Can we add a link to the Merges Help pages.FAQ to the merge section at the bottom of profiles?

Question

While working on WikiTree I run into a lot of confusion regarding Merges.  Many volunteers don't seem to "get" the direction of merges with same LNAB, that they need to give a reason for the merge (including sourcing if poossible) and that if they initiate a merge they will need to review the profile afterwards to clean-up the duplicate information (or work with the profile manager to get it done).

So, can we add a link to the Merges Help pages and FAQ to the merge section at the bottom of profiles?

Thanks!

Mags

Answer 1

Good idea Mags!

Answer 2

Hi Mags,

I'm not sure linking to help pages from more places will help. Most people don't read help pages.

Contextual instructions are more likely to be read. Or, even better, changing the flow of the process to fit the needs.

This is why when you complete a merge you're now redirected to the edit page and why it's impossible to merge a lower-numbered ID into a higher-numbered ID with the same LNAB. So, I'm not why that needs to be explained at all. It only comes in play when someone is merging three or more duplicates for the same person. Is that what you mean?

Regarding including an explanation for merge proposals, we could make that mandatory, like we do with rejecting merge proposals or postponing them.

Chris

Comments

Chris - Thanks very much for the answer.

My thinking was directed more towards new-ish users who often times rush into merging with great enthusiasm.  Having a link at the start point for merges would help greatly - IMHO.

Mags

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Hi Mags. Which page do you mean, exactly, and what might it say?

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At the bottom of each profile page where it says:

Matches and Merges (Link to Matches and Merges FAQ)

Current matches and merges for M. Gaulden (Gaulden-7):
 

Pending Merges  Unmerged Matches  Rejected matches, Etc.


Something along these lines...Thanks Chris!