FamilySearch Wiki:Contributors Meeting 17 May 2011

Join the meeting, the ID is 0000 1 p.m. Mountain time on Tuesdays

New to this meeting?


 * You can join up to 10 minutes early. If you try to join the meeting at any other time, you will get an error that the meeting doesn't exist.
 * Prior to joining the meeting for the first time, run the MeetingPlace Test to verify that you can participate in a web meeting.

Business/Announcements

 * Don't edit the wiki in IE9 - see the following edit problem caused by IE9: https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/index.php?title=Main_Page&amp;oldid=632866 janellv
 * Research Communities - capturing good info? janellv
 * Join a Facebook Research Community

Forums Overview

 * Be part of the solution! Make your opinions known! Post comments to an existing thread or start a new discussion at Wiki Contributors Corner forum.

Project Help Requests

 * Need help with your project? See a project that needs to be done? Add it here:
 * Improving the Help content

Training Requests

 * Setting up projects training by Jimmy Parker
 * Idaho
 * Identify Project Leader who can define what it is you want to accomplish and how, a clear picture of what you want to see.
 * Clearly define project scope and create Welcome page to define what you are trying to do - naming convention is: "FamilySearch Wiki:WikiProject ____________"
 * Seek volunteers to help
 * Define tasks and train volunteers to do simple tasks to begin with, define the specific steps so that they aren't overwhelmed with too much to do
 * Add current tasks needing volunteers to Welcome page
 * Add Completed Tasks section
 * On each task page, define task and include sign-up sheet for task
 * Task Description
 * Assignment Chart
 * Define Sprints - periods of time where you want to get specific things done
 * Large table where everything is displayed with what is and isn't done is a motivating factor - you want to get the blanks filled out.
 * Held weekly meeting in MeetingPlace as well as created group in Skype, which helped to keep the project moving along
 * Indians of North America
 * Basic concept was the same, but we didn't define the tasks as specifically and that's one of the things that was learned here. Not enough planning done beforehand, which made it less effective in the end

Improve the Wiki

 * How to tell the world about book collections or other unique genealogical materials in the possession of small FSCs that are not in the main FS catalog. I know we don't normally allow lists in the Wiki but what about separate pages listing these materials linked to the FSC that have collections. Bookcat, for example, cost $17 to about $30 or more to set up collections in their date base. Considering how many FSC there are that could run into some money. Maybe there could be some way to get this stuff into the FS catalog so it could be search from there. I'm sure that the volunteers from these centers would be glad to input this material into the FS catalog if a way could be set up for it.
 * Welcome messages - for those whose posts are on talk pages - how to format when there is a question rather than a contribution:
 * Patron wants to get a hold of the contributor of a page
 * Research question - help me find this person in my family
 * Question about the content on the talk page
 * How to contribute something to the wiki
 * Welcome message for questions