Please add a "Warning" section to Main Page. (Now that Discussions are not on the Main Page. Discuss

LegacyUser

m said: Please add a "Warning" section to Main Page.

(Now that Discussions are not on the Main Page. Discussions were where Warnings were put in the Old Format.)

Warnings help people to avoid errors.

Example of a Warning:
Warning.2 sisters had the same first and last name. Not an error. This is the page for -----.

Right now it is possible to use the Life Sketch section for a Warning. (But that is not the purpose of the Life Sketch section.)

LegacyUser

Tyler Peterson said: I like this. Thank you for logging this idea. The Family Tree team has read it. If we don't update the status in the coming days then it has been sidelined and the community is encouraged to upvote and comment here to give it greater prominence.

LegacyUser

Tyler Peterson said: Alright, I've discussed this with the design team.

We are considering approaches to make free-form notes easier to attach to conclusions and relationships so that old-hands can leave warnings and tips. These notes would appear right as the person views the details of a conclusion, a relationship, or a suggested merge. They should help slow down ill informed edits at that point.

Today we are using two things to slow down ill-formed edits:

1. Reason statements are now a part of every conclusion, and the dismissal of every merge suggestion. In our tests, those really slow down noobs making edits.
2. New with the Sep 2018 redesign we have a "peopl watching banner" (of sorts) on the top of conclusion edits that makes clear when you are editing something that a lot of people have contributed to in the past, or are watching. Even having only 1 or 2 people watching a person has been shown to slow down noobs in making naïve edits.

This "people watching banner" should find its way to more parts of the site where it will again help slow down well-intentioned, but poor edits by newcomers.

Returning to your original suggestion, we do have design prototypes in development to address the issue, so I'm marking this "under consideration."

LegacyUser

Tom Huber said: We need someplace to put items of this nature. Some of us have resorted to (mis)using the Life Sketch to provide warnings and notices. See Pieter Claesen 9312-XFX for an example.

Pieter's record is one of those where Gustav Anjou, an infamous "genealogist", fabricated a source and history to connect Claesen with European royalty and that family background has been repeated in many places.

The profile contains a lot of information and by providing the Notice "up front", we've managed to slow down the number of changes that have been made to the profile which reflected Anjou's fraudulent work.

I vote for at least some means a 'm' suggests, perhaps not as a "warning", but as a "notice" that is prominent and displayed just below the banner.

From Wikipedia: "A warning sign is a type of sign which indicates a potential hazard, obstacle or condition requiring special attention. Some are traffic signs that indicate hazards on roads that may not be readily apparent to a driver." This applies to warning statements as well as caution statements.

LegacyUser

Juli said: There was a discussion early this summer (I think) about the need for an Alerts section. People have re-purposed everything from Discussions and Notes to Life Sketches and reason statements (and sometimes all of the above) to try to prevent bad merges and attachments on their particularly problematic relatives. None of these fields are exactly suited to the purpose, and none of them are effective in all cases.

In the old format, discussions and notes defaulted to way down at the bottom, where many people (especially the dangerously new & enthusiastic types) never looked, which is why many people turned to the Life Sketch instead, which was front and center, then as now. But as you say, that's not what the Life Sketch is for, and besides, in the new format, people can collapse the section and never see that there's anything there.

One advantage in the new format: yes, the discussions and notes are off on another tab/pane, but there's a number next to the link, so you can tell at a glance that there _is_ a discussion or note. I don't know how to train people to go read it, but that would be true no matter where it was or how it was formatted.

LegacyUser

Tyler Peterson said: Thanks Tom, the design team is talking about it. We'll have to see if a dedication warning section pays for itself. If it wouldn't be used often enough, or if it would engender to many unintended consequences, then it may be better overall to continue "abusing" the Life Sketch for this purpose. 

If we dual-purpose Life Sketch for rare person-level warnings (should they turn out to be relatively rare) then I believe another issue to address is, "Will the Life Sketch always be displayed prominently enough to serve both purposes?" For example, if we move Life Sketch to its own tab then people wouldn't see it and all of the warnings are now hidden and have to be redone. This is essentially what has happened with Discussions. That is, using it as a warning was a creative use case that has been undermined by rearranging the page.

We're still stewing on this.

LegacyUser

Tom Huber said: While y'all are stewing, I have at least three other people who fall into this category. Both of "end of line" ancestors where information about their origin is missing or not readily available.

One was the subject of a now-removed D.A.R. application / membership which connected the end-of-line ancestor to a person born i New England.

The other two (and there are likely more) are families who came early to the United States (my Huber line around 1715) and lived in the same area (Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in one case and Coshocton County, Ohio in the other) for many generations. Family still lives there and these were not small families.

Patrons unfamiliar with the area have often mistakenly attached wrong sources, merged wrong people, and so on, creating havoc with those involved. I've applied the Notice to all family members who could be adversely impacted by inexperienced relatives doing what they felt was best. The Hinting system does help matters, either.

