Data Doctor Challenge of the Week: Correct simple errors in reference tags (April 2023)

Question

Hi WikiTreers,

Will you join our "Data Doctors" Challenge of the week?

This is an easy one to participate in, once you know how reference tags work, i.e.:

1. A footnote needs to start with <ref> and end with </ref>.
2. There needs to be a <references /> tag directly below the == Sources == headline for the footnotes to display.

Using these tags is confusing for "Newts." It's very frustrating for new members when a tag is missing or misplaced and they can't figure out why footnotes aren't appearing.

Once again, Aleš has come up with something incredibly helpful. He's prepared a report of profiles from around the tree where a reference tag appears to be misplaced.

Click here for the list.

Can you help fix them? 

If you're participating, please post here to let us know. It's nice to cheer each other on. Or post if you have any questions about how to participate.

Thanks for helping!

Comments

Challenge is active.

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I'd like to suggest that the WT initial welcome emails and help topics make it much clearer that there is a really, really simple way to do inline citations.

I looked at all the instructions and got overwhelmed.

Out of curiosity I pressed the C button in edit mode (and then I understood the required format).

So copy your citation to the end of the sentence it relates, highlight your citation, press the C button, job done 

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I'm on board.  Thanks.

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I'd like to suggest that the profiles that are completed be removed from the list automatically, much like the suggestions list I see for my relatives. When I refresh the page, all the suggestions I fixed are no longer there. I have found plenty of ref tag profiles to fix but I've spent too much time looking at the status to see if they have been fixed and many of them have. Refreshing the page doesn't remove those that are finished.

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Those reports are prepared ona a weekly bases. If you are working by the list, first click the Status button to see if the suggestion was already corrected this week. If you come to a few corrected suggestions in a row, skip a few pages or go to next page.

Also when on a profile and you can't quickly find a problem, check if it was edited in the last week. Problem could already be corrected without setting the suggestion's status.

You can also use WikiTree Plus to search for uncorrected suggestions. For example: https://plus.wikitree.com/default.htm?report=err6&Query=&ErrorID=863

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It doesn't appear to be updated weekly. As an example, the ref tag problem was fixed at https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Purvis-2254 April 4 but is still the first on the list for that group. But, your WikiTree + link is current. Thank you.

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I think you are looking at the challenge report. It is prepared only once at the beggining of the challenge.

This challenge is already over.

Answer 1

yes, count me in!

Answer 2

I'll work on some of these this week!

Answer 3

Will be doing some of those, as I often do anyway, challenge of the week or not.

Answer 4

Count me in for this one.

Steph

Answer 5

Will work on some this week.

Answer 6

I'll do some more. Sometimes they're easy enough and other times, they're more challenging than they look!

Comments

you are so right - one profile had line breaks added to each section within a reference so it was really hard to see what was going on. And there were four references!

Answer 7

I’m game to try! Still new to using G2G but have had lots of experience with html.

Answer 8

Yes, you can count me in.

Answer 9

I will work on these too :)

Answer 10

Hi. I'll participate

Answer 11

I've already done some

Answer 12

Can I join even though I am not a Data Doctor?

Answer 13

I want to help. How do I participate?

Comments

Ralph, click on the link in the post: "Click here for the list". The Suggestion report open, then click on a number to get a list of offending profiles.  Clear as mud?

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Thanks. Too simple. Already started.

Answer 14

I'll work on some.

Answer 15

I'm in again.

Answer 16

Not a "Data Doctor," but I'd love to help as time allows!

Answer 17

I'm in.  I'm going to work on clearing out the small number boxes,

Larry

Answer 18

I'm in.

I've noticed that the new way of generating a profile actually causes most of these problems.

I've just created some new profiles today and they automatically generate the following:

== Biography ==

== Sources ==

<references />

*Mary Jane Galt Proctor was born 24 Apr 1884 in Doagh to John Proctor and Mary Jane Galt.<ref>https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/birth_returns/births_1884/02694/1991947.pdf</ref> She Married Thomas Esler 4 Dec 1911 in Ballylinny.<ref>https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_returns/marriages_1911/09962/5622050.pdf</ref>

I had to manually correct it to:

== Biography ==

Mary Jane Galt Proctor was born 24 Apr 1884 in Doagh to John Proctor and Mary Jane Galt.<ref>https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/birth_returns/births_1884/02694/1991947.pdf</ref> She Married Thomas Esler 4 Dec 1911 in Ballylinny.<ref>https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_returns/marriages_1911/09962/5622050.pdf</ref>

== Sources ==

<references />

*

Comments

Hi Valerie. If you use Advanced Option for Sources (Text Editing) this will not happen.

You can turn the option on at the top of the final screen when creating a profile, or at

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Special:Settings#Misc

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I know how to turn it off, but other people obviously do not, in fact other people may not realise that it's incorrect.

Answer 19

I'm on board.  Thanks.

Answer 20

I'm helping. While this sounds simple, I have a habit of fixing every profile I come across. I can't just navigate away from other problems so I add inline source citations, add sources, improve bio, do GEDCOM cleanup, fix facts, etc.

This never quite as quick as it seems. :-)

I'm not even a Data Doctor but perhaps I should be.