Add a "Read Only" option in settings
The idea is to give new, non-confident users the ability to browse existing data without the worry of making unintentional changes.
Perhaps the setting could be setup at account creation. Once the user gains a bit of experience, the setting could be changed.
Comments
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I cant think of any changes that could unintentionally be made by just "browsing"
all updates I know of are very conscious and the user would have to know that they were updating. (like clicking on an "edit" button)
I dont see the point . . .
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I believe Richard's point might be that the FamilySearch "default" setting for new / inexperienced users should be "read only" - to prevent them having the ability to make changes. Many of the individuals posting here admit to being clueless about making the simplest of changes within Family Tree, so - in line with other suggestions previously made about "compulsorary training" - this seems to be quite a reasonable idea.
I admit I remain unconvinced how any training programme would work in practice - passing tests to move on to additional editing rights has been suggested - especially given the lack of FamilySearch resources to implement such a scheme. Obviously, "self-regulation" would not be a particularly good idea, either.
For those of us who are constantly having to undo inputting / editing errors made by careless / inexperienced users, the status quo does not seem to be a viable option. However, with FamilySearch unwilling to move away from the open-edit concept (currently available to ALL users) there seems no easy way around the problem.
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There are some things that can only be seen by going into an edit box - like the standardised values for a date and place on an event. Oh yes, I'm sure we know that they appear if you hover your cursor long enough over the display values, but there must be lots of people who've never found this out and click the edit link to see the standardised values. And the sources and the reason-why for that event can definitely only be seen in an edit box.
Once you're in the edit box, I can understand people getting concerned that they'll press the wrong button and being unclear whether "Cancel" means cancel the change, cancel getting out of the box or what... (Especially given the free-style approach to User Interface Design that some teams take - not just in FS either! Ever tried deleting a note in Evernote? It says "Delete" on the toolbar and "Move note to Trash" in the right click menu. For the same action.)
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Agreed. If I want to avoid damaging something, I normally just never perform editing operations. However, on the FS site that are many places that you CANNOT see significant details unless you put the data at risk by entering some kind of Edit mode somewhere.
For example, if I want to see all of the sources that are contributing to the Birth Vital on a person, it is IMPOSSIBLE without actually Editing the Birth Vital in order to get to the screen showing all of the sources tagged to that vital.
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Having a "Read Only" option is an excellent idea, especially for allowing youth and children access to FamilySearch without concern for unintentional mistakes they might make. I have been hesitant to provide an account for my 10 year old grandson because of this concern, but certainly provide him with an account if there were a "Read Only" option.
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