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PGM Activity Feed Check

Privacy Level: Public (Green)
Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: [unknown]
Profile managers: M Cole private message [send private message] and Puritan Great Migration Project WikiTree private message [send private message]
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Contents

Helpful Links

Goals of the Daily Activity Feed Check

  • Help maintain the accuracy of PGM profiles by reviewing comments, and edits from unknown contributors.
  • Represent the PGM project as a responsive, collaborative profile manager
  • Encourage collaboration (including with profile co-managers) and refer appropriate resources (such as PGM reliable sources).
  • Alert PGM Leadership of any potential disputes, or contributors who may need mentoring.

How to do the Activity Feed Check

Getting started

  • Find the last edit checked Go to the PGM Profile Comments google group (currently here https://groups.google.com/g/wikitreepgm-pa) for the ongoing feed check post titled ‘PGM Feedcheck, Part 2’. This is an ongoing post that lasts for the year. This google group also gets an automated feed of comments made on PGM profiles on WikiTree and messages sent to the PGM Project Profile Account. (You can subscribe to just this thread if you don't want to receive all comments into your inbox)
At the bottom of the post will be the most recent check by whoever did yesterday’s feed. It will look something like this:
1 Jul 2021
07:30: Alan Pendleton edited the Biography for Thomas Lincoln (1622-1692). [Thank Alan for this]
That means, the last edit that was checked was the July 1 2021 7:30 edit by Alan Pendleton on this profile. You will start with the next, more recent edit.
Find the place where yesterday's check left off, and begin there. (Ctrl+F, or Cmd+F)

(For instructions on how to receive the Daily Activity Feed Thread without receiving all profile comments, see Subscribing to a Thread

Check the feed

Scan every entry, as you would keeping an eye on the Activity Feed for your own Watchlist, but you don't need to scrutinize every contribution.
  • Less important edits:
    • Edits by experienced PGM or WikiTree members (folks from England, Scotland etc) who you recognize as doing solid work don't need much attention but you can check them to see if there are some disputes, uncertainties etc.
    • trivial ones like fixing a typo don’t need much attention (but these may be mislabeled, so unfamiliar contributors should be checked).
  • Important edits:
    • Changes to names, relationships, and data fields, should be reviewed and should have a reliable source backing them up. If you are pretty sure it was a bad change, you can go ahead and reverse or undo it if you are comfortable doing that.
      • Reverting/Correcting changes If a questionable change was made and had to be reverted, or you have a question, you can post a comment to the profile and in a friendly way let them know your concern. But if the person who made the edit isn't a PM or TL member, it's better to send them a private message with a link to the Profile url. Including a link to our reliable sources page and/or the communication before editing guidance can be useful.
  • Comments: For comments left on profiles, respond at least briefly if the comment warrants a response (use your judgment here).
    • For comments like "This is my 9th great grandmother," take note of the WikiTree ID, and post in the Feed Check chat (or the ggroup thread). A leader will remove the comment and follow up with the commenter. (We advise them of the guidelines, and invite them to add the descendant sticker and follow the PGM tag)
    • Pro tip: if you see a series of comments posted on one profile by 2 or three people in a short period of time, sometimes that means an argument is brewing so it’s worth taking a look in case you want to give leadership a heads up. You aren’t responsible for settling these arguments though.
  • Merge Proposals Merges are handled by a separate process, so you don't need to do anything. However, if there is a difference in the LNAB, alert a leader if the PGM profile isn't PPP. If the merge proposal is obviously not a match, you can reject it. And if its a simple, correct merge, you can complete it. But its also fine to just leave them to be reviewed later.
  • Thank yous: for edits. If you have the time and notice members (especially newer members) adding sources or correcting typos, hit the thank you button. They will appreciate it!
  • Maintenance categories: If, in checking suspicious edits, you spot a profile that needs a lot of work and doesn't already have maintenance categories on it, please add them as described below.
  • IF you're not sure: If you think an edit was “iffy” but don’t feel comfortable reversing it, please leave a comment on the profile for the profile manager to review it, or mention it in the Activity Feed check googlegroup thread or the Discord "Activity Feed Check Chat.

Finishing up

Report the last edit: When you get to the top of the activity feed (i.e. there is nothing more listed), copy the last entry and paste it to the bottom of the feed check thread in the “Profile Comments” Google Group using the “reply" function. That way whoever does the check the next day will know where you stopped.

The whole process usually takes anywhere from 30 minutes (if there has not been much activity) to an hour or two (if it has been very busy, or if you run into someone who has created a number of big messes)

FAQ

Depth of feed check-ing i.e. "is this an audit?" You don't have to follow every link to every source that people add or read the source yourself, the main thing is to make sure there is an "approved" (or "pretty good" i.e. not just "family lore" or "ancestry.com public tree") source, that it's an inline citation and (hopefully) has a URL link to the source. If those things are lacking and you don't have time to fix it, you can message the person who made the edit asking them to improve the source citation. Same thing if somebody for example adds a child to a PGM profile and it looks questionable as far as solid source citation support. If it's clearly wrong, bad, or just unsourced you can simply reverse the change. If it's a gray area and needs more research, you can message the person asking for clarification along with posting on Discord if appropriate. Bad edits could still sneak through, but we aren't trying to exhaustively audit every change made to every PGM profile, that would be a full-time job. Facts added or changed without sources, in the data or biography section, should be either reversed or questioned (to the person who made the change by profile comment and, if they are not in the comment stream, by private message to make sure they see it).

Is adding maintenance categories required? No, but if you have time and see a profile that needs more attention like gedcom or merge cleanup, please add a "Needs" maintenance category to them. They will also automatically appear on our maintenance category web pages, so at least they will be tracked in the future.





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