Sourcerers' Challenge (January 2021)

Question

Hello, Sourcerers! It is time to start sourcing! Prior month Owl Stickers and Sourcerers Badges will be posted soon.

To participate:

• Review the Rules
• If you are new to the Sourcerers' Challenge, click the "answer" link (not the comment link) and tell us you are participating

You only need to answer this month's post if you don't already have the Sourcerers' Badge. You are welcome to add an answer to ask questions or offer encouragement.

If you have a problem with the Tracker let us know by adding a comment to the question that opened this thread. 

USING THE TRACKER

The tracker should only be used when the profile meets the Monthly Challenge definition of Unsourced (see the Rules). Add a comment to the question if you are unsure if something counts as Unsourced. You can use either the Unsourced Profile Category or the DBE Report for Unsourced profiles to find profiles that will definitely qualify.

After you save an edit, a green banner appears at the top of the profile edit page with a dark “button” labeled Challenge Tracker is a link to the Tracker page. Click the link and, on the page that comes up, select Sourcerers challenge and click the appropriate hint in the right column (or fill in your own if none of the canned answers fit what you did). Click Add Action and you are finished. The Tracker tracks the number of profiles to which you have added sources. You can see the results for any monthly challenge using this link. The current month is at the bottom

http://wikitree.sdms.si/Challenges/SourcerersChallenge/default.htm

Remember, your sources need to be as full and specific as possible, so others find them useful. That means, if the source is online, you should link to it. If it is a page from a book, the page number should be included so others can easily see where you found the reference. Some books and magazines have free-space pages to help with citation formats. Find them in the Source Category.

When you can, it is great to do a bit more while adding sources, like clean up the GEDCOM leftovers or help the formatting from older profiles. Sources are important, but if you cannot find them among all the other stuff, they are not helping as much as they could.

The Orphaned profiles category is another great place to look for unsourced profiles. 

If you attempt to add sources to a profile and cannot find any, please add a note under a == Research Notes == section (click the link for examples and instructions on placement) giving where you tried to find records. Something like "Looked for John in the US Census records for 1900-1940 and could not find him on FamilySearch or Ancestry" would be fine. Or, "Searched google for an obituary and did not find one." That way the next researcher knows where to start. Do not remove the Unsourced Template and do not use the tracker to count in your tally.

The Monthly Challenge runs from the first of the month and ends on the last day of the month, GMT time. 

The Current Challenge Tracker Results Page has up the minute stats for those of you using the Challenge Tracker.

http://wikitree.sdms.si/Challenges/SourcerersChallenge/20210101/User.htm

Ask any questions here in the thread, otherwise, SOURCE!

Comments

I'm sorry the thread is late, everyone. I wish I could say it was because I had been out celebrating the New Year. Unfortunately, the blame is firmly on the inconsiderate neighbors who continued to send off fireworks until after 2 am.

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Ha! Had the same problem here, Debi.  Thanks for all you do for the Sourcerers Project.

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count me in!!

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Thanks, Dallas. We'll be sure to count you!

Answer 1

Please count me in. I intend to do better this month.

For the first time I was able to sleep through the fireworks. Must be getting old!

Comments

I can't decide if the fireworks or the cats' reactions to them were worse. Good luck this month, Robin!

Answer 2

Hi -- Happy to participate in another round.

Comments

Thanks, Sandi. Good luck!

Answer 3

Count me in this month!!

Comments

Thanks, Staci. Have fun & good luck!

Answer 4

My new resolution! I've never entered the challenges but I do it a little anyway so, please let me in! :)

Comments

Welcome to sourcing, Ken. Have fun and let us know if you have any questions. I'll check the Tracker in about a week to verify that the Tracker is working for you. We'll award the badge after we update the final totals in February.

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You are not showing up on the Tracker for the Sourcerers Challenge yet, Ken. Have you used the Tracker yet for the profiles you have sourced?

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Oops. I guess I read the rules too fast. I didn't use a tracker at all. It doesn't matter, I still did a bunch, while concentrating on Tremblays and then improve their whole branches, connecting them to other existing profiles.

I'll check into that. Thanks.

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Ok, I read carefully. I completed one, and I saw a table with Challenge History at the bottom. I guess it works now. Thanks! ;)

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Yep, the Tracker is working for you now. 

The citations you added to that profile are on a membership only site; as written, it provides the fifth element of good citation (where you found it). Please provide the other parts (who, where, what, and when) for WikiTree members who are not members of that site. Here's an example of a more full citation for the Drouin databases:

"Register of Baptisms & Marriages for the Parish of St Anselme of Peticodiac 1866-1898", pg 6, record M13 for marriage of Marcelline Gauvin and Dosite Richard, 12 Nov 1866; Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin.

Answer 5

Please add me.

Comments

Welcome to sourcing, Martin. Have fun and let us know if you have any questions. I'll check the Tracker in about a week to verify that the Tracker is working for you. We'll award the badge after we update the final totals in February.

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The Tracker is working for you, Martin.

Thanks for the sourcing you are doing for the profiles of people from Sweden. Does the archive you are using have a way to link the images in your citations? It can really help researchers who are unfamiliar with the records.

Answer 6

I'd like to participate, too :)

Comments

Welcome to sourcing, Andrea. Have fun and let us know if you have any questions. I'll check the Tracker in about a week to verify that the Tracker is working for you. We'll award the badge after we update the final totals in February.

