Please Consider Updating an Individual’s Detail Page to Include Standardized Values
A confusing aspect of Family Tree that does not seem to be getting much better since its opening in 2012 is the difference between the user entered data for dates and places and the standardized values linked to that user entered data. The confusion seems to be magnified now that the website is available in more languages because only the standardized value is shown in the language being used by the website, if available, while the user entered data is preserved as it was entered.
I think it would help users to understand the difference between the two if was easier to see both the display and the standardized values. Also, if both were easy to view at any time, it would be easier to make sure the displayed value has been standardized correctly. In order to not clutter the page too much, I would suggest making the standardized value visible when the Detail View is toggled on as seen in the three examples below. This shows the same data in three languages. In each pair the top one has the Detail View off and the bottom one has the Detail View on.
This is how it would appear on the full page.
Both the display data and the standardized value should always show and the calendar and map location icons should only be present next to the standardized values. Having the standardized value hidden and the icons move next to the display data, as occurs now in the edit box, when they happen to be identical confuses people as to how the system works and leads to the idea that somehow the standardized value is better or preferred and that we should try to only use the standardized value or, even worse, that one is supposed to erase any information that is not in the standardized value. It gets really confusing for some when the hidden standardized value reappears when the web site language is changed.
Thank you for your consideration of this. The current dual data entry of User Entered Display plus Linked Standardized Version is such a fantastic improvement over anything used anywhere else that I would hate to see it disappear just because people continue to get confused over how it works.