Question

Is there an official way to report bugs and suggest improvements? And which official tags would be best used to get the attention of those following? Is Chris the only one who can fix bugs, or is there a team?

If I answer a question, it'll no longer show up on the Unanswered questions list. Am I hurting the chances for someone in authority to see the original question now? (maybe if I can't "fix" a problem, I should only use "comments" instead of "answers")

I often see questions -- untagged questions -- where people have problems or have actually found a bug that needs correcting, but either goes unanswered or unnoticed by anyone with the proper credentials for action (and after a short while scrolls off the main page where its likely never to be noticed again since the "all questions" pages sort order is different -- but that's a different issue)

Relatedly, I often see some questions retagged (which apparently can be done by Leaders), but others not. What's the best way to contact a leader to ask for someone else's question to be retagged? Are there separate G2G leaders from WikiTree leaders, or are they the same?

Comments

ah, sorta found an answer to the second part of my question here: http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Project:Integrators#Managing_G2G_Tags_and_Categorization

---

I can retag G2G things if you have something special....

---

thanks, I'll keep that in mind (I probably have one or two, if I can remember them)

---

Dennis, you can also request the person who asked the question to add additional tags.

Answer 1

Hi Dennis,

At some point we may add a community bug tracking system but we don't have one now.

G2G is the way to go.

You don't need to use any special tags. Just make sure the bug report or suggestion is in WikiTree Tech. That's the only category I try to monitor consistently.

You are right that answering someone else's question/suggestion, rather than commenting on it, could mean I miss it. If I'm short on time I scan for unanswered questions. Community members like you quite often answer technical questions for each other as well or better than a team member could. Which is awesome. :-)

If you notice that something important doesn't seem to have caught the attention of a team member, feel free to e-mail me or info@wikitree.com to make sure it's seen.

Frankly, I don't usually worry too much if one question or suggestion gets missed, if it isn't urgent. Usually problems come up a few times before they are fixed. I know that may sound bad. To Magnus it sounds like a crisis. To me, it's prioritization of scarce resources. :-)

Chris

Comments

ok, that's cool.

Yeah, I was afraid I was inadvertently "hidding" questions by answering them before you see them. Sorry about that. I can be more aware about that now.

And sometimes I'm overly technical and forget I should be explaining it like I was talking to my grandma (though there are a number of technically proficient people here, so I'm never sure which voice to use) :)

But the worst part is, I may be able to answer why something doesn't work as expected, but I'm not in a position to be able to solve it. Yeah, I realize its a small team. That's ok, there's nothing wrong with that. But as the userbase grows, then perhaps all the more reason to start tracking bugs and suggestions.

---

my main issue is about setting expectations -- as long as I know and understand how you and the team work, I can use that :)

---

uh oh... its a "best answer" war... Magnus, this is the one I'd choose if I get to choose :)

Answer 2

I don't think there is a bug reporting form. WikiTree is an initiative by Chris and he is managing the whole business...

Good video about WikiTree with Chris and Why Wikitree...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2EAH-rC268 

• The WikiTree_Team
• Leaders you find with a Badge see link, about being a leader

 

Comments

so just send Chris an email then?

---

Could work or couldn't.... 

1. I have tried to start a dialogue for 5 months about using  templates and describing Swedish Parishes with Chris.... after no dialogue a draft of not using Templates was created that still is a draft I get a feeling WikiTree is not prio 1
    
2. I have created over at WikiData a WikiTree attribute so that WikiData link to WikiTree.... reaction from Chris positive BUT all the work is done on the Wikidata side so it's more a non issue for WikiTree (maybe we get better SEO).... I also tried get a dialogue about if WikiTree should link to WikiData using a Reasonater template and got 2 feedback....
   
   (Good video about Linked Data ) 

I am new in the Wiki world and have played around at WikiTree WikiData Familysearch and Wikipedia. My feeling is that Wikitree is a slowly moving community and not too many technical changes happen (nota bene Aleš started the Database Error project that is 98% outside WikiTree and have a change rate faster than the speed of light).

Family Search has much more resources and it was easy to set up a web conference with the people. They use the latest version of the Wiki software.... 

WikiData is a Wiki but for structured info they have a defined processes and people argue and at Wikipedia its even more control and arguing what is correct or not correct......

So far the best way to communicate with Wikitree people has been in Real Life meetings and using web conference tools like Google Hangout

---

WikiTree does indeed have a small team, and FamilySearch does indeed have a huge one. They have hundreds of developers on staff and a massive support organization in Salt Lake City.

I'm not sure what you mean by "WikiTree is not prio 1" though. It is the only thing I do. And we have a small team of part-timers and free-lancers who also support the community: http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/WikiTree_Team

The WikiTree team is tiny by design. Almost everything is driven by the community, including many technical issues.

This doesn't mean that we don't get anything done. We have a long history of progress and many people enjoy participating here. We also move a lot quicker than the bigger organizations on certain things, and many members prefer WikiTree.

Answer 3

Hi Dennis,

The G2G is the best place to report bugs and suggest improvements for one major reason. It gives other members an opportunity to also chime in as to whether they have experienced the same bugs and comment on your suggestions for improvement.

If you use the WikiTree Tech category, Chris watches that closely, so do most of the Team, as well as the Policy and Style category.

Of course, we are a small team so it's not likely that we'll catch every single question.  If there's something you feel is important, don't stop bringing it to our attention.  You can also bump a question if you think it's fallen off. Just post a comment (even if it's just "Bumping this thread") so it'll wind up back in the Recent Activity feed.

Comments

actually, he's not currently following the "tech" tag (I checked). maybe he has a different way to follow it without "following" it.

I can bump threads. It seems annoying though (especially when a really old thread gets bumped and people start replying to people who are no longer active)

Policy and Style seem an odd place to post bug reports though. I choose WikiTree Tech for this one. -- ah I see, you meant the Sub forums as a category, not necessarily tags as a category.