Thanks for the new box that reminds us that just because a merge has been approved doesn't mean it should be completed.

+35 votes
243 views
I think the tendency is to assume that approval of a merge request is the same as an order, when really it is just permission. The box reminds us to think about what we are doing.

What advice do supervisors and arborists have about what to check before completing a merge?
in Policy and Style by Carole Partridge G2G6 Mach 7 (75.6k points)
Thank you, Carole!

That notice was overdue. We really should have put it up sooner. :-)

3 Answers

+13 votes
 
Best answer
Steps I take before merging:

1) Confirm that the basic biographical information is similar.

2) Check the biography, see if there is additional information that is needed to confirm or deny the merge.

3) Search name and birth date to check for duplicates (we want to merge into the lowest profile, which may or may not be the one proposed). If the proposed merge is not into the lowest, 3rd profile, I remove the merge and merge both into the final profile.

4) Merge profiles, keeping track of differences (aka, "Birth date could either be 1850 or 1847") and add them back to the profile.

5) go through the profile, clean up the biography, and do any further pending merges or proposals (spouses, children, etc).
by Amanda Pitts G2G6 Mach 1 (17.8k points)
selected by Terry Wright
I attempt to "clean-up" a merge at the time of merging; however, sometime due to time constraints I can't.  that is when I make notes to myself on my Nav page that a merge was not completed and then as soon as I have time I do the clean-up.

Recently (today) I was looking at ancestors and saw many examples of merges having been done, but not cleaned-up:  Results:  lots of children, siblings, etc to say nothing of duplication in bio and sources!!!

We all have to do better to maintain the integrity of WikiTree.  Doing a merge and leaving the clean-up to others is a true burden and totally unnecessary!!!
+8 votes

What advice do supervisors and arborists have about what to check before completing a merge

I've always compared birth dates and places (considering OS and NS dates) ditto marriage and death dates.  Lacking dates, parents, spousess and children. If none of the above are available, I leave a note in the biography to the effect that they may or may not be a merge.

by Tom Bredehoft G2G6 Pilot (208k points)
+5 votes
As someone who is trying to fix a few profiles where two or more people have been put into one profile I can tell you not to rush this process - look at the dates and if they do not match then wait please and make sure - there are at least three guys with the same name and different lives - lets not smash them all together any more please!
by Navarro Mariott G2G6 Pilot (165k points)

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