Reporting Problems

Dennis J Yancey

Below is the pop up that shows when you click on the FEEDBACK option in FamilySearch

There are only two option once you get this window

1) Suggestion or Compliment

2) Problem

 

I assume "problem" would include things like "BUGS" "Flaws" "things that dont work as they should" - - I mean that is a pretty intuitive assumption - right????

 

and yet I cant count the number of FS employees - who tell me and others - DONT click the problem link when you want to get a problem fixed - but click on the other link (which up till now was Get Satisfaction and is now newly "IDEAS")

 

and any time I ask a FS leader - what is the correct way to report a bug or flaw - - - they pause, hesitate, and seem to wonder if Im asking a trick question - and then eventually attempt to explain why it is the way it is - and totally counter intuitive.

 

First of all - wouldnt it make sense if there were more then two choices:

1) Help in how to do something

2) Provide Praise or feedback

3) Report a Bug or problem (something that is not working as it should)

4) Maybe a link to the community

 

This issue of the link being named "PROBLEM" - but not routing the user to the group of people who can actually fix problems (engineers/developers/manager) - has been this way for many years - and even after numerous users have complained about it - and yet FS leadership seems to have left it as is - no matter how many people complain it is totally counter intuituve,

 

if a user wants to report a Problem - and a bug/flaw is a problem - then PLEASE point them to the right place to get it fixed - not just a group of helpers who know less about the system then the people trying to report an issue.

 

I really wonder if FS leadership has any idea the amount of aggrevation and irritation that has piled up over the years especially with newer users - when they dont know - what all the more "experienced users" know - that concept of . . . . "dont click on the "problem link" if you want to get your problem resolved . . . .

 

PLEASE PLEASE - make it easier for users to get to the right people when reporting problems,bugs and flaws with the system.

 

@JeffWiseman JeffWiseman​ 

@Mark McLemore (FamilySearch)​ 

@Mark Mitchell (FamilySearch)​ 

Mark E. Mitchell

Dennis,

The following change is in the works that I expect to address your question. When the user clicks on feedback they will be presented with the following menu:

LegacyUser

Mark,  

I see your changed wording already appears on Feedback on the FamilySearch website

Firstly, the wording “Go to Discussion Board” . I see it goes to the Ideas Forum? I belive there should there be a further choice between  the Ideas Forum, and the Community General Questions/Groups.

I say this because I have seen on the Ideas Forum at least one topic which I have felt was genealogically based, and not really what I would have thought an Ideas Forum was about. To my mind your wording  “… family history enthusiasts …to ask questions” could mean that  there will be genealogical based questions resulting as a result of your suggested wording.

Secondly, the wording Report a Problem….. A Support case will be submitted to our FamilySearch team.  Does this mean that this query gets directed to a specific team such as engineers etc..  (which I think would be a change of practice).

Currently (as I understand the situation) such a query goes to the general Support team, who, from my experience, if you ask anything the slightest bit unusual seem to be quite inexperienced persons with no  particular knowledge and no initiative what so ever.

For the Report a Problem form, there should be a requirement to  provide a URL of the page or record where the problem is.

Edit: How do you change the font size? There doesn't seem to be a choice.

Adrian Bruce1

I quoted your post at first and got that big typeface. I selected it and clicked the button with a T - x (sort of) at the righthand end of the buttons - "Remove formatting" is the hover tip. And this is back to "normal".

Adrian Bruce1

Re "Report a Problem….. A Support case will be submitted to our FamilySearch team" - the truth is that GetSatisfaction was often a home for reporting any seriously complex issue because it felt like a faster way to get to technically adept people and because we felt that we probably needed to indulge in both detail and dialogue, which is seldom possible via a Front Line helpdesk (not a criticism - just fact). I am, however, wary of trying to explain that in a simple front screen dialogue.

(I was just trying to scroll down to see exactly what Maureen wrote but as usual modal design strikes and gets in the way.)