people's comments with whom I've spoken.
As for the invert color option, I hope your impression turns out to be correct. That would be a very poor change for many with certain vision issues that mere glasses don't correct.
--Chris
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Lyle linked the pedigree view group from the pinned topic in the new person page group.
https://community.familysearch.org/en/group/320-tree-pedigree-views
From the pinned post in that group:
Dark mode is missing.
Blocked: Waiting on a long and complicated fix from another team. We love this option, too. We will add it as soon as we can, but it will take a while.
I just checked: there is still a "go back to old pedigree" link at the top right of the new tree views. Until they get dark/invert mode working, I suggest using that for people with vision issues exacerbated by brightness.
The Feedback tab-thingy works perfectly well for me. Did you fill in both of the fields before clicking Submit?
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I looked at the link you posted above and noted that @ScottStieg also stated, "The reason I'm using this forum is that the 'Feedback' tab doesn't work." So that issue is not a result of some problem either with my computer, or my competency with a computer (I took my first computer programming course in Fortran IV fifty six years ago, before there were monitors, mice, or keyboards except those that created the punch cards for programming each line of code).
Thank you for the "pinned post in that group" from which I now know that FamilySearch is aware of the issue and intends to add "Invert Colors" back into the new pedigree page.
Until then, of course my wife will be using the old pedigree chart page out of necessity (as will I merely as a personal preference).
And in answer to your last question, I did not "fill in both of the fields before clicking Submit," simply because as I've stated, the Feedback "tab-thingy" does not work perfectly well for me. It's a system issue of some sort, or @ScottStieg wouldn't also have the issue. I use Firefox if that helps any tech support person reading this post, and I'm aware that both Firefox and Chrome are fully approved for use in Family History Centers per the article on how to use the Portal browser extension on both browsers. So my choice of Firefox at home (latest version on a Windows 10 computer upgraded to 22H2) is also not the issue.
We'll happily wait for FamilySearch to fix the "Invert Colors" option before using the new version. And I stand on my original (and subsequently explained) concerns regarding changes. Just my 2¢.
--Chris
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I, too, will be using the old page(s) until there is no alternative. I know I'll have to adapt, but I still can't get used to the new Record page format a year on, so would rather do without the enhanced features of the new Person pages, as working with them just slows down my work too much.
However, there has been plenty of advanced notice regarding the change (of this and the new Pedigree View page) and improvements made to meet the requests of everyday users. On the Feedback issue, I just checked (using both Chrome and Firefox) and found the link to be on the far right of the page (not left) and to be working perfectly okay. Sometimes these issues can be OS / browser related, so it helps if you provide such details (down to version detail) if you are experiencing a problem that is not unique to you, but is not a problem for other users (e.g. Julia and me, in this case).
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Perhaps we need a new thread for the Feedback-tab-thingy issue, but I'm lazy. I'm also using Firefox, and as I said, it works perfectly well for me. As Paul wrote, it was on the far left rather than the right where I expected it, but clicking it brought up the smilies-popup, where I chose the middle ("neutral") one, and then I got the popup with the text field and the email field and the Submit button. And yes, I filled in both and actually clicked submit, and it acknowledged that my feedback had been sent. (I filled in the text field with something like "just testing the Feedback tab".) Where does this process break, for the people who report that it doesn't work?
Regarding the ongoing revisions, I've already gotten mostly used to the newest version of the new person page, and have been applying the new source-tagging feature it offers. I never use the pedigree views (except the fan chart as a starting point), so I haven't explored those changes. (I wouldn't know what was different, really.) I certainly feel that there has been gracious plenty of warning about both sets of changes, and FS has been very responsive to our feedback offered in the Community group. It really seems like they've learned from their mistakes when rolling out the changes to the search interface and to the Record page format, and I for one appreciate the new method. (Yes, I wish they'd go back and re-revise both Search and the Record pages, using the new group feedback format, but I know that's unlikely to happen soon.)
