How do you edit a transcription error when Edit button is disabled?
How do you report a transcription error that needs to be looked at when the Edit button is disabled? While there is no image to compare, I know that there is a transcription error because of the individuals mentioned in the record and dates etc. correspond.
There is no means of reporting an issue to be investigated in a record where an issue or error occurs. It is frustrating, and poor UX, to jump through hoops and go via different vague menu options. It seems like "customers" should be kept at arm's length, which I am sure is not FS's intention. Surely you can accommodate an accessible feature within each record for genealogists to report an error where editing is disabled? I suggest FS software developers add this to the top of their backlog so that you improve the user experience in such cases.
Thank you.
Answers
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If the edit button is not available, then the index/extract cannot be edited by a user.
Can you supply an example (screenshot or URL) of the record you feel needs editing? It's useful to know the record set. Sometimes a record is from a legacy collection which cannot be edited. Or, if the image is not available on FamilySearch, those cannot be edited since it would be impossible to verify if the index is correct or if the error is in the original record.
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Here is the record:
"Scotland, Civil Registration, 1855-1875, 1881, 1891", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X9GX-QTZS : Wed Dec 18 09:55:44 UTC 2024), Entry for William Miller and William Miller, 3 Apr 1866.
The surname for the female in the record has been transcribed as Colen, when it should be "Osler". I can understand volunteer transcribers having difficulty reading handwritten text in old documents.
While we cannot edit, which is understandable in certain circumstances, my point still remains that genealogists require an easier way to raise transcription errors in the actual record, if edits are disabled, to be investigated and rectified.
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Until very recently, FamilySearch did not offer the option to edit any extracts.
It's important to remember that the index/extract is not the record; it is only a finding aid. Perhaps you can take comfort in the fact that you did find the record. And FamilySearch has billions of records, many of which are not yet indexed. It would be an impossible task to edit extracts made many years ago
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Thank you, and I understand the enormity of tasks to manage billions of records. I do not take comfort in finding inaccurate information in an index. The fact that you mention an index as a finding aid means that the information in the index must be as accurate as possible, in order for genealogists and researchers to find information easily.
As and when we detect errors, then surely it would be useful for researchers to raise them in the actual index/extract to be corrected by FS at a later stage? I want to be able to raise an issue about an error in an index as easily as possible. And if an index is eventually corrected, then it can be easily found by future researchers.
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@JohnBennett11 If you haven't already done so, you can use the Suggest an Idea category. You will find instructions on how to submit a form and what to expect once you submit it. I hope this is helpful.
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If you do Suggest an Idea, if possible please post a copy here in 'main' Community, since we won't be able to see it otherwise - avoids duplication.
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@LindaTG: I have submitted a Suggest an Idea form about this matter.
@MandyShaw1: There is no reference or anything yet of my suggested idea and I was not able to copy and paste here. FS will liaise with me in due course.
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Please let us know when you do get a response. Copying and pasting each of the form boxes is awkward and time-consuming, I agree.
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I think every record should have a button to email a correction to that specific record. openarch.nl in the Netyherlands can do it so why not Failysearch.
This is what their button looks like once you hit it:
Report error in data
Bovenkant formulier
You're about to report an error in the following record:
Registration (in the year 1825), Sappemeer, Christiaan Ruchti, Historical Archive Central Groningen (Netherlands): Population register
Where's the error located?
On both the detail page on the website of the archive as well on Open Archives, the report will be sent to Historisch Archief Midden-Groningen. Only on Open Archives, the report will be sent to Open Archives.
What is wrong?
Describe which information of the document is incorrect and what you think is the correct information (the link of the deed on Open Archives and the archive website are automatically included in the message, so you do not need to include them here):
What is your e-mail address?
Your e-mail address will only be used by the receiving archive to inform you about the handling of this error.
Thanks in advance for your report! Beware, checking and processing these reports is done by hand. It can take a while before the corrected data is visible on the websites of the archive and Open Archives.
Once you have hit the button "Report error" the pop-up automatically copies the url of the record in question. At the bottom of the pop-up one can type ones suggestion.
As there are no images available of any Swiss records in FmilySearch i will try to report an error of the following record:
Cite This Record
"Schweiz, Katholische und Reformiert Kirchenbücher, 1418-1996", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:66JB-RBXT : Sun Jul 14 13:57:02 UTC 2024), Entry for Christen Hugli and Verena Zimmerman, 12 Dec 1651.
Snippet of this record
Should be:
Christen Ruchti und Verena Zimmerman
Swiss church records for Kanton Bern can be found at https://www.query.sta.be.ch/archivplansuche.aspx?ID=37 Click at Kirchenbücher
The 17th century R looks weird to people of the 21st century and is often interpreted as an H, which it is not.
It was argued that an index is only a finding aid. Christen Ruchti and Verena Zimmermann had at least 6 children baptized. The Familysearch index only delivers one: Christen (Steffisburg 30-3-1662 (book 4 page 63).
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@Yvonne Ruchti While your suggestion might be nice for a wish list, it's simply not practical. FamilySearch hosts billions of records and has millions of users, all with a very small staff. To monitor suggested edits would require a much larger staff. And, for those records with no image, it's not reasonable to allow edits when the user cannot see the image and cannot know if an error exists in the index or the original record, or if the record is for someone else entirely.
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