Using external pay sites as sources on the FamilySearch tree and implications for the DQS

FrankLittle

I noticed an unusual series of change logs on one of the distant relatives I follow on this site: Edith Jane Platt née Little (1885—1961) ID: GKNV-4RB (see: https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/GKNV-4RB)

I've asked the account which contributed these changes whether it is (or is using) an algorithm or other automated system to make the changes. This is in light of the rather unusual voluble change logs. However, the main question I want to raise is broader than this specific example.

The changes in the above example mostly link to an external site for which one needs to pay to view the attributed source. I am already paying enough different sources and platforms and have no wish to add another, so I have no access to these sources [on that site ] to check their validity.

There is a general question here and a specific question for the DQS. The general issue is whether such secondary or tertiary sources should be used as source evidence; I do not doubt their use as possible sources of further research, of course. However, checking these sources is impossible unless you pay to view. Should this be encouraged at all?

For the DQS the question is what weight is given and should be given to such (opaque) sources. If they cannot be checked, should they be treated in the same way as sources which are indexed on the FamilySearch site.

Of course, the issue here is not only that many sources are not already available nor indexed on this site. The difficulty is that not all indexes on this site are accurate, nor kept up to date (in real time) with sources on the external sites they draw from. (I know this because for some of my own family members the index here is wrong even though it is sourced originally from an external site where the index has been corrected.)

This has all been made somewhat existential for me in light of the recent postings on what may or may not be deliberate and insistent changes to the work of one of the valued contributors here.

I value responses while I consider what this means for investing time in the tree on this site.

Rhonda Budvarson

@FrankLittle thank you for this insightful feedback. I will put this in for review.

As for myself, if I find a really good source behind a paywall, i can't legally copy and paste a copy of the document due to copyright law. However, I can put in the URL. And yes, because it is behind a paywall the original can't be viewed without a membership. I do try to find the source in FamilySearch. It would be great to have more feedback on this topic.

Thanks again :)