Sourcerers Challenge - December 2018 [closed]

Question

Hello, Sourcerers! It is time to start sourcing! Prior month stats will be posted soon.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please click the "answer" link (not the comment link) to let us know that you are participating this month. You can use the tracker or list the profiles you source in a comment on your answer. Either one is perfectly fine : )  

                 

To participate:

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. 

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.

On to the monthly challenge:

You only need to answer this month's post once. If you opt to use the Tracker you are good to go.  If you opt to  add your sourced profiles, add a comment to your answer with the required details. If you exceed the character limit add another comment.  Please number your contributions. Obviously, the Tracker is faster and less work for everyone.  If you have a problem with the Tracker let us know by posting a comment to the thread. 

USING THE TRACKER

After you save an edit, a green banner appears at the top of the page. In the banner is a black “button” labeled Challenge Tracker. Press that and, on the page that comes up, select Sourcerers challenge and the appropriate comment (or fill in your own if none of the canned answers fit what you did). Hit Add Action and you are finished. The Tracker tracks the number of profiles you add sources to. You can see the results in the current month's Tracker at:

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

* All profiles improved must come from the Unsourced categories or be already present on WikiTree and unsourced - you cannot create new profiles and add sources just to up your tally. The hope and goal is to improve the profiles already on WikiTree that need sources. Adding sources will also help merges happen, which will improve our tree. Showing folks what sources you are using helps newer researchers see just what is available out there for us to access. Another great source of unsourced profiles is to check out orphaned profiles.

* The tally is of profiles improved, not sources added. That said, if you can add a number of sources to a profile, all the better.

*If you attempt to add sources to a profile and cannot find any, please add a note under a == Research Notes == section (add the section if it is not there) giving where you tried to find records and sign it with the four tildes (~~~~) so the date is applied as well. 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.

*  If the only source is a link to a profile, a search results page from another genealogy website, the words "Ancestry tree," "Geni.com," "Pedigree Resource Files" from FamilySearch, or the like, adding a better source will be a valid update for the Sourcerers' Challenge. If you add better sources to the profiles, use the Challenge Tracker to include it in your tally.

* If you find a match and can merge a profile into an already sourced profile, that counts too. You found a source, plus you eliminated a duplicate. Awesome!

The Monthly Challenge runs from midnight the first day of your month and ends at 11:59 the last day of the month. The current Challenge Tracker results page has up the minute stats for those of you using the Challenge Tracker. Ask any questions here in the thread, otherwise, SOURCE! 

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please click the "answer" link (not the comment link) to let us know that you are participating this month. You can use the tracker or list the profiles you source in a comment on your answer. Either one is perfectly fine : )  

Comments

I will continue to add sources again this month. Slowly getting the unsourced Australia profiles down.

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Quick Note to all the new Sourcerers in November:

Tis the season, the busy busy season. I'll be awarding the badges as soon as the Challenge Team is finished with the tallies.Have a little patience with us please.

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In the wikitree family news announcement for this, it mentioned chocolate. Is that for real? I'm really busy this month, but would participate for chocolate!

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LOL The badge is "chocolate" colored ... but it's a chocolate colored Sourcerer's Hat! How cool is that?

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I'll wait til next year, when I'm done with the 52 ancestor challenge.

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How or when do we get the Sourcerer's Badge? Do we have to wait until the end of the Challenge?

Thank you

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Badges are awarded after the tallies are updated. I'll try to have them done by the 5th.

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I've continued to add sources to many profiles that are lacking, not always marked as "unsourced", but meantime have encountered a sort of distant cousin who has gone rampant  with adding new "unsourced" profiles. I have marked those and asked her to please cease and desist until she can offer proper sourcing. I've spent a lot of time cleaning up her messes. What do you suggest is appropriate in this instance where someone continually violates our operating system ethics with intent by posting "personal knowledge" as a source?

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Anytime you encounter this type of situation, review the Problems with Members FAQ to determine appropriate action. 

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Thanks Debi!

Answer 1

I'll be adding sources this month.

Answer 2

I will continue doing this.

Comments

Thanks for joining us again, Gurney. Enjoy the sourcing. Let us know if you find an unusual source or make a great find.

