when I accidently click on the status button on a profile, it is impossible to remove it.

Question

Once a status button is clicked for the middle name on a profile, you have three choices: certain, uncertain or no middle name.  I just merged two profiles, one had no known middle name, the other had a middle initial with status 'certain' marked.

But when I edited the bio I wanted to remove that 'certain' status as her whole middle name is unknown and the records show two possible different middle initials.  So I wanted to leave the middle name status as unmarked and deal with it in the notes.  But I couldn't remove the 'certain' status.  I could only leave one of the 3 clicked.   Shouldn't there be a way to remove an accidental click without selecting one of the 3 selections?

Comments

When updating a profile if I goof and 'press' a status button in error when it should have been left well enough alone (i.e, none of the status buttons for that particular data field is a desirable selection) I copy the entire bio, presumably with newly worked content, to a word document and then refresh the wiki page which then takes me back to the original profile edit page looking like it did before I started my work.  I'm sure there are variations on this 'work-around' theme.... Hope this little trick helps you in the future.

Answer 1

Why would it need to be cleared? If you aren't certain about the middle name, then uncertain is appropriate.

Comments

then, why not make "uncertain" the default?

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Jamie - The fact that the default is neither certain nor uncertain creates what I think is a desirable middle position. I view certainty as a continuum where we are never (or almost never) 100% certain. I tend to not flag anything as certain unless there is strong, high-quality evidence that indicates that it has an extremely high probability of being correct. However, since "uncertain" is sort of a red flag on WikiTree, I reserve "uncertain" for situations where the evidence is clearly weak or inconsistent. Therefore, I prefer not to mark most facts as either certain or uncertain.

Answer 2

Part of the issue here is about exactitude rather than certainty.

If you create a profile for someone born in 1830 but as yet have no idea of the date of death, you'll likely leave date of death blank and choose the status indicator "about/uncertain but non-living".

If you later find the person died during 1870 but not the exact date, for example from a death register index without seeing the full death certificate, you'll enter "1870" in the field. This is certain as far as it goes, but it's not exact because it doesn't have month or day.

You may therefore consider "exact/certain" (and all other status indicators) inappropriate, and want to unselect all values again, pending eventual discovery of the precise date.