Curators here to assist or ?

If you have a specific profile add sources on the profile and start a discussion with details of what information on the profile you believe is incorrect.

You could tag me into the discussion you started or add a link to the profile or discussion here. I can take a look. If it is out of my area of expertise I can ask another curator to review it.

Is it this discussion https://www.geni.com/discussions/220942 ?

I looked at the discussion and I can’t work out why you are making the statement.

Back in 2020 Daan Botes outlined the steps needed to work out the changes needed. This is quite a reasonable response and normally what would happen is that there would then be a discussion and users would add sources and hopefully an agreement would be reached and changes if necessary would be made.

There was no further comments in the discussion for 2 years until today when you tagged 2 curators not involved in the discussion 2 years ago.

40 minutes later you post this discussion.

Curators are volunteers, not paid staff. They don’t actually “have” to work for Geni users. They can choose what they work on and usually get nothing but abuse as thanks for the hours they volunteer for.

Even though the curator clearly outlined the steps needed going forward, neither the user nor any of the 22 profile managers or 28 followers of the profile responded to the curator in question for 2 years nor added any sources or further information to the profile.

You tagged 2 curators and 6 minutes later posted a complaint about curators.
You then gave curators 40 minutes to respond to you before you posted multiple discussions containing vague complaints about curators.
A curator responded to your initial post 66 minutes after you posted and I responded to this discussion in 42 minutes.
Yet still you complain about curators.

I think you are confusing Geni Support with Volunteer Curators - they are very different.

https://help.geni.com/hc/en-us/articles/229706727-What-are-Curators-
https://help.geni.com/hc/en-us/articles/229706307-How-to-Submit-a-H...

Curators have speciality areas - mine is Australian early convicts and early settlers - so I choose to volunteer in that area. I have no knowledge of medieval times so I choose not to volunteer in that area.

Some curators have language skills and they might choose to volunteer in translation. I have no other language other than English so I choose not to volunteer in translation.

Some curators like killing zombies so they choose to volunteer by monitoring the zombie discussion.

Some curators like creating help projects so they choose to volunteer that way.

We don’t expect thanks for what we choose to do but we also shouldn’t be abused for it. Manners go a long way especially if you are asking someone to do something.

Dr. Wilton McDonald II - Attorney & Barrister - very nice to see kind words for someone, thank you.

Private User - good analysis.

Private - what’s up with you today, you’re like a box of bees! You’ve worked very well with many curators, including me; you know our strengths & our human limitations; you know the Geni system; you know how to escalate; and you know that for any correction, you (anyone) needs specifics.

So lay out what needs to be fixed, on the discussion, then give the curator time to address it. If no response within say a week, tag another curator on the discussion for help.

I’m mortified that a couple of days ago I discovered a 3 year year old request for tech help in my genealogical wheelhouse. The member had even created an external blog & a geni project, and a discussion, he couldn’t have made it an easier to understand. But still - three years before I stumbled on it. I’m just glad that we took the time to extend his work a little bit whilst also fixing.

So, from what I see on Geni, it’s rarely about anything other than needing the time to implement what’s laid out to fix. And that’s if it’s not controversial or requires more research …

Yes, I know you to be quite helpful, and knowledgeable. Ability to volunteer comes & goes. People get busy, or ill, or lose interest, or die, as you know happened recently. So there’s that extra need for gentleness in your area, don’t you think?

We should stay as flat as possible! I’m lost without PRO work, and there are very clever basic members, and curators who don’t interact with members - maybe super tree builders - who are nonetheless backbone of tree. And a couple of curators who may never have touched a profile but are respected genealogists, and helpful on questions, and provide status.

But you’re finding the need for super user rights to open locked fields, etc., I take it? If you’re specific with simple stuff, curators please assist moves along at a good pace.

I do not appreciate the tone or topic of this discussion. It amounts to firing bullets at curators indiscriminately, who are volunteers sharing their time and expertise freely without compensation or any other form of gratification. It unfairly casts suspicion and is unkind in the extreme towards curators who function here in good faith.

     >   I am very frustrated.

