How do I get the location picker fixed and get a global error corrected by Editbot? [closed]

Question

The drop down location picker lists a New Zealand location as Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. The Data Doctor suggestion report correctly says it should be Hawke’s Bay with an apostrophe.

1. Could the location picker be amended to Hawke’s Bay, please? (with the apostrophe)

2. Could the Editbot be run to change all the Hawkes Bay locations to Hawke’s Bay to fix a huge number of errors, please?

Update for members with an NZ interest: I’m feeling a bit stumped. I’m sure we’d all like the correct spelling of Hawke’s Bay. Please comment below on how we could achieve this, especially if you’re a data doctor.

Final update: I received an email from FamilySearch this morning to see the placename has been amended to Hawke’s Bay. I note too that both spellings are now accepted by WikiTree and are no longer causing “suggestions”.

Comments

If by location picker you mean the list of places that pops up when you start entering a name - that's family search, and I doubt they would be willing to correct it.  I don't use the dropdown because it's usually a modern placename, not accurate to what it was (or what the documents claim it was).

The "trick" would be to convince people to either not use the dropdown, or double-check the place name for accuracy if they use the dropdown.

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Melanie, NZ place names are tricky in terms of historical accuracy. I’m almost getting to the point of just putting things like Napier, New Zealand as there is only one. Currently I’m doing a few profiles from a place called Carterton. A death appears in the “Wairarapa Age”, the local paper, Therefore, Carterton, Wairarapa.....but the probate says Carterton is Wellington. Yes, I could put, Carterton, Wairarapa, Wellington, but it’s post-1876 when the provinces were disestablished, but the court districts appear to stay the same for many years. It does my head in!!

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You can go to FamilySearch's place database and suggest a correction if you are logged in: https://www.familysearch.org/research/places/

Answer 1

The NZ Geographic Board's New Zealand Gazetteer (an official Government publication) confirms that "Hawke's Bay" (with the apostrophe) is the appropriate spelling for the province.

Interestingly, the official name of the actual body of water is Hawke Bay (no "s").

Named for Edward Hawke, First Lord of the Admiralty (1766-1771).

Comments

I checked Nic, when the name appeared on the suggestion report. I’m probably guilty of not knowing there was an apostrophe.

Answer 2

Hum mixed feelings about this. The index is the top bit! Unfortunately called the profile by people, It is the way the computer matches. Consistent spelling of locations ensures efficient searches and hence merging. At the moment Wikitree doesn't have that. I now do most of my genealogy in two steps. Searching on and forming the family groups on Family Search always using the family search location dropdowns never anything else. The results are remarkable. I have now changed all my profiles on Family Search to be consistent. The transformation in the number of resulting hits and records found was well worth the effort. While I am sure that the apostrophe is correct if nearly all are spelt the other way should it be changed? Any new profiles added will obviously be without it as will searching. As I transfer to Wikitree, which is much more stable than Family Search I remove anything likely to hinder a search and put it in the biography, where it should be. Remember all we ever do is search for clues the easier we make it the better. Often the wider the search the more likely you are to find things. How often when searching for someone in a village entering the biggest nearby conurbation yields a result especially on a census return. The scribe has probably never heard of the place and then asks "Where is that near".

Comments

Chris, I’d be surprised if anyone searches directly for Hawke’s Bay or Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, either on