Request for Explanation Box for all Unmerged Matches no matter how initiated

Question

While I love that we now have reason boxes when we change the status of a proposed merge to Unmerged Match or Rejected Match, I find it incredibly frustrating that the explanation is not available when you are initially proposing an unmerged match. (see Best Answer this post.)

For example, I'm working on a profile right now that has 38 children, many of them dupes, but not obvious. I'm using the Duplicates tool from the Profile's Edit screen. 

The dupes in this case are really problematic and need explanations for why they're being set as unmerged matches, but there is no option for me to add an explanation because the merges have not yet been proposed. I have to make the unmerged match, then manually go to each profile and add a comment. This is awfully time-consuming. 

I believe I read somewhere Chris saying they didn't want to clutter up the profiles with unmerged match messages, but these could be deleted once the problem is resolved. Seems far more important to have easy-to-use, time-saving tools to help us solve the duplicate problems here on Wikitree.

How much support do we have for this proposal?

Thanks for reading.

 

Comments

Hi Jillaine Smith,

"I have to make the unmerged match, then manually go to each profile and add a comment. This is awfully time-consuming."

Not only time consuming, but we're capped as to the number of bulletin board comments that can otherwise be made.

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Another reason to support this proposal, assuming it works around the message post limit.

Answer 1

I'll second your proposal, Jillaine. I've run into this issue myself.

Answer 2

Can we add Rejected Match to your request?  I've mentioned this elsewhere, but there have been times when I've looked at a profile without dates or places, chased through the family looking for some kind of information, and finally found a date somewhere that proves that undated profile Jones-56789 cannot be the same person as Jones-12345, b. 1659.  But if I don't leave a note, there's no way I'll remember my reasoning if someone asks a month later.

Comments

Yes!  Communication isn't clutter.  It's pivotal to the project. Anything we can do to encourage collaboration and communication.  Just yesterday, I had proposed a merge, and someone rejected it, not quite understanding the meaning of the terms.  (I often find matches in the rejected pile)  I too, find that I almost always need to add messages to the bulletin board explaining unmerged matches.  I think this is very much needed, for both unmerged and for rejected.