A Plea for Proper Place Presentation and Procedures

Gordon Collett

Recently there have been multiple posts in various areas of this community asking for the return of the place name map pins. These all seem to be based on the myth that a map pin indicates the only correct way for a place name to appear. Misunderstanding how place name standardization works in Family Tree has been a long standing problem in Family Tree. Here is a multi-part proposal for improving place name use in Family Tree I am submitting for your consideration:

1) Ban the terms "standard," "standardized," and "standardization." These imply "the one and only correct way."

Replace these with "reference value," "linked to reference value," and "linkage to a reference value" or some other terms that more clearly represent Family Tree's wonderful dual-entry system for place names to help explain and reinforce the "free-form user entered text linked to database defined reference value" philosophy of Family Tree.

2) Make it simpler for users to see and understand that dates and places are always recorded twice in Family Tree and for users to proof-read both the user entered information and linked reference value.

Currently the linked reference value can easily be seen only in the Data View pop up and the Edit pop up and only then if the two place names are different. If the reference value could also be seen in the Detail View and always be visible even when the user entered place name and the linked reference value are the same, this could really help users understand how Family Tree handles place names and be comfortable that the place name on the person's page is correctly linked to an appropriate reference value.

I would suggest something like these examples.

The user entered place name is more accurate than the linked reference value:

The user entered place name was entered in a different language or when the site was set to a different language than that used by the current viewer of the record:

The user entered place name is identical to the linked reference value:

3) Rewrite the Help Center and Research Wiki articles about entering place names to more completely explain how to link user entered names to reference values and why reference values are used. I would re-write

https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/article/how-do-i-enter-dates-and-places-into-family-tree

as follows. My edits and additions are in bold.

How do I enter dates and places into Family Tree?

Article Id: 1417

November 01, 2022

Linking reference values to dates and places entered by users in Family Tree improves the accuracy and searchability of the information you enter.

Before you start

• Many places have or have had the same or similar names. People write dates in many ways. Family Tree helps you format dates and places as you enter them.
• Linking complete and detailed user entered place names to less detailed reference values allows for full description of the places while still identifying those places for program use.
• Linked reference values for dates and places improve the accuracy of the search, record hints, and duplicates features of Family Tree.
• Reference values may be the same as the entered name, may be less complete, may be a different variant of the entered name, or may be in a different language.
• The list of reference values can be used to speed up data entry for you.
• When a date or place is not linked to a reference value, Family Tree identifies it as a data problem and the text “No Reference Value” will appear under it. To fix this problem, open the Edit box, click on “No reference value,” and select a reference to be linked to the date or place.

Steps (website)

1) In a date or place field in Family Tree, begin typing the date or place. 

• Tips for dates: 
• 29 February standardizes only for leap years.
• Use B.C. or B.C.E. for "before Christ" or "Before Common Era." The standard shows as B.C.
• Family Tree standardizes using the Gregorian calendar. To enter a date from another calendar, enter the date, type a space, and then enter the Gregorian version of that date (Day-Month-Year). For example, if a birth date occurred on December 31, 2003, you would type: "31 December 2003."
• In the drop-down list, standardized dates have a calendar icon.
• Tips for places: 
• The database of reference values is not yet complete. The database will improve over time.
• If possible, enter the place name as it existed when the event happened.
• You can enter places in your native language or the native language of that place.

2) As you type, the system displays a drop-down menu with the available reference values.

• If the full place name of the place you are entering appears in the drop-down menu, click on that name to enter it and link it to that reference value.
• If the full place name of the place your are entering does not appear in the drop-down menu, finish typing out the name completely then  click on the first item in the drop-down menu. This will enter the place name you typed and link to it the reference value that appears in the second line of the drop down menu. 
• After entering the place name, proofread the linked reference value which may be the same as the entered name or less complete than the entered name. If the reference value is not correct, click on it and choose a new value from the drop down menu. 

Julia Szent-Györgyi

I kinda like "background value" to replace "standard", but "reference value" is probably better. (Unless we want to introduce two terminology changes at once, and start referring to "foreground values"....)