Answer 3

I'll be adding sources on and off in December :)

Comments

Welcome back, R. Good luck

Answer 4

I might as well officially join, since I often do some sourcing on my lunch break anyway!

Comments

Thanks, Amber. Have fun and let us know if you have any questions.

Answer 5

I will carry on doing this and will be using the Tracker.

David

Comments

Thanks for adding sources, David. It really helps the health of WikiTree

Answer 6

'Tis the season to be sourcing..... Tracker-la-la-la-la-la-la-la!

Comments

LOL I thought that was every season, E. I love your new version of the song!

Answer 7

I am in again

Comments

Thanks, Steph. Good luck!

Answer 8

Count me in. Merry Xmas everyone

Comments

You are counted, Kevin *grin* Good luck!

Answer 9

I will take an "official" try at this. Will work primarily on my own adopted/unsourced profiles and then if that is too challenging, I'll work on unsourced from one of my project areas (Germany, Ireland, Sweden, Jewish, Finland) ... :)

Comments

Great, Susan, and welcome! We appreciate you adding sources.

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Hi Susan, I see that you've been adding sources but don't find you on the Tracker report. Have you been using the Challenge Tracker after saving?

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Several of the sources I have added are for profiles I added recently. (I got distracted by working on an integrator task/challenge ... sorry!) And, when I've added a source for an existing unsourced profile, I've probably remembered to add to the tracker about 80% of the time.

Now, this is odd. If I look at the http://wikitree.sdms.si/Challenges/SourcerersChallenge/20181001/User.htm I agree, I do not see any entries for me. If I look, however, at the scores from the challengers tracker area https://wikitree.sdms.si/Challenges/SourcerersChallenge/User.htm I do see ~24 entries for me.

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Susan, in this case, it was my mistake. I was looking at a tiny screen and spelling your surname incorrectly. If I search for you with the correct spelling, tada! There you are. Sorry about that.

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Oh good! Thanks for being on the lookout just the same! 

Answer 10

I will try to gift some profiles with sources. Watch my progress using the tracker.

Comments

You'll be giving the gift that keeps on giving, Kay. Thank you!

Answer 11

I am in for this month

Comments

Thanks, Janet. Good Luck

Answer 12

I'm in, using tracker

Comments

Good luck, John. Thanks!

Answer 13

Well, play it one more time, pretty please!

Comments

LOL at least you didn't call me "Sam." Always good to have you with us, Hans.

[That comment was in reference to the way I read yours as in the often misquoted line from the movie Casablanca, "Play it again, Sam."]

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Hello Debi, thanks - I would never confuse you with Sam. I like you much better! PS: It seems my numbers for September did not make it into your Spreadsheet? Happy Day - Hans

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Thanks for alerting me to that, Hans. I've fixed it now. Sorry about that.

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Hello Debi, thanks again for your prompt attention. Don't want to be the spoiler, quickly looking over the spreadsheet noticed some other inconsistencies, such as: Decimal point in the result, i.e. Jerkes-1, McKenzie-5404 ? (That's why there is a fraction in the Grand Total column). Result did not total up in the Total column for Genet-32 ? Happy Day - Hans

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Hello Debi, thank you for amending the spreadsheet, very nice. I located the last "offender" - field AR532 should probably have the number 1078 instead of 1.078 - also, although inconsequential, there is no formula in some rows, and therefore results are not included in the total. I understand that there are certain caveats, nevertheless, confusing (to me). The rows are 257, 464, 514, 550 and 554. Thank you again and Happy Day - Hans

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Thanks for finding those, Hans. I think I have it all corrected now but, as you have seen, I miss things. Please do let me know if you spot anything else.

Answer 14

I am sure I will add a few during the month.

Comments

LOL I'm sure you will, Hilary. Good luck with your old GEDCOM profiles.

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I have been creating a free space page for my ONS for the GRO indexes on their website so that I can go through family by family ensuring nobody gets missed. I may use it for some of the other surnames if it helps.

Answer 15

I'll try to add more sources . . . it's what I do!

Comments

And we are so thankful for your doing so, Kathy. Thanks and good luck

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Tracker gives me an error message, so I guess I'll be opting out.  But I did find some of my maternal ancestors who had been orphaned (and now adopted).

