Sourcerers Challenge (January 2022)

+23 votes
1.8k views

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 this post" button (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 using the comment link 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. The Orphaned profiles category is another great place to look for unsourced profiles. 

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 records 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 profiles to help with citation formats. Find them in the Source Category. If the book does not have a free-space profile, consider adding the WorldCat permalink to help others find the book.

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.

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-to-the-minute stats for those of you using the Challenge Tracker.

http://wikitree.sdms.si/Challenges/SourcerersChallenge/20220101/User.htm

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

in The Tree House by Debi Hoag G2G6 Pilot (396k points)
edited by Debi Hoag

42 Answers

+11 votes
Hi Debi, please count me in for Jan '22. Thanks.
by Robin Shaules G2G Astronaut (1.5m points)
We're counting on you, Robin. Thanks!
+12 votes
Hi, please count me in as well.
by Living McAusland G2G6 Mach 2 (29.8k points)
Thanks, Chris. I never did you see on the Tracker in December. Did you track any of the sourcing improvements you made?
I never actually discovered the tracker. But now I know where it is and I think I even may even know how to to use it. :-D Still very much learning the ropes. I have been doing family history for most of my life but loads of new things to learn here! :-D
I have had to change some of the LNABs as they had been entered as Hogg but when I checked the original Old Parish Registers they were actually Hog. I think this is causing the profile number (in the tracker) to be replaced by numbers. Not quite sure what significance that has, but just wanted to mention it in case the change of LNAB is messing things ups.
You're doing fine, Chris. The number will change to names when Aleš does the next database dump. The facilitators are used to seeing those and know what to look for to verify what caused it.

I have verified that the Tracker is working for you and that you have added a reliable source to a qualified profile. We'll get your badge awarded in early February after we finish the January stats.
Thanks so much. The tracker was - of course - there all the time but I was so busy concentrating on the profile itself that I never noticed it. Duh!

It is a really good exercise going over these profiles as it is an excellent to do a review and go back to the original sources to check them.
I'm glad you're enjoying it. One thing that will save you some time ... you only need to use the Tracker the first time you save after adding the first source on the profile. You can use it all the other times but only the first one counts.
+10 votes
I'm in for January.  Happy New Year everyone!!
by Fred Adamson G2G6 Pilot (147k points)
Great to have you with us, Fred. Happy New Year and Thanks!
+9 votes
Me, me, me! I'm in again. I appreciate the owls.
by Luther Brown G2G6 Pilot (557k points)
Glad to have you with us again, Luther. We love awarding those Owls.
+10 votes
Would like to join again, way too much fun
by Dianne Fullerton G2G6 Mach 1 (12.4k points)
I'm glad you're having fun, Dianne. Thanks!
+10 votes
I am in for Jan 2022
by Kathy Nava G2G6 Pilot (306k points)
Glad to have you with us again, Kathy. Thanks!
+10 votes
Add me to the list, I'm going to try it and see what I can do.
by Stephanie Vanderveer G2G1 (1.3k points)
Welcome to the Sourcerers Challenge, Stephanie. I have verified that the tracker is working for you.

You've made some great sourcing improvements to your first profile. The newspaper source you used when first creating the profile had enough detail for someone to find your source. Therefore, that profile didn't qualify as Unsourced, and won't count for the challenge. You don't have to use the Tracker when a profile doesn't qualify.. I'll check back throughout the month and let you know once you've tracked the first qualifying profile. Please let me know here if you have any questions.
+10 votes
Count me in I will try to remember to use the Tracker.
by Hilary Gadsby G2G6 Pilot (316k points)
We'll count on you, Hilary. Thanks!
+9 votes
I'll give it another go!
by Paul Harwood G2G6 (7.0k points)
Great to have you with us again, Paul. Thanks!
+8 votes
Count me in for this month...
by Dean Anderson G2G6 Pilot (783k points)
We'll be sure to count you, Dean. Thanks!
+9 votes
Count me in for Jan 22 please
by Rosamund Martin G2G3 (3.0k points)
We're counting on you, Rosamund. Thanks!
+9 votes
Hi! I want to join too.
by Karen Freeman-Smith G2G6 Mach 1 (10.6k points)
Welcome to the Sourcerers Challenge, Karen. I have verified that the Tracker is working for you and that you have added a reliable source to a qualified profile. We'll get your badge awarded in early February after we finish the January stats.
+9 votes
I'm in this month!
by Leila Keller G2G6 Mach 1 (18.4k points)
Welcome to the Sourcerers Challenge, Leila. I'll check the Tracker later in the week to make sure it is working for you. Let me know here if you have any questions.
I see that you are adding sources, Leila, but you aren't showing up in the Tracker. Have you used it yet to track the improvements that you are making? There's information about how to use the Tracker in the post above.
That's weird. I've been using it. Is there something that I'm supposed to do after I add the entry? I've just been closing the tab. Is that wrong?
So you/ve been clicking the Tracker link in the big green box at the top of the profile after you save. Once you're on the Tracker page, you've got your own Wiki ID (K.-867) in the Wiki ID box. You've been clicking the check box beside Sourcerers Challenge, adding a comment, and clicking the Add Action button? If you're doing all that, then the Tracker should be working. Once the description of your change shows under the add action button, it is safe to close that tab.
That’s what I’ve been doing. I’ve probably done 10 or 15 profiles now.
I know why, it just occurred to me. You registered after the last time that the data dump was created. The new data dump should be finished sometime tomorrow. Then you'll start showing up. I think it will catch up with all the ones you have already done. If not, I'll work with Aleš to get your totals fixed.

I have verified that the Tracker is working for you now, Leila, and that you have added a reliable source to a qualified profile. We'll get your badge awarded in early February after we finish the January stats.

I noticed that you forgot to remove the Unsourced template on at least one of the profiles you improved (Baker-16163). Please edit that one again and remove the template; you don't need to track it again. If you would like to check the other profiles to make sure the template was removed, you can see the profiles you have tracked at this link.

Since you are using Ancestry to find your sources, I wanted to make sure you know about the WikiTree Sourcerer app. One of the options on the dropdown menu is to create citations that have stable links to the records, as well as the database information to help other members find the record in the future. The video on that space page explains the app well.

Great!
+9 votes
I'm in again for Jan 2022.
by Sara Palmeter G2G6 Mach 2 (21.4k points)
We're glad to have you with us again, Sara. Thanks!
+8 votes
Sign me up for January 2022, please. Thank you!
by Carol Baldwin G2G Astronaut (1.2m points)
We've got you, Carol. Thanks!
+8 votes
Please count me in!
by Marcia Benjamin G2G6 Mach 4 (45.2k points)
We'll definitely count on you, Marcia. Thanks!
+8 votes
Please count me in. This is my first time at a Sourcerers Challenge.
by Friedemann Kiedaisch G2G6 Mach 3 (34.9k points)
Welcome to the Sourcerers Challenge, Friedemann. I have verified that the Tracker is working for you and that you have added a reliable source to a qualified profile. We'll get your badge awarded in early February after we finish the January stats.
+8 votes
I'm in for this month.
by Staci Golladay G2G6 Mach 6 (62.7k points)
We're glad to have you with us again, Staci. Thanks!
+7 votes
Hello, would like to join again for January!
by Sarah Fergione G2G5 (5.9k points)
We're happy to have you with us again, Sarah. Thanks!
+6 votes
i would like to join
by Erika de Kock G2G3 (3.2k points)
We're glad to have you with us again, Erika. Thanks!

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