Why doesn't the system pick up obvious duplicates when adding people?

Question

I have just spent to morning add a large group of siblings and checked the offered possible matches along the way, only to find out they are all on here already.  I will now have to merge all of them.

Why did they not show up though? Is it because the mother (who I was trying to connect) was a Rejected Merge or a failure in the system? I suppose one bonus is that once fixed the original ones will have sources but is still really annoying bc of the amount of time that was not necessary.

Comments

It's better to bring up the surname list and check it manually.

Answer 1

I find that it's either 157 matches from another continent or there's none, then you find that someone spelled the name slightly different or had a date off.

Answer 2

Have had the same thing happen. No matches show when doing the edit but usually find a duplicate later on with a name that may differ slightly or a different birth date etc. It is a pain I agree. Thanks for your contributions, they matter.

Cheers, Rich

Answer 3

It's frustrating.  I *try* to check in the search bar before adding someone but sometimes I get on a roll and forget.  Only to discover that someone was already on WT.

Comments

Agreed that 'searching' for the person 'before' starting the add process works much better, especially since you can sort by birth or death date and use any of the other filters at the bottom to refine by location.

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We are planning on adding those filters to the duplicate list in the new beta form.

As for why the duplicates of the children weren't found, looking at the birth dates they are more than +/- 2 years apart.

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I agree, Linda.  Sorting by birth or death or other filters really helps to see if a person has already been added.