FamilySearch Wiki:Contributors Meeting 19 July 2012

MeetingPlace ID: 7770; Join the meeting; Dial-in number: 877-453-7266 1 p.m. Mountain time on Thursdays


 * 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.

Updates and follow up

 * Change the Manual Style regarding reference to for pay sites in the wiki. (discussed 2 weeks ago)


 * Present Policy


 * If you refer to a subscription website or one which has a charge to obtain information, use the "$" to indicate that there may be a fee for the site.


 * Proposed Policy


 * If you refer to a subscription website or one which has a charge to obtain information, clearly state that it is a “for pay” web site. For tables, you may use a symbol to refer to a footnote at the bottom of the table that states the site is a for pay site. You should use the symbol of the currency  required by the site (such as "$" or “£”).
 * There are images that may require a payment on FamilySearch, (free site but may cost for certain images or people without LDS accounts).Useability testing - could it be done in a FHL class? (Carol Smith)Four leading currencies - make a small graphic that show the four symbols and just use that graphic for consistency. That could possibly eliminate wording.  Lee will put together a graphic and then we'll  see about some useability testing.

Business/Announcements

 * Box on Main page - New to the Research Wiki (Lee Drew)
 * Eliminate the box or use it as a type of "billboard" with new information occassionally (make it smaller?)
 * This would take engineering currency that we don't want to lose now. Should we just wait for the new Home Page design.  If we can change the wording now, we would like ideas for that.

Style Guide Discussions

 * The following text appears on Historical Record Collection article talk pages.


 * bibdesc coding


 * Please do not remove or edit the coding around the “Citation for This Collection” section of this article. The coding is essential for the source to appear on the FamilySearch.org Collection Page and is only visible when the page is viewed in wikitext.


 * Thank you for your help with the FamilySearch Historical Record wiki articles; we look forward to seeing you in the wiki!


 * -User Guidance Team

This really isn't a discussion about the article, and does not actually have any chance of helping prevent inadvertent or intentional edits to the bibdesc coding. Because it acts as a barrier to the important role of healthy dialogue regarding the content of an article, I propose that this text be removed from all talk pages where it appears. Lise 00:14, 13 July 2012 (UTC)

Use the Talk page for the intended purpose, rather than an instructional page. Dorothy is willing to have missionaries remove the existing text from pages that have it. It makes sense to embed some explanation of the bibdesc coding within each page using the nowiki code.Donjgen 01:27, 19 July 2012 (UTC)


 * Revisit the topic from last week's meeting regarding the text and link pointing to "Help:How to Create Source Citations for FamilySearch Historical Record Collections" on all HRC articles. Discussion on the forum thread. Lise 20:41, 17 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Lise has prepared a document with a proposal for a different placement of the citations and how to give readers help with citations


 * Style guide question about references: What is the current thought about showing references within the text versus footnoting the reference? Is there a style guide suggestion? Whick format is more useful to the wiki user? Does putting the reference within the text clutter the page?

Example:


 * Adams, Marilyn, comp. Ohio Local and Family History Sources in Print. Clarkston, Georgia: Heritage Research, 1984. ;


 * Adams, Marilyn, comp. Ohio Local and Family History Sources in Print. McBrideLW

Project Help Requests

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

Improve the Wiki

 * Edit or remove the "New to the Research Wiki?" box. The material in it is superfluous--We are expanding the main page and it will include a more direct invitation to ask questions about using the wiki for researching and for contributing.
 * The option to edit it would be for using it for recurring messages to readers, such as "What topics would you like to see added to the wiki?" Since the team has edit privilages for these boxes, it would not require engineering intervention.
 * The option to remove it would require engineering intervention, and would use "engineering capital" that would be better spent on higher priority projects.
 * Edit the Search Box that appears in the upper-right corner of each page. Following are items, in order of importance:
 * Replace the phrase "Search Learning &amp; How-To’s" with "Search the Wiki" as the name of the search box. There are many Learning &amp; How-to’s on FamilySearch. This search box only applies to the wiki.
 * Replace "by country" with "by place". or "by location" Many of the choices are not countries (e.g. British Isles, Isle of Mann, Guam, Puerto Rico)
 * Replace "Subject, Place or Keyword" in the search bar with "Type keyword(s) here"

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.