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Very odd that you'd find it on the right side of the new pedigree chart page and I find it on the far left edge. There is not any "Feedback" button on the far right on my screen. Here's a screen capture from my display:
As for versions, I've got the most up to date Firefox version (108.0.1), 64 bit, and Windows 10 with the 22H2 update.
I give up! 😁
--Chris
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Regarding:
And that brings me to the real point of my comment - I could not agree more with the initial sentiment expressed above regarding change for change sake. And quite frankly, with so little warning or even explanation after these nearly constant changes lately, it's getting very frustrating trying to keep track of how to accomplish various tasks in the Family Tree. Plus, we teach a 5-week FamilySearch class in our community that is exceptionally well received - except the last two. It's very frustrating trying to keep track of all the changes that just show up one day, without explanations on what specifically has changed, and then explain it to people who may be somewhat familiar with FamilySearch but are taking the class to get updated - and find that most of what they knew is now outdated anyway. And there's nowhere (that I've found) to learn specifically which features have changed, and why.
I have to say I think it is a bit of a shame that FamilySearch's announcement in August was missed by so many people. It was here: https://www.familysearch.org/en/blog/person-page-redesign-2022 There had actually been an announcement several months earlier for uses to go to the beta site and start commenting on the new pages.
The reason there have been so many and so rapid changes is that FamilySearch tried something new with this update. Instead of releasing the final, fully developed product, they released it when it was about 90% done for users to try out, report bugs, report concerns, and report suggested improvements. What you see as frustrating, I view as a wonderful experience of watching the develops working frantically to make corrections and improvements all in response to user input. The design team has been remarkably responsive and nimble.
A follow up blog post reported on this work: https://www.familysearch.org/en/blog/feedback-new-person-page
I'm sorry to hear that you were trying to teach classes using the new pages when the new pages were so rapidly evolving. It probably would have been better to stick to teaching the old pages and just mentioned to your class members that changes were coming in the new year and that the adventurous among them might want to check it out. I would wonder if there might be a fuller explanation of the new changes when they hit their final form and the current version is retired.
Apparently the early release to allow users to take part in the final page design worked so well with the Detail page that they are now taking the same process for the pedigree pages. They will likely change frequently over the next six months, also.
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Perhaps the fact that it was missed by so many people indicates an issue other than the seeming presumption that those that missed it were just careless or somehow otherwise deficient. The fact is that I hadn't noticed until just recently that I was no longer getting Blog email updates. I was subscribed to the Blog for quite a long time (years), recommended it often to many people, and with all the other things in life did not notice that I was no longer hearing from FamilySearch. I got some other updates from time to time, but didn't realize it wasn't the blog subscription. There is such a thing as information overload, and being a FHC "director" while also serving as a FamilySearch missionary, and also being part of a FamilySearch pilot study for the past year, realizing that something dropped off my radar was simply not noticed. (Yes, I realize "director" isn't the authorized title any longer, but it is agreed by many FHC "directors" that it is by far the best not only because of ease, but also usefulness for introductions to local community organizations.)
There are many known computer system-related problems since April 2022, as I suspect you are well aware, one of which is the sudden inability to receive emails from ward and stake "email blast" notifications. Some receive them, some do not, and it is not a matter of simply whitelisting the Church's email address(es) with my ISP, as was proved earlier this year when I realized I was also not getting key important emails from our ward and stake. I had to change my listed email address with the Church altogether to begin receiving emails again (still using the same ISP). So now I'm wondering if that is also related to the lack of Blog emails for quite some time. Even now there are some in our quorum (where I can get the most information about others' experiences) that are also not getting occasional ward or stake emails (possibly Church emails as well, but I seem to be getting a "normal" number of them OK).
Thus, it's easy to say that FamilySearch has been quite forthcoming and timely about changes, but if we aren't receiving those notifications despite having already been long time subscribers, that's no fault of the users. And frankly, even when I realized that I wasn't receiving the Blog emails, I wasn't about to try to go back and look at some unknown number of months of missed articles - THAT is information overload all by itself! One tends to pay attention to immediate deadlines, expectations, or notifications, and sometimes "optional" things get dropped out of necessity - particularly when one doesn't even know what isn't being received.