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I've verified that the tracker is working for you, Andrea. Thanks for all the sourcing you are doing.

Answer 7

I'm ready to start this New Year off right.

Comments

Thanks, Beverly. Sounds like a great way to start the year. Have fun!

Answer 8

Count me in for January! Happy New Year!

Comments

Thanks, Carol. Have fun!

Answer 9

Count me in for January

Comments

We'll be sure to count you, Elaine. Thanks and good luck!

Answer 10

count me in

Comments

Thanks, Carl, we will. Good luck & have fun!

Answer 11

I'll be in again for what I can do!

Comments

Thanks, Tara. Have fun!

Answer 12

In again this month...

Comments

Thanks, Dean. Good luck this month!

Answer 13

I want to participate again, I always have a lot of fun with this challenge and I wish everyone a happy and Covid-19 free New Year.

Comments

Thanks, Enoch. Have a good time and I agree, Covid-Free is my wish for us all.

Answer 14

I will be attempting to connectificationise. I will also be attempting to remember to use the tracker thinger.

Comments

LOL you're speaking my language, Greg. Thanks for joining us again and have fun!

Answer 15

I can do what I can to help out...

Can you please sign me up for this challenge?

I hope it's not too late to sign up.

~Brian Kerr

Comments

We've got you signed up now, Brian. Thanks and good luck. You can ask any questions in a comment here. I'll check the Tracker in about a week to verify that the Tracker is working for you. We'll award the badge after we update the final totals in February.

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Thanks a Bunch Debi. I was doing various things here for one of the challenges and when I selected the link to the challenge tracker, I just figured I'd check off all the boxes.

Thank you for pointing this out on my WikiTree profile.

~Brian Kerr

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That's great, Brian. Thanks for all the work you are doing for those profiles.

When using the Tracker, please only tick the checkmark for the Sourcerers Challenge when you are adding the very first source to a profile that already existed. If you find one that is already sourced but still has the Unsourced template, you can track removing that.

Answer 16

As part of my work with the Joyner Name Study, I'm coming across lots and lots of profiles that need sources.  I've done source-a-thons a number of times but I think that I'd like to give this a year long go for a change.

So I'd like to enter as the Joyner Joiners Team. (I had the team run in the last Connect-a-thon.)

Also I have a question.  Recently some Joyner profiles that were labeled as unsourced were edited by someone adding information that obviously had come from some source of some sort but not actually naming the source.  The person also removed the unsourced tag.  Do those profiles still qualify for this challenge if I now add the source from which that information came?

 

Comments

It's great to have you join us, Veni. Thanks and good luck. Would you send me a private message with the link to one of the profiles you are asking about? I need to review to be able to answer the question.

I'll check the Tracker in about a week to verify that the Tracker is working for you. We'll award the badge after we update the final totals in February.

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G'day Debi

Although for the last Source-a-thon I was in the Mighty Oaks team (my focus for that was English profiles), however, for this year long challenge my focus is entirely on the Joyner Name Study and I'd rather be working as the "Joyner Joiners" team of which I was captain during the last Connect-a-thon.

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No problem, Veni. We don't use Teams for the Monthly Challenge other than members occasionally cheer each other on. All of your contributions will be counted individually.

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I've verified that the tracker is working for you, Veni. Thanks for all the sourcing you are doing. 

Answer 17

Decided to set myself a challenge to find sources for Irish profiles, as there are so many unsourced! Thought it would be a good personal challenge to do the same number as there are days in the month, so aiming for 31 profiles in January!!

Comments

I think that is an outstanding goal, Fionnuala. Thank you so much for helping improve the Irish profiles. Let me know in a comment here if you have any questions.

I'll check the Tracker in about a week to verify that the Tracker is working for you. We'll award the badge after we update the final totals in February.

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Thank you Debi. I am presuming that adding even one source for a profile is sufficient?? Where I can, I try to add birth/marriage/death, but sometimes I can only find one source for the person.

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Yes, one source is all that is required. You can count improved profiles whether or not the Unsourced template is on the profile.

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That's great Debi, thanks!! I was wondering about that too - whether I can count it if I go back and add more sources to a profile later!! So, I can... great!!

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Oops, I wasn't clear, Fionnuala. Only count for the challenge if you add the first source, not for adding additional sources. The second part of my message was about profiles that don't have sources and also don't have the template. There are a lot of those and improving by adding the first source can be counted.

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Oh, thanks for clarifying that!!

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I've verified that the tracker is working for you, Fionnuala. Thanks for all the sourcing you are doing. We'll award the badge after we update the final totals in February.

Answer 18

I'll try and contribute what I can.

Comments

Thanks, Alex. Good luck!

Answer 19

I love filling in missing sources.  Count me in.

Comments

It's great to have you join us, Linda. Thanks and good luck. I'll check the Tracker in about a week to verify that it is working for you.

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I've verified that the tracker is working for you, Andrea. Thanks for all the sourcing you are doing. We'll award the badge after we update the final totals in February.

Answer 20

I don't think I've answered yet, but I just sourced someone, so I'm in again :)

Comments

Thanks, Rakelle. Good luck & have fun.

In case you ever do forget, your tracked items will still count because you already have the badge.