FamilySearch Wiki:WikiProject Utah Community Meeting 2012 Feb 15

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The Wiki currently has Special:Statistics articles in English

Agenda
Marilyn Markham, one of the project leaders, is still in rehab and improving quickly. She fell on that icy Sunday morning, 22 Jan.

Anyone new to this meeting?


 * James Tanner, Lee Drew and Liz Snow for volunteering.
 * All of you who are attending--both for the first time, and those who have been to other meetings

News and Events

 * The Wiki is being "uncooperative" this morning. Takes time and for some won't come up at all.


 * UGA Virtual Chapter, every 3rd Thursday, 7:00 p.m. (Mountain) This week: The Tired, the Poor, the Huddled Masses, and the Wretched Refuse: U.S. Immigration from 1820 - 1954 with Beth Taylor
 * South Davis Family History Fair, March 2nd and 3rd. Scoll to bottom of the page to register.

Review of last meeting

 * Feb 8 minutes


 * Progress reports:
 * FamilySearch Library Catalog links completed through Grand County. (Thanks, Lois)
 * Task in prep for moving the table to the counties
 * Task in prep (on temporary hold) for linking to Allen County Public Library topics for each county
 * Have not yet worked with the "Provide Context" look and feel, as discussed 1 Feb.
 * Examples for tips developed so far:

Idea share

 * Provide context for Cemeteries area. "Context" means that we help a beginner understand why they were linked to this topic from another topic, such as birth, marriage, or death.
 * Brainstorm: What do we need to say in the Cemeteries area, to help that person?
 * Put a table or something visual
 * Can they be told more visually than in words?
 * Words mean: Seldom is <10%; Sometimes 10-40%; Often 40-60; Frequent 60-80%; Usually 80-100%
 * Relationship: names spouse: children; Implied relationship – who else is buried in that plot, proximity

Cemeteries context discussion:
 * What info will cems give re: birth: Usually gives date of death;
 * Tombstone: date of death (sometimes the place); age or date of birth; affiliations (mason, WOW, veterans, religion (sections of the cemetery), symbols
 * There are several records: private, church, public cems:
 * sometimes permits had to be issued.
 * Contract for purchasing the grave. Who purchased, where they died. some may have purchased several.
 * Permit for the grave (a gov doc) sometimes very detailed;
 * sexton records (various formats) b,d info; Their records could have b,d for entire county.
 * Also transport of bodies
 * Compilations of those various records. Some of the collections are spotty.
 * James: United States Cemeteries – everything is there. We need to be sure to link to it. Utah cemeteries page: it’s pretty good, too. We link to Utah cems page, it links to US page.


 * Paupers fields: many have no headstones; AZ Territorial Prison – Just mounds of stones, no markers. Some are trying to create lists.
 * Challenges: an old headstone may have been replaced with a new one. Info may be less reliable. Worn, hard to read, knocked over, vandalized, US Cems page


 * Tip Bank discussion
 * Examples developed so far: (showed a PowerPoint of a few samples for the discussion. We decided we liked the "Memo" icon, but want it to say "Tip"
 * Brainstorm tips for Cemeteries topic

Discussion notes Concern: if an overachiever wants to put more in. Controlling other input is major. How to we explain to the world that we don’t want these updated there. This concern may not actually happen. If it does, we can talk with them and get that tip into the tip bank. Put a note in their talk page, we’d like to add this tip to the “bank” Should be for everybody – experts and beginners. Serve them both. Hard to be all things to all people. Find the balance. Be PR to the people that the Wiki is difficult to use. Criticism: the Wiki is obscure for brand new users. Lead them, but don’t overwhelm. (Let's overcome that perception!) Likes the Memo – but have it say Tips. Don’t like the leprechaun, but just a pot of gold might work. Some like just the word More Tips. Cemetery pictures: generic one that works everywhere If we use the same icon across the board, we could communicate better without words. Let’s start it in Utah and others can adopt/adapt. James has some, will email it to Wilma


 * Where shall we keep the "Mine" for the tip bank? We need to "salt" it liberally, then have people wordsmith each tip.
 * After acceptance, each will be turned into a template. Each time a template is changed, it will automatically change everywhere it has been placed.
 * After templates are made, they need to also be placed in the Tip Bank that will be available to all to see

Future meetings
Meetings will be held on Wednesdays at 9:00 a.m.

Next week:


 * Progress reports
 * Project to post FHL and ACPL catalog links to each appropriate topic in each county
 * Provide context continued
 * Tip Bank continued.

To discuss soon:


 * Vital records setup: making ready for items to be entered
 * Cemetery records
 * Church records