I submit that it's highly likely the computer system issues may be a significant factor in the apparent "sudden" changes without warning, as well as the fact that active, involved FamilySearch users missed those announcements. I recall long ago learning it said that when a finger is pointed at someone else (in this case individual users), there are four other fingers pointing back at the one doing the pointing, and in this case that may be the FamilySearch system, even if unintentionally responsible for a significant part of this issue.
Further, I've been aware of the new Person page for quite some time simply because it was there ON FamilySearch with the option to use the old or new page. But without knowing it was being discussed in the Blog bacause I hadn't notice that I was no longer receiving the Blog, I was having to discover the changes one by one on my own. When/where was the early announcement of the coming change to the Pedigree charts? Was that also in a blog article I didn't receive despite having been a subscriber for years?? The new "Help" article (https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/article/new-landscape-and-pedigree-views) is only dated 15 days ago (13 December 2022), and has instructions to provide "Feedback" through a system that isn't even functional for at least some users. That's hardly timely nor "a wonderful experience" as you termed the Person page experience.
Finally, one more major factor that is not getting enough discussion (or apparent attention by FamilySearch) is the abysmal state of affairs with the current Community system. While the prior system had major drawbacks, it at least had a highly useful notification system that allowed users the choice of receiving emails about ALL new posts, not just responses to posts that the user had initiated. People had multiple options as to what they received (or not). Personally, I chose to allow all new posts in my subscribed groups, because it was a very quick, easy task to look at the subject lines in my email inbox and open just those that needed immediate attention, or come back to ones that were perhaps of less importance to my personally. And with nothing more than two mouse clicks, I could delete unneeded emails in seconds, requiring less than one minute per day, usually, to keep up with the most important things, and prioritize the rest depending on other tasks and workloads. Compare that to the task now of having to individually long into each of my subscribed groups and search around for new posts in each group. I don't have time for that every day, and often for several days in a row. Unfortunately, I've tended to not even go to my subscribed groups for that purpose very often anymore simply because I don't even think about it. I had a wonderfully automated system in the past, and FamilySearch has substituted a new (at the time) platform for the Community that requires substantial individual time to accomplish what took seconds or perhaps a minute or so each day at most when we received email notifications for ALL new posts. Now that's impossible, and no one can give a definitive answer as to when or even whether that feature will be brought back. Using someone else's off-the-shelf software has its drawbacks, and consequences if not adequately thought through.
Thus, the Community system is exceptionally cumbersome to use, with this being just one clear example - the "Feedback" button for the new Pedigree view doesn't even work at least for some users, and the direction to go to the Community for answers and feedback is useless when the search engine doesn't point to a specific group for such discussion despite instructions that say it's there for our use. I note that the above 13 December "Help" article does point to the Community Group, and that it began in October, and that you were one of the first respondents. That's great! But how were you notified? I now see that it could be tested out using the Beta site - but how were the rest of us to know that if we weren't receiving Blog posts or other notifications of new information? Honestly, the more I dig into this discussion (and get critical feedback in response despite having no way of knowing what I don't know because I'm not receiving it), the more frustrated I'm becoming. I would LOVE to have known about that October Community Group addition, and would have been happy to make some time to do some evaluation/feedback - had I known. I've been invited and participated in multiple pilot studies for FamilySearch because I believe in that kind of process. But again - if I don't know, then I don't know what I don't know and can't act on it.
--Chris
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You stated:
"I'm sorry to hear that you were trying to teach classes using the new pages when the new pages were so rapidly evolving. It probably would have been better to stick to teaching the old pages and just mentioned to your class members that changes were coming in the new year and that the adventurous among them might want to check it out. I would wonder if there might be a fuller explanation of the new changes when they hit their final form and the current version is retired."
