How to stop multiple uses of one source?
Answers
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That seems like a good fix for your problem but mine is much more widespread and continues to happen over and over. It seems like "new" users do not notice attaching a source is not a quick activity. Many just think if it comes as a record hint, it is automatically ok. They do not check simple things like same name, location, time period, etc that experienced users do. My current problem did not know he could dismiss hints. On 11 March 2023, he attached at least 100 records. Eventually, he said they came to his "feed" which I think he meant the "recommended tasks" on his dashboard. So far, I have not found one correct attachment. Yes, I can correct them but this should not happen in the first place. Hopefully, I can contact the correct department at FS to help now that I figured out how he stumbled on to the flaw in the system.
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Many just think if it comes as a record hint, it is automatically ok.
Yes, that is exactly what many contributors think. And they have good reason to think that! Often the hints are correct.
We can significantly increase the correctness of hints seen by other contributors, simply by curating profiles of interest to us. Standardize dates and place names, remove events that don't belong (debris remaining after previous bad merges), complete attachments of attached sources to other profiles, etc.
A tangled mess in Family Tree begets more tangled mess. Clean it up fully, and the tangle does not return. That is why I suggested posting a person ID or two.
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Finally, an another user who was doing multiple attachments wrote me back. Yes, in fact, he was able to do this by attaching the recommeneded tasks on the dashboard. Being a new user, he just attached without double checking. Thank goodness, I stopped hime before he continued. Now, how do I get this flaw in the system to an engineer?
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Usually, this happens with a new user - when attaching "recommended tasks" record hints from the dashboard, this new user may not check anything, this person just attaches to record hint to his person. He really doesn't know this source is already attached and thus many, many problems. Can this be fixed?
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@carolrotto1 Have you joined the New Person Page Group where the developers/engineers are actively soliciting feedback about the performance of the site? https://community.familysearch.org/en/group/316-new-person-page
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Thank you all for your suggustions. I will try them all of them.
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I'm sorry to be annoying, and I do know there is something somewhere that is causing problems sources being attached to two different people, but I don't think recommended tasks has anything to do with it and was wondering if you can demonstrate a precise workflow that does cause it.
Here is why I thing you are on the wrong trail when it comes to Recommended Tasks.
If I go to my list and pick a source:
Click Review:
Click Attach to Family Tree:
Change to right hand person and purposely attach it to his brother:
Then go to his profile page:
And try to attach the hint:
I cannot attach it without first detaching it from the wrong person. I cannot attach it two two different people.
If I go the other direction and attach a hint from his profile page:
Then go back to my Recommended Task list that does not refresh very often:
When I click Review, I see that it is already attached to someone and I cannot attach it again:
(Don't want this getting too long so I'll continue)
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One last thing to check.
If I go from the person's detail page:
and purposely attach that third hint to the wrong person, his brother:
Then when I find that hint on the Recommended Task list:
and click Review:
Again I am shown that the source is already attached to someone and I cannot attach it to a second person without detaching it first.
So the Recommended Task list on the webpage version of Family Tree is not the problem.
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Moving on to the the Family Tree mobile app:
Aha! Here is a problem. Going through the recommended tasks on that list:
There is a warning that the hint is already attached to someone but it is not a hard stop. The Yes, Attach button is still active. And when clicked comes to here:
Checking back on the source, one sees:
So that is how this is happening! This mystery has been discussed in other posts and complicated methods of using the source box that just didn't seem reasonable were proposed. This is an easy way to do it. All you have to do is completely ignore the bright yellow warning box, the warning triangle, and the red text.
Please forgive me for doubting you. But this is just on the app, not on the webpage dashboard. If it is OK with you, I'd like to reformulate this and post it on "Suggest an Idea."
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Dear Gordon,
Thank you so much for doing all the work to find out where this problem was happening. The user I asked was new to FS and said it came from his "feed". Then, I asked if these where recommended tasks on the dashboard and he said "correct." If he were not already getting annoyed with me, I'll bet he would message back that he was on his phone. In spite of FS being user friendly, there are still many people who need one to one personal instruction. Of course, you can post it. I am sure your explanation would be much better than mine.
Thank you,
Carol Otto
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@carolrotto1 Here is my post: https://community.familysearch.org/en/discussion/141455/critically-needed-update-to-the-family-tree-mobile-app/p1?new=1
Thanks for being persistent enough to keep giving more detail and insisting there was a problem in the face of me and others telling you that what you were hearing from this other user could not possibly lead to what you were seeing. Those small details are so important on working out bugs. Sorry it took me so long to think about the mobile app. I don't use it all that often so it is not the first thing that springs to mind when someone brings up a problem.
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So now that a system administrator pulled out part two of my review of testing out all the ways to attach sources that led to finding the actual problem and made it an independent discussion, this topic has gotten a bit incoherent. I flagged my kidnapped post and asked them to move it back here. Don't know if they can or not.
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I moved it back @Gordon Collett
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Thank you. As mentioned the stand alone version of that post is at https://community.familysearch.org/en/discussion/141455/critically-needed-update-to-the-family-tree-mobile-app/p1?new=1
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The mobile app has no recommended tasks.
I know a couple other ways to attach a source to more than one profile.
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