LegacyUser

Chas Howell said: Life Sketch would be better under the "Memories" tab assuming that an Alert/Heads-up/Warning/Caution/ReadMe/Notice/Issues (by whatever name) section is added to the top of the detail page. Its function would be to put certain genealogical comments that would be advantageous and expedient to known, placed on top and always visible on the person/detail page.

LegacyUser

Alex Sellers said: John Alden of the Mayflower has 227 people watching him, yet it doesn't seem like people care, since people keep adding parents to him even though there are multiple warnings in discussions and the life sketch. I do like #1, which will probably help this.

LegacyUser

Brett said: Chas

I understand what you are suggesting ...

But ...

Personally, I believe and suggest, that "Family Tree" NEEDS, both,
(1) the "Life Sketch"; and,
(2) an ... "Alert/Heads-up/Warning/Caution/ReadMe/Notice/Issues (by whatever name) section",
at the very TOP.

Both are equally important.

I would hate to see the "Life Sketch" down graded to the "Memories" 'Tab' or the like.

Just my thoughts

Brett

LegacyUser

Juli said: I agree that Memories would be the perfect place for the Life Sketch, which would free up that nice front-and-center spot for an Alerts section.

(My hobby is genealogy, not biography. I understand that many people conflate the two, but it makes sense to me to put all of the biographical-type material together in one place, slightly separated from the genealogical-type things.)

The proposed Alerts section (or whatever we'd want to call it) would have to be set up to be always visible if present. As a compromise between visibility and obtrusiveness, perhaps the text could be truncated with one of those "more" links after the first two lines (which would train people to get to the point quickly, not a bad thing in my opinion).

LegacyUser

Brett said: Juli

I agree with you on most thinks; but, not on this point that you raised.

The "Memories" 'Tab' in NOT the perfect pace for the "Life Sketch".

BOTH, the "Life Sketch"; and, an ... "Alert / Heads-up / Warning / Caution / ReadMe / Notice/Issues ( by whatever name ) section" ..., NEED to be at the very TOP.

The ... "Alert / Heads-up / Warning / Caution / ReadMe / Notice / Issues ( by whatever name ) section" NEEDS to be the first at the very top, with the "Life Sketch" as the very next Section towards the top.

To Members of the Church, "Genealogy" / "Family History" is NOT a "Hobby".

We are NOT simply "Conflating" [ ie. combining ( two or more sets of information, texts, ideas, etc. ) into one ].

To those individuals/persons who have a "Life Sketch" added, as strictly opposed to, an "Alert / Heads-up / Warning / Caution / ReadMe / Notice / Issues", that "Life Sketch" is very important.

I am well aware that you are not a member of the Church, as you have indicated such in a number of previous posts.

With regard to your experience in "Family Tree", you would be well aware that "Family Tree" and "FamilySearch" is MUCH, MUCH MORE than a "Genealogy" / "family History" website to Members of the Church.

I hope I have not offended you, with this comment.

Brett

LegacyUser

Tom Huber said: I happen to agree with the idea that Life Sketch is better placed elsewhere, but not necessarily as a memory, where one can already create one or more stories (with photos) about a person, or even put together one or more pdf documents that do the same thing.

As to where, perhaps on its own tab with an indicator hat a life sketch is present.

LegacyUser

Tom Huber said: I dread tackling my early Pennsylvania Dutch families, but there are some seriously messed up families in the tree for Lancaster County.

LegacyUser

Tom Huber said: The only reason I like the idea of moving the Life Sketch out of the details page is then the details page is "just the facts ma'am."

LegacyUser

m said: I would like to see a Warning section near the Name section of the Main Page.

I would also like to see as much text entry as Life Sketch. Because in order to explain something that is difficult to explain, it might require a lot of text space.

LegacyUser

Tom Huber said: Hm.

After looking at this and thinking about the Life Sketch, and so on, I just realized that we need a tab in which all elements are loaded, including those on separate tabs.

It should not be the first displayed, but have all the other elements tied together, including Life Sketch, Events and Family, Timeline, Collaborative elements, and so on, including those Research Help elements. Do not allow editing from this page, but do allow any element to be expanded, just like in the original interface.

The problem with things now fragmented, we have no way to see the entire record set, except for printing a FGS with sources and that lacks the timeline, the map with pins, the collaborative elements, and so on.

If I want to examine all of the elements in FamilySearch relevant to one of my relatives in one place, I do not have that option.

Something to consider.

LegacyUser

m said: If there is a Warning section on the Details page, the Life Sketch section could be moved to the Timeline Page.

(This would provide the opportunity to place a warning message on both the Details page and the Timeline page.)

LegacyUser

Susan Argyle said: I like having the Life Sketch on the details page, because then it's easier to see the it matches the facts. In some cases the "facts" are wrong, and in some cases it's the Life Sketch.

LegacyUser

rotkapchen said: The most critical point is that it be seen during merges! For that purpose, it was recommended to me years ago, by support, that I put my warnings in Other Information - Custom Fact.