That sounds good on the surface, but it shifts the burden or even "fault" to me as having made some poor choices. But if you read my above response, and reconsider your paragraph I just quoted, you'll note that I had no way of knowing about all the changes that were coming in the new year, since that information wasn't easily available to me. Interestingly, our particular FamilySearch Mission is a community outreach mission - the only one of its kind so far. And "all the changes" has been a frequent topic of frustrated conversation in our weekly mission correlation meetings. Consider that these are some of the most dedicated FamilySearch users - and I don't recall a single person mentioning that they were aware of the beta site or the Community Group associated with either the new Person Page, or especially this almost immediately recent Pedigree view change (nobody apparently knew of that beta site article - the new Pedigree view just suddenly showed up days ago on FamilySearch).
There is a significant lack of communication between sections within FamilySearch, and out to end users in particular. If we're not receiving communication, we don't know what we don't know, and see it as a very broken system where all the testing is merely being done in real time using real users, with no alpha or beta testing. Tonight is literally the first time I knew that the Beta site for FamilySearch was being used since October for the Pedigree view, and I only learned perhaps a day earlier about the blog post in August for the new Person Page. I'm hardly alone in that lack of knowledge despite active involvement with FamilySearch through multiple avenues (FHC director, a FamilySearch pilot study for the past year, and serving a FamilySearch mission for over a year now, in addition to just my own personal use and interest).
As for teaching people in classes the old pages alone, and merely telling them that changes are coming in the new year and to watch for them, that's doing a disservice to class members who want to learn how to USE FamilySearch. If they're taught the old way and begin to get used to it, it would suddenly go away within weeks or just months, and they'd have to learn a new way. That's very frustrating, and a great way to drive away new users. That's inappropriate when the new way (or at least much of it) is already available. That is what they should be taught - if the instructors knew about the various resources and announcements. I'm in frequent communication and discussion with a number of instructors using the same format we've been using since being introduced to it over a year ago - and we're all experiencing the same frustrations because of lack of information that some people are receiving, yet others are not.
It's difficult explaining to classes that FamilySearch does not use a system similar to almost any other organization, where changes to websites or software are first piloted and refined outside of public view (the alpha- and beta-testing method), and then announced with plenty of help to explain the new changes. Instead, every single FamilySearch user becomes part of the testing guinea pig group, regardless of age, experience, or computer familiarity. There's a huge disconnect between the programmers and engineers vs. the vastly dissimilar FamilySearch user community out here. And as my wife and I close out 2022 this week, we're going to be looking very carefully at if/when to even try to begin a new FamilySearch class despite having a list of several wanting to join the next class. Our local library system (a FamilySearch Affiliate Library system) is highly and actively supportive of the class, helping to promote it throughout a wide service area. But the current appearance to the local and regional community is becoming less impressive - exactly the opposite of what FamilySearch is trying to promote as it becomes an even greater source of community education. (That last sentence is based on feedback received from end-users both among Church members as well as the local/regional community.)
Again - I can't know what I don't know. Your statement that, "The design team has been remarkably responsive and nimble," isn't something a number of us can relate to at all - solely because of only spotty communication that used to work beautifully with the old Community notification options and Blog subscriptions that resulted in frequent email updates that inexplicably ceased for a portion of the more advanced and aware users and Blog subscribers (including FS missionaries). Many of us are far removed (2000+ miles!) from BYU FHL, or the large FamilySearch Centers such as in Lehi, Utah, where there is far more daily discussion of current things, and a much better chance of learning about all these "announcements" that aren't being received by many. There seems to be a significant disconnect between internal FamilySearch vs "the real world" outside of the FamilySearch Library, BYU FHL, large FamilySearch sites, and the internal FamilySearch organization.
--Chris
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I know a relatively minor point, but I can confirm the Feedback button was on the right side yesterday, but now on the left. I nearly always take screenshots to illustrate, but failed to do so yesterday. Either way, I am still able to provide feedback, the lack of this ability being the problem in your case.
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You present a number of valid points that I hope make it to the proper people in FamilySearch for review.
I do feel I need to point out, however, that ever since the new pages were put out in production, there has been the banner at the top of the page:
Did no one in your groups or that you have talked to ever click on Learn more? Currently it links to a Help Center article that was last updated 13 December 2022, but has always linked to information about the new changes. The page that link led to has also always, if I remember correctly, had the link to go directly to the Community group dedicated to the new pages.
