German records written in Fraktur and Kurrent - Require more training to modify the tree?
Should there be some sort of throttle on allowing people without training to modify the tree based on German records written in a style of script that takes specialized training to read? Are the entities (human or AI) that are indexing German records written in Fraktur and Kurrent trained properly? 100% of my great grandparents or their parents came from what is now Germany and I have processed through all the hints available to me from the FamilySearch home portal that are more current than about 1850. All that is left are records from people who lived earlier and I am so often confused by the indexing and I cannot read the script. I know that the aliases often included variations in spelling and endings (many of which changed over time, political boundaries, even scribes); however, the meaning of those differences is lost on me. (e.g. Bernthäusel Beratheusel Baruthedsel - which do I include on my ancestor's surname field and which do I omit?) Does FamilySearch use some algorithm for determining whether a surname generates hints? Am I really qualified to make this determination unless I am specifically trained for it? [tbh: I am frightened that people with my lack of knowledge are able to make changes the rest of us rely upon - mea culpa: I myself have added numerous aliases to a profile's surname field because I have been "hinted" many records (for their many children) each with a slightly different alias.
I want to keep working in FamilySearch because it is awesome and I have learned so much, not only about me, where my faith comes from, and my own family, but about geography, history, politics, customs, (the list is long) but I have (but should not have been allowed to) made changes to the tree everyone else needs to live with. I'm just someone who got on a computer one day and thought to myself: "I can understand this"
All I am asking: if a record is written in Fraktur or Kurrent (or selected others) should FamilySearch approve someone to modify profiles based on those records by having been certified in the script. (There are several accrediting bodies that can do this)
Closing point: I am all for open access, transparency, etc. but at a certain point shouldn't experts be the primary actors when deciding how to use? There are many areas of our culture today where we would be appalled if someone with a little 'Google' knowledge could go around changing our experience.
Answers
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If you haven't, please join and post in the group for Germany Research where several very helpful folks, trained to read Fraktur and Kurrentschrift, are able to assist.
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