The only downside of this has been that 1. It can be deleted by others, 2. It can be dropped in a merge. Both of these are not an issue with discussions. But alas, Discussions do not show up in merges.

LegacyUser

Christine said: I have one cousin who added "DONOTMERGE!!" as a middle name for a ggg grandfather who was frequently incorrectly merged with another man with the same name. Warning section would be really helpful. The reason statement is great only when someone writes one.

LegacyUser

Brett said: FamilySearch

Now that a probable "Warning" Section on the main "Person/Details" page/screen is "Under Construction", have you ("FamilySearch") considered all the "Warnings" already added to individuals/persons by Users/Patrons under the = (1) "Life Sketch"; and/or, (2) "Other Information"; and/or, (3) "Discussions"; and/or, (4) Notes"!?

If a "Warning" Section is added to the main "Person/Details" page/screen,

(1) Are you going to co-ordinate with Users/Patrons to transfer all the existing "Warnings" that appear under the "Life Sketch", "Other Information", "Discussions" and Notes"!? ( Granted, an impossible task )

(2) Or, are you just going to let Users/Patrons fend for themselves?

A couple of problems that arise are that many Users/Patrons may not become aware of a newly added "Warning" Section on the main "Person/Details" page/screen for some time; and, many Users/Patrons may have passed away, with no one following on with their work.

Although, requested; and, appreciated, such a "Warning" Section on the main "Person/Details" page/screen also means a lot of work for those of us Users/Patrons who have added "Warnings" under the "Life Sketch" and/or "Other Information" and/or "Discussions" and/or Notes" - having to go back through one's Branches in the World Tree for all those individuals/person that we have added a "Warning" to add a reference to a newly added "Warning" Section on the main "Person/Details" page/screen.

I know that the preexisting "Warnings" that appear under the "Life Sketch", "Other Information", "Discussions" and Notes" can stay in-situ; but, there needs to be a co-ordinated effort of the part of "FamilySearch" to consider the matter; and, advise us Users/Patrons of what you ("FamilySearch") are considering in relation to this matter.

'Thank You' in advance.

Brett

LegacyUser

m said: Now that Discussions and Notes no longer appear on the Main Page, they are hidden and can no longer function as a Warning.

LegacyUser

Brett said: m

'Yes', these days those "Discussions" and "Notes" as an "Up Front" Warning, I know; but, they can remain, in-stiu; and, serve as, a Warning - even if "Buried".

"FamilySearch" needs to promulgate (in advance) to Users/Patrons that they are adding a "Warning" Section on the main "Person/Details" page/screen.

That's all.

Brett

LegacyUser

Gail Ann Hellings said: I love this. What a clever woman.
When all other measures fail, this might be the one thing that ought to work.

If it doesn't there is no hope at all.

LegacyUser

Christine said: It didn't help. Haha! And, being a woman whose patience and filter has been worn thin, she went to war with the culprit who merged father with son. I was the unlucky ally who received her multiple emails detailing the complaints the hapless merg-er sent to FS about her. I warned my relative to be nice or risk being banned and ultimately I sent a kind message to the merg-we explaining the reasons father and son were separate people not married to the same woman (sigh) and the reasons relative warrior might have seemed less tactful than desired (age, health, years of research, pages of documentation on his record, etc) So far the unmerge I did still stands. But tomorrow is Sunday and lots is enthusiastic inexperienced people will be working on their family history so who knows how long before it happens again. Perhaps a Freeze Button?

LegacyUser

Denelle Bledsoe said: The most important thing about a warning/alert Section is that it is visible at all times and that is that it shows up when someone goes to merge.
Right now Life Sketch and Other is totally hidden when using my smartphone...and probably for users of ipads also.

LegacyUser

Tom Huber said: Even though this discussion is a year old, we still need a "Warning" flag of some sort on an existing profile. Many of us still use the "Life Sketch" for that purpose.

LegacyUser

rotkapchen said: Still putting mine in Other Information - Custom Fact

LegacyUser

m said: Is there a place to put a Warning where people who access FS through home genealogy programs can see it?

LegacyUser

Tom Huber said: It depends upon what you mean by access. For instance, most of the displays (at least in Ancestral Quest and Roots Magic) have two sides -- one for the local database and one for the profile in the massive tree on FamilySearch. I suspect Legacy has a similar display. Changes can involve setting places and will result in asking the user to select a standard for the place information.

Note, only the fully certified programs can actually make changes to a profile in FamilySearch. Many other programs can access the tree, but not make changes.

Some sites, like MyHeritage, have tended to be problematical in the past and may still be when it comes to updating tree values. It has been a while since I've used the Ancestry-FSFT connection, so I don't know what all is currently involved with that connection.

To err is human, to really screw up takes a computer.

Regardless, there are always ways in which a user can manually override any checks and go ahead a make a mess.

Unfortunately, there is no solution or cure for stupid.