Definition of "Source?"
Is there a written definition of "source" somewhere on the FamilySearch website? I've searched the help and wiki without success.
The reason I ask is that a user has created "sources" for ancestors that would, in my opinion, better be entered under the collaborate tab under "notes." If there were only two or three I wouldn't bother but the source entries for some ancestors are becoming quite cluttered with what would better be described as research notes. For example, there are sources entitled, "The 1790 census has been lost for Virginia," "1750s French & Indian War impacts Frederick Co., VA," "From 1734 until 1738, all of western Virginia was Orange Co.", "Botetourt Co., VA, seat in Fincastle, was established in 1770 from Augusta Co.", etc. None of these examples contain links to particular source documents (except possibly a map); they are simply statements of fact.
If I were to move these entries to the notes section I should provide a good reason statement and I should initiate a conversation with the user explaining the rationale. A good way to support that would be to point to something in the documentation for the FSFT that clearly defines "source". There's good information here, just not "sources" in the usual sense of the term. OTOH, I've tried reaching out to the user before and got no response.
Answers
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Yes, those actually look like research notes to me. I agree they are not sources and if you moved them to the notes section, in my opinion, that would be a valid action. Sources are documents or images that prove a fact about the person either directly or indirectly. We all know what direct proof is.
The best example I can think of for indirect proof is a source I created for my father in law. His original birth certificate had no infant name filled out. All other expected information was there and correct. We have a photo of him as a baby with his given name written on it, so I made a source out of that image and indicated that his intended birth name was the name he always used.
Of the examples you cited, none of them are proving a fact about any person. They are more of a check list of things to think about and take into consideration.
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@EricShelton From James Tanner: https://www.thefhguide.com/blog/the-return-of-what-is-a-source/
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