As you know, we’ve been working on updates to the edit system on Find a Grave. We’ve rolled out some changes for memorials managed by Find a Grave and have been testing and improving the process there. Now we are ready to start testing changes to memorials managed by other Find a Grave members.
For this test, we’ll be focusing on the Suggested Edits page and processing suggested edits. To help with the testing, we’ve created a version of the Suggested Edits page that is only for testing and won’t save any of the changes you make there (for example, accepting or declining an edit). On the page, you’ll see real edits submitted to memorials managed by Find a Grave and some test edits we’ve included, but you can do what you like on the page and nothing will change on the memorials. If you approve or decline a suggested edit, it will be removed from the page, but won’t move to the Approved or Declined view and if you refresh the page it will bring back suggested edits you have processed.
This is a complicated page, but we’ve worked hard to make it usable on a smaller device (phones or tablets). For those of you who use those, we’d love your feedback on that experience.
Some of the changes you may notice to the Suggested Edits page include:
- The option to accept or decline individual parts of the edit suggestions.
- Suggested changes for more types of memorial data, including gender, burial information, gravesite details and the bio details.
- Improved search, grouping and sorting options for edits.
- A comparison tool for reviewing long text edits.
You can access the testing page here and you can leave your feedback in the comments at the bottom of this page.
We’re also looking for people who would be willing to get on a video call with us, test the site while we watch and provide their feedback. If you are interested in participating in that testing, please send an email to feedback@findagrave.com and include your name, your Find a Grave Member ID and when you are generally available (days of the week, times of day, your time zone, etc.) in the body of your email.
Thanks for your help improving Find a Grave!
Love the new changes showing in Beta version. I try to update memorials while working through my tree and you find some that manage are no longer on the site. This will allow changes to be updated more efficiently. Will these suggestions also approve after the 30 day period if the manager does nothing?
Interested is seeing if there is a more streamline way for requesting to manage a memorial. I have an older lady (I’m related to her) that is no longer able to update on FAG. I have asked her to allow me to manage my family memorials. She said yes on the phone but isn’t able to make the changes.
Keep up the good work!
Accept all – I can see this being an option for an individual but whether its a good option for multiple memorials, It enables the manager to accept everything quickly but may make it too easy to not review.
Not sure how appropriate this is for all fields, but it would be nice if there was room for comment with a suggestion. For example the request to move the memorial to a different cemetery is a difficult one to blindly accept. As the memorial manager, I’d like some explanation as to why such a dramatic change is being suggested.
It would be really great, and would help speed up the review of suggestions, if memorial managers would receive an email letting us know when we have suggestions to review. Currently, I have to be on the website and notice that there’s suggestions for me to review by the icon.
I like the proposed changes. Especially the change of the cemetery location. That one change will save me (and you) time. Also the colors for add, change, delete is a good idea. So is the ability to change the bio. They all look good. Thanks for all your work!
Unfortunately, unscrupulous contributors will simply move unattended memorials to other cemeteries so they can ‘replace’ them with one of their own creation. There needs to be some kind of safety net for this
There already is, a log of changes is viewable by admin. So they can see this behaviour happening when merging memorials
I would like to see people who can prove their relationship to a deceased be allowed to take over management especially from the “Memorial Hoarders” who have thousands of graves in their collection but no relation to 99% of them. Sometimes I have provided lots of details about a cousin of mine and asked to takeover the memorial but been ignored or refused. The genuine relatives I have no trouble with but the Hoarders can be rude and uncooperative. Secondly regarding Famous people: I have known some famous people and/or been related to them and been able to write a much better Bio because the original creator did nothing more than copy an Obit from a newspaper. For example I created one for Peter Breck the Actor, who was a friend of mine, which was approved after editing yet the there is another one still on Findagrave that was just some info copied from a newspaper.
Relationships are not part of this update? They have required transfers for a reason, going any further than that just makes more work for the admins. If you can write a better bio for a famous person then do so and submit it.
You asked a question Drew I think- “Relationships are not part of this update?”. The admins know all about the update not me. As for Bios there are two for my old friend Peter Breck because the older one was never deleted. Another very famous person was a cousin of mine and I never received a reply about whether I could take over management.
Read FindaGrave’s goal. Find graves, create memorials.(The more, the better). No mention of the word “relative”.