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Hey, Kathy, what kind of error did it give you? It goes down sometimes if Aleš' server has a hiccup. It was up last night at midnight EDT (don't ask what I was doing up at that time LOL). Would you give it another try when you have a minute and let me know if it is still giving you trouble. Thanks!

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Midnight is early!  I thought I responded by email (but twas to "noreply" . . . duh).  I thought this was a one-day challenge so I didn't try it today on more orphans I picked up.  

It was something about Sunday.  I guess it calculated the adopted files and new profiles and gave an error that it starts Sunday.  Too late this time.

I do this for the love of history and not for recognition, so it doesn't matter much to me if it isn't counted.

Update: I just sourced a profile from the unsourced list for Reginald Rabett and this is the error message:

Note: Profiles created after sunday, protected profiles and merged profiles are not part of public database.

UserID = ProfileID = 17519105 IP=96.231.219.59 Error in parameters.

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OK, that one should have counted for everything that I see on the profile. The thing that I notice in the line you sent is that there isn't a UserID  Would you check for me one more time on the next update that you save. Make sure that your WikiTree ID is in the box I have pointed to in this picture:

Also, this is the Monthly challenge so any sourcing you do in December will count. It is confusing because I also facilitate the Saturday Sourcing Sprints.

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I tried again with another adoptee and again failed.  When I hit challenge tracker at the top of the profile and still get the error.

I did another today before Anna, saw there was a Badge (is that how I join the challenge?) and tried Anna after.

Nothing works, no big deal, but I want to get familiar with how WikiTree works.

You wrote:  USING THE TRACKER

>>After you save an edit, a green banner appears at the top of the page. In the banner is a black “button” labeled Challenge Tracker. Press that and, 

I have the banner and press the button.  No pop-up appears at all.  That is when I get the error message.  None of the following applies

>>on the page that comes up, select Sourcerers challenge and the appropriate comment (or fill in your own if none of the canned answers fit what you did). Hit Add Action and you are finished. The Tracker tracks the number of profiles you add sources to. You can see the results in the current month's Tracker at:

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For Anna, I think it was a timing thing. The tracker is based on a database dump which is done every Monday. If the profile was created after the dump (Anna was on 28 Nov; dump was on 26 Nov), changes to the profile won't be eligible until after the next dump. Coincidentally, that is today.  I just made a test save to Anna's profile and the Challenge Tracker is working on her profile for me.

Anna's profile not working doesn't surprise me as it isn't within the challenge guidelines. You created the profile and are sourcing it within the same week. The challenge is designed to improve profiles which have been here without sources, mostly from the early days of WikiTree but some more recent.

Reginald Rabett's profile, on the other hand, would count. Would you edit his profile and save with a comment "no changes made; testing tracker", then try the tracker one more time, making sure your WikiTree ID is there. I know you aren't worried about the counts but appreciate you helping me make sure there is not a problem that I am not aware of.

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What about the 4-5 I adopted and sourced?  (I didn't think I created Anna--I haven't been working on that line, but maybe I did). I understand the parameters.  I will test with Reginald, if I can find him again.

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Just added three sources to William Henry Rabett and got the same message.

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Wow, this has me stumped. I tested William and, though it did give a red warning about dates, I saved anyway and the Challenge Tracker came up.

Thanks so much for your patience in helping me. I'm going to have Aleš take a look at it because we have tried everything I know.

To answer your question about the profiles you have adopted, they would definitely count as long as they are more than a week old.

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Kathy, Your UserID is empty, since you joined WikiTree less than a week ago. It should start working later today after the update..

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Mystery solved!  Thanks for the extra investigative work.

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Excellent news. Thanks for troubleshooting, Aleš.

Answer 16

Count me in for the month of December.

Comments

You're counted, Martha. Good luck!

Answer 17

I've already gotten started!

Comments

Way to go, Edie! I hope your month is productive. Thank you.

Answer 18

Count me in.

Comments

You're counted, Beverly. Good luck this month!

Answer 19

Oh, sure, but not as many as last month. Using tracker.

Comments

Glad you are here this month, Robert. No worries on going slower this month; 'tis the season *grin*

Answer 20

I will be working on a few unsourced profiles this month.

Comments

Great to see you, Louise. Thanks