As a curator we also get frustated as members who do not reply to e mails etc. I have set up a number of tree merges where a family has beeen entered twice. I am not allowed to use a curator overide to make the merge. Some of those merges have been waiting for a number of years.

Frustating is cleaning up a mess created by someine too quick to start a merge and find out they are different familys. The name of two family profiles match but the rest of the family are all different.

Frustrating is not being able to clean up a half done tre merge. The father and mother have been merged, but the children and grandchildren all show up twice Gni users not paying attention.

Howard

Private you have a poor memory: I actually agreed with you on the discussion you are quoting: https://www.geni.com/discussions/254930?msg=1587476

You have just confirmed my point, and I have no more to contribute to your little battle.

you gave me a lecture how Graaf van den Berg had an hereditary title being a descendant of Graaf van den Berg.

Nothing lnks Van den Berge SV/Prog in SA to the Graaf van den Berge in Netherlands just your mind Herman Booysen. Also no sources for that.

Correct. And after exchanging messages with you and researching the matter, I changed my opinion and agreed with you. How that might be offensive, is beyond my understanding.

I agreed with you regarding the lack of proof of ancestry and purported title of that profile then, as I still do now. Reminder: I did not add any information or links to the profile, nor have I ever been a manager of curator of it. My sole contributions were to remove previous bad merges and to lock it to avoid more mistakes. I recommend that you contact the profile's current manager(s) and/or curator if you need specialised assistance.

    >     Why this opposition when you try yoo correct wrong information and add correct   

     >   information from curators on geni.

Someone complained to Geni management about Curators fixing / making changes and merges to private profiels. In turn management has blocked curators from making some changes, unless we log in a temporary override with an explanation of what is being done.

This is like the 55 MPH highway speed limit a few years back, you dont like it, but learn to live with it.

I’m going to answer you as one of the first 25 curators. My expectations and volunteer work has not changed much in 12 years, although my interest areas may vary.

Are many Curators not aware of what they volunteered for ?

We’re all aware and signed a contract.

Do ordinary users on Gen! expect too much from Curators ?

Perhaps some do.

Who locks unlocks profiles or fields on profiles? Curators or Geni Support?

Curators, not geni support. Curators are available through the “curators please assist” discussion as well as profile discussion, projects, contact manager, and geni mail. Responses vary. Availability of individuals vary.

Who assist with bad mergers ? Curators or Geni Support?

Curators, not geni support.

Are Curators allowed to block everything that criticize their own behavior.

That’s a facetious question. We are certainly entitled and in fact encouraged not to interact if we chose not to.

Oh boy. Your snit is degrading your social skills. Really not worth it for a single locked field or whatever.

Private I have not disagreed with Erica at all.

Erica --Very obvious Leann disagree with you . She also blocks any critisism of her or sharing her strange version of the truth .

No, I agree with Leann. I don’t tolerate abusive language, or name calling; nor should anyone, ever.

No one needs to respond, Phillip, except for paid staff. So if there’s a complaint about anyone or anything, contact geni support. Discussions are meant for genealogy, not “personal” criticism.

Help here offered like Mao's Cultural revolution -- net n slap riem .

That’s abusive language to me.

Shew Phillipp. You make it hard to respond to your accusations - and figure out

1. which we should take on board,
2. and which Geni should take on board,
3. and which are just the down-sides of crowdsourcing data. (Which we all know is the corollary of all the up sides)

- because we're starting to only hear your tone.

[And this from the Curator who is well known for calling a spade a spade, so if I'm pointing it out, things are getting really hot in the kitchen :-)]

Your accusations about geni and us are not irrelevant. You are being heard by us. We will start a discussion where curators talk about what we are able to do to help a user we know is working from primary documentation to improve the tree, who gets this frustrated. It will take a week or two, but we will post back to you what the Curators think we can do, here, or on a new discussions where everybody doesn't feel so hurt.

But re-read the conversation above, taking into account, that the people who are answering you here are amongst the most hardworking Curators on geni - and you might hear us trying to defend ourselves as doing our best, not negate or insult you. We all want exactly the kind of Pro user you are - a hard-working, careful, source-documenter - on our tree. It would be the poorer without you. Please stop yelling at the people who like you.