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Profiles with "Unknown", "No se" etc in name fields

Project Tags

Many profiles has name fields occupied with terms that mean "no data". Usually it is because you cannot save a new profile without filling the name fields. Sometimes the user feels he has to put something everywhere. Sometimes he wants to be able to search for these profiles later on (but in fact, these values stay for good...).

Such common terms are:

  • Unknown
  • No se

The naming conventions in Geni Wiki say you should use non-language specific value, such as ? (question mark). Personally, I prefer empty fields - it does not conflict on match with profile with the missing data, and it does not require data conflict resolution after merge.

Try searching for first name = "Unknown", or "No se", and same for surname or birth surname, and you'll be impressed by the frequency of this case.