Issue 31.10
Part 3
In June the latest release .991 of new FamilySearch (nFS) was made public. The web site is https://new.familysearch.org/. Several changes were made and one of my favorites is the Discussions feature. It will eventually replace the Dispute feature.
Discussions are a great way to coordinate family history work with other FamilySearch users. Participating in discussions is easy. They work like social networking sites that you may already use. Each deceased individual in the system has a discussion board, where you can do the following:
• Identify yourself as someone who is interested in or actively working on an individual or family line. For example I could add to my ancestor John Sullivan that there is a DNA test with active participants at FamilyTreeDNA and to contact me for more information or to participate.
• Coordinate the correction of errors and additional research with other interested users. An example here would be to question the validity of a mother being age 56 when the last baby was born and suggest further research on the family.
• Call attention to incorrect information on the individual’s record. An example in this case would be to explain that the Ancestral File lists Thomas Carter’s parents as Thomas Snell but actually they are in no way related and this is a perpetuated error that I have corrected. This will deter others who have also downloaded the erroneous information not to add the incorrect information again.
Note: Because all discussions will eventually be visible to users who are not Church members, please discuss temple ordinances through e-mail.
Advantages of the Discussions Feature
The discussions feature provides a cooperative environment where issues can be discussed and resolved. It has many advantages over the dispute feature, which discussions will eventually replace.
• Adding a dispute blocks a user’s ability to make the needed corrections. Discussions do not.
• The dispute feature is not cooperative. It is difficult to question a dispute, defend the disputed information, or add additional information that identifies correct information.
• The discussion feature lets you work with users who do not allow the system to display their e-mail address or other contact information.
• The sources and reasoning required to resolve a dispute are valuable and should be preserved with the record. Using the discussions feature to coordinate corrections preserves this valuable information with the individual’s record.
• A “discussion” sounds less contentious than a “dispute.”
If you have added disputes to records, I recommend you go back and remove them and open up a constructive discussion instead.
Shanna Jones is a professional genealogist. For additional information, Shanna can be reached at (435) 628-4900 or shannasjones@msn.com