Please Improve Help Center Article on Place Name Icons

Gordon Collett

Please improve the help center article at: https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/article/in-family-tree-what-do-the-map-pin-icons-and-exclamation-points-by-place-names-mean

My suggested additions are in bold. My suggested deletions are struck out.

In Family Tree, what do the map pin icons and exclamation points by place-names mean?

April 20, 2020

On the Family Tree person page (on the FamilySearch website), different icons appear next to the the names of places to indicate how and whether the place is standardized.

• Pin: The place is standardized. The user-entered text place name matches is identical to the standard.
• No pin: The place is standardized. The user-entered text is different, place name contains additional information, has used a historically correct alternate spelling, or is in a different format than the standard. and the system selected a standard for the user. The user has attached a standard with less information or with a different alternate spelling to the user entered place name.
• Red exclamation point: The place is not standardized.

Rational: These changes put more emphasis on the fact that not having a pin is not an error and that no map pin often indicates a more valuable, more information rich place name than the standard provides. It also implies that the user does need to check to make sure that the correct standard is applied to the more complete place name. The system does not always put the correct one at the top of the drop down menu, which is the default standard associated to the place name. The user always has the final say on which standard is selected, not the system.