Issue 29.12
FamilySearch Indexing sometimes brings a lot of complaining about the arbitrators. Recently someone wrote some “commandments” that have the potential to make a huge difference. Arbitration is all about self-governance and anyone who will discipline themselves can make a great arbitrator and give an incredibly valuable service to the genealogical community.
Arbitration explained: FamilySearch Indexing is done by two separate people so each batch is indexed twice. If both people do not type in exactly the same thing in every field, the batches go to an arbitrator who makes the final decision. They decide who is right, or if they are both wrong, they enter what they feel is the correct answer. The commandments:
1-Thou shalt become a really good indexer before attempting or asking to arbitrate (generally this means indexing at least 2,000 records with arbitration results at or above 94 percent).
2-Thou shalt not attempt to arbitrate a project until thou hast indexed at least 20 batches of that project.
3-Thou shalt not attempt to arbitrate a project until thou hast reread, slowly and completely, all of the project instructions for that project.
4-Thou shalt not assume that perfection is required in order to arbitrate. It is not easy to choose between two reasonable indexing values, but someone has to do it. Do your best and carry on.
5-Thou shalt not assume that there is always a right answer. Sometimes handwriting just can’t be deciphered. In such cases, follow the guidelines in the indexing tutorial that tell when and how to use wildcard characters in place of indecipherable letters.
6-Thou shalt not attempt to arbitrate projects that are in a language you do not either speak or write with proficiency without first obtaining special training in that project from a group administrator or stake indexing director or directly from FamilySearch.
7-Thou shalt continue to index between arbitration batches to stay sharp.
8-Thou shalt not sacrifice quality for quantity. Numbers are nice, but no one benefits from careless arbitration.
9-Thou shalt not quit arbitrating just because you think you’re not good enough to do it. Help is available to enhance your skills.
10Thou shalt know that grateful people around the world have you to thank for helping them find their ancestors.
For more information, contact Shanna Jones (435)628-4900 shannasjones@msn.com.