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@EllenZepp and @Chris Bieneman Schmink I feel your pain - mostly! During the past couple months, being forced to use FS Community when the contact-by-phone was discontinued (gladly restored again), I discovered many things that were in beta mode, projects being worked on and discovered the limited impact I could have on development of FamilySearch Family Tree design and functionality. I'm getting used to it; not even going to the old version much. It is a change in progress, and I've felt pleased with certain features that have been given badly need attention. For the seasoned researcher, however, there are still some major issues that I'm hoping to see resolved (to my liking, anyway).
Navigating all that is going on in FS Community, FS Blog and the fast paced off-the-top communication (for such a major change to the technology platform) has left many seasoned users in a not-worth-the-fight mode; almost to the point of let-it-be-destroyed so we can look back later and figure out what-went-wrong.... It will go on, but those who teach have a major job because it's shaping up as a whole new world.
In the FS Community, it's hard to tell who is expressing the views and/or comments of FamilySearch Family Tree; those who design, engineer and implement changes, verses those who are just another user/member of the site like you and I. Through experiencing the pain of being involved you will know to what degree heed should be given to "answers" to your questions and comments.
While the New Person Page Group is useful, I believe it limits the exposure of certain discussions to that limited audience who "join" the group. I don't worry too much about posting issues just there only - I want ALL members of the Community to be engaged and know what the issues are, so sometimes I'll even post a couple different places....
Just another voice, and a relatively newly engaged kid in the Community!
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I'm happy for you that you're still able to provide feedback. And I'd note yet again that I'm not the only one here stating that the new Pedigree view "Feedback" button does not work. I've got the most updated version of Firefox available, Firefox is an accepted browser according to Family Search tech support. Firefox and Chrome are the only two browsers currently listed for use of the Portal browser extension despite the fact that Microsoft Edge is a Chrome based browser. I am currently operating Windows 10 upgraded to 22H2. And I simply do not experience any other problems on any other websites.
So why does this conversation keep coming back to the fact that others can use the Feedback button? It's a FamilySearch issue, not simply my computer. If I was having problems elsewhere, I'd be doing some much deeper digging. It is a programming issue of some sort, not an individual issue.
The new security measures involving the Captcha "I am not a bot!" routine requiring verification of multiple crosswalks, motorcycles, buses, bridges, or whatever, and the fact that multiple people were experiencing very frequent disconnects from FamilySearch while actively using it (VERY unimpressive while teaching a Zoom class to non-member new users!) - that was a programming issue of some sort, not an individual computer issue.
The failure to remain subscribed to the Blog is a programming issue of some sort, not an individual issue.
The loss of the Invert Colors option is a programming issue of some sort, not an individual issue.
I could go on but it's unnecessary. The point is that there are ongoing failure to communicate issues between different pieces of the FamilySearch operation, and FamilySearch is using it's users as it's alpha and beta testers, unlike almost any other website or program I can remember. Not everyone wants to be having to hunt for everything, figure out each new feature for themselves, or find out about announcements that were never received months after the fact. And while I valued the Blog greatly and recommended it very frequently to others, it's buried way down at the bottom of FamilySearch screens where many people miss it altogether. Average users often say they didn't even know it existed, let alone know about it's value. That's not an individual user issue, that's a marketing and web page placement issue. FamilySearch has every user's contact information, and while it would be inappropriate for them to bombard all users with all information all the time, there could be a much more effective effort made to make these help features more prominent and noticeable (assuming Blog subscriptions weren't unilaterally cancelled for unknown reasons at the FamilySearch level).
So, pointing out to me again that I seem to be the one with the problem because I can't use the "Feedback" botton, or which side the darned thing is on during any given day, is to miss the much large point that there are things within FamilySearch that are frequently not working well due to programming issues, not primarily individual users - especially when more experienced users are often experiencing the same frustrations.
I appreciate the comment that there were some good points made that hopefully FamilySearch engineers/programmers will see and address.