I agree with Steve’s comments. In particular, I underscore the ability change a bio is appreciated.
I did find one issue. For the person named “John Unknown” who died in 1850 (but birth is unknown), in the listing we see that the original bio is “last name begins with a ‘C’ or ‘G'” and the suggested bio is [empty]. However, when one does the compare feature, one sees the original bio “last name begins with a ‘C’ or ‘G'” and in the suggested field it is also “last name begins with a ‘C’ or ‘G'” but in orange. I know the color is meant to trigger the removal, but until people get used to using the colors guide them, would it be helpful to add an extra hint? In the suggested field, could the text to be removed be retained as is but prefaced with something like “[suggested removal]: ” to help process the thinking? Thanks also for splitting the edits by fields rather than all or nothing.
Over all, I like the changes and think they will definitely help the edit process. I just want to suggest two further enhancements for now or maybe for sometime in the future.
I would like to see a third button besides accept or decline. Even though I do my own research when I question an edit, there are times that I just can’t figure out if an edit is correct or not. I’d love to see a way to question the edit before either accepting or declining.
The other thing I noticed is with the bio. As it stands now, you can accept the bio which replaces the existing bio. Usually that will probably be the way it is used but it would also be nice to append the new bio material after the existing bio. For example, if the existing bio has information regarding the person’s parents while the submitted bio has information concerning the person’s marriage. Both pieces of information are valid but you would not want to replace one with the other.
Drop down menu for decline reasons may need to be revamped/expanded to fit some new edit fields.
“Copyrighted material”
“Living survivors mentioned”
“Please send source” (this one would be nice!)
The ability to deny parts of a date edit are nice but I feel there still needs to be a way to fully accept the entire date. You’ve expanded the pending edit x3 for something that might only need to be used 10% of the time.
I like the more concise form of day, month, year without being broken up. If you are going to let someone change the cemetery location, there should at least be a place to put the reason or source for the change. The bio should not be an automatic edit. If I get a list or a bio with grammar and spelling errors in the current system I can edit or change things before posting. It really would be nice for a source location for every edit.
I like the idea of accepting parts of an edit, such as they’ve provided the correct father but messed up the memorial ID number and so the mother is totally incorrect.
What I would like to see is the option of the submitter being able to add some proof, source or explanation for the change. Especially if they want the burial location changed.
I like most of it a lot!
1. I do have some of the same concerns listed above – where can I get info on why they want the cemetery changed? I don’t see a place for the “Suggester” to give me info on why they want a change or where I can request it. I usually don’t need it if that section is blank, but if I’ve researched it, it’s nice to be able to ask for follow up on why the change is being requested.
2. LOVE being able to add a bio without waiting months… but I’d rather it be ADDED TO the info in the bio section that might already be there – not IN PLACE OF what is already there.
Hi Ree,
I really like your suggestions. I was thinking along those lines too.
Alison
Lots of great ideas from contributors and I really hope some /most will be accepted.
For many years we have been asking for some place on memorials to include sources.
The option to accept or decline individual parts of the edit suggestions. – I love this idea.
Suggested changes for more types of memorial data, including gender, burial information, gravesite details and the bio details. – I love most of these ideas, but not changing burial information unless it is changing burial unknown to an actual location include source of information unless there is a photo of the grave marker!!!
Improved search, grouping and sorting options for edits.
A comparison tool for reviewing long text edits. Contributor need to include where they got the information. not only for Bios but other suggestions they make.
“Genealogy without documentation is mythology”
Although I agree that there needs to be a way for a manager to question an edit and have some sort of dialog with the suggester, it should be remembered that Find A Grave is not a genealogy site. It is for identifying burial locations so a person can use that information to visit the grave. All of the rest is nice but it’s just fluff. On a possibly more practical side, I very much doubt that sources will ever be added to memorials. Remember that when Ancestry bought Find A Grave, one of the stipulations was that it remain free. As such, it is an advertising venue for Ancestry and their other sites where sources can be found. I doubt the powers that be are going to encourage giving away free what they can charge for..
Some of the gravesite details appear to be better suited for the description of the cemetery on the main cemetery page. Also, in the inscription field, it is necessary to repeat the name and dates when they are already on the memorial. I thought the inscription field was for what was inscribed other than the name and dates. Overall, the new changes seem good, and will very helpful.