FamilySearch lines of communication need to be improved
Whilst it is often possible for a moderator to pass an issue to an appropriate team to investigate, this does not always appear to be the case. Receiving an acknowledgment that an issue is under investigation - and/or the likely outcome - can be very difficult.
Through reading other comments on this forum, it appears Indexing is a particular problem-area – especially when it comes to being able to communicate with project leaders or team management. Project instructions in general appear to be inconsistent, but there are also problems, at present, with the unclear guidelines attached to a couple of specific projects. The issue here (affecting indexers and their concerns over carrying out their work correctly) appears to be in there being no direct communication channel to voice concerns or obtain clarification of (or even an amendment of) instructions.
Often, Family Tree / FamilySearch users have excellent ideas that would lead to the improvement of its pages, but – the New Person Page project aside – there is rarely a direct opportunity for them to put their valuable suggestions: well, at least in the knowledge they will be given serious consideration.
When - or should that be if - the new version of the Catalog appears, the format will not have been the subject to any consultation with those who will be using it – as there has been none.
So, please FamilySearch management, make it easier for us to get our ideas, reports, complaints and positive feedback through to the team that can take note, act on, and even (perhaps) respond to our issues.
Comments
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I wish I could give @Paul W's suggestion multiple upvotes.
I very much appreciate all the services the FamilySearch organization provides, and I'm well aware that much of the support is provided by volunteers/missionaries.
That said, there seems to be a lack of communication within FamilySearch. Just this past week, I responded to a post by a user who had contacted FS Support for help. Rather than giving the caller the basic information he sought, Support directed him to post his request for assistance here in the Community.
I was frustrated; I have no doubt the person looking for help was frustrated; I hope my answer helped him solve the issue.
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I wonder if part of the situation is at least two fold?
1. FamilySearch user's feedback is more than the garden hose can handle. We can't really expect FamilySearch to handle all the volume when they also have work to prioritize? The new person page group seemed to work well - but we still had/have plenty negative response when the change was implemented. There seems to be lots of platform changes occurring more often - and so Community will have to have more patience and wait for some dust to settle?
2. For each category the garden hose could probably use a bit of streamlining? Thankfully the garden hose is taking care of most fires...I hope Community doesn't overwhelm the resources all the time. Community can probably be assured that things will be looked at and addressed if needed/appropriate - otherwise Community needs may fall through the cracks once in a while. Hopefully those missed opportunities/users can have patience/persevere - even if their specific feedback/issue is not immediately addressed?
Thanks FamilySearch! We hope Community is helping as a resource rather than overwhelming resources.
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