But then you pointed out "that ever since the new pages were put out in production, there has been the banner at the top of the page" informing them where they could "learn more." That misses the point that there were apparently announcements made in the Blog (possibly elsewhere) well prior to the arrival of the new pages on the main FamilySearch site (as opposed to beta.familysearch). If we don't know what's coming and don't have an opportunity to comment on it due to non-receipt of the Blog announcements, that's on FamilySearch, not individual users who either aren't well experienced with FamilySearch and not aware of the Blog, or else already had a subscription to the Blog emails that mysteriously ceased arriving.
And to answer your question, "Did no one in your groups or that you have talked to ever click on Learn more?":
Of course we did! -- once the new Person page suddenly appeared on main FamilySearch (not beta, which we knew nothing about because of a lack of notice). A number of us have been doing our best to understand the new changes, including reading the blog posts you mentioned, starting with the 22 August Blog post. I'd have been entirely negligent if I had not done so, particularly due to our teaching of a FamilySearch class (along with a number of others teaching the same class around the country). That isn't the issue! I'd point you back to previous posts above where (among other things) I stated,
"While I am not so strongly opposed to the new Person Page as the above comment, I still strongly favor the "old" Person Page, not the new one.
And that brings me to the real point of my comment...."
I entered this thread specifically because of the topic on which it started out with @EllenZepp 's initial post - constant, ongoing change, seemingly just for the sake of change for change's sake in some instances. I then focused on the Pedigree view issues, NOT the Person page, because I'd been searching for a place to provide feedback regarding the lack of "Invert Colors" and after the "Feedback" button failed to work repeatedly (and still does not as of this morning). I've been dealing with and learning about the new Person page for months, since it first became part of FamilySearch. Again - the fact that I don't happen to personally like some of the features or changes is not my issue - that's simply a matter of personal preference. It has escalated into a much larger issue that there was apparently an excellent forum for discussing it much earlier this year that was announced in the Blog - to which I had a subscription for years - until it mysteriously stopped arriving, totally outside of my initial awareness or control. So for those of us unaware of the beta.familysearch method of evaluating the Pedigree view, that new view's sudden appearance on FamilySearch was a complete surprise. And that's a system failure, not an individual user failure. While I enthusiastically accepted an opportunity to do some alpha (not even beta) testing regarding some FHC software that ended up not being used, not everyone wants to be a mandatory alpha or even beta tester.
Roll it out, let people get used to the changes, but do significant behind-the-scenes testing before just making changes on the fly for months at a time, which is seriously frustrating for most end users - especially when multiple teams are required to make some of the major changes (I consider Invert Colors to be a major change - or loss in this case). Allow people to opt into becoming a programming guinea pig rather than making that a cost of using the software/website.
--Chris
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No, I'm not trying to imply there is not a wider issue with this and other issues that have been reported lately. However, I was just illustrating that many users aren't experiencing the Feedback problem. Surely that fact could even be of help in the diagnosis of the issue. I've not experienced the Captcha one either, although thought that might be confined to Church accounts, whereas I just use a public one.
Believe me, I've been through the same in the past - having a problem that no other user seemed to have experienced. I never could work out the cause, but at least it eventually ceased happening.
On the issue of phasing out the current Pedigree view and Person pages, I, too, am unhappy with this happening. I just cannot adapt at the moment and continue to use the now titled "previous version" and "old pedigree" pages. As I have commented on many occasions, the Search and Results pages have been a complete failure for me - especially the latter, which is extremely difficult to work with when census records are involved.
So I can empathise with many of the points you are making, but can't get too worked up over matters on which I know there will be no turning back. And, whether its news about the release of new records or about program changes, FamilySearch does seem to have a way of keeping things to itself to the last minute. Whereas the actions of lyleblunttoronto1 in opening these recent changes for discussion (well in advance of the phasing out of the old versions) has been a refreshing change from what we experienced in the past. However, again I acknowledge that many FamilySearch users do not find it easy to get to the useful pages that are probably only easy to find if you are are regular / longstanding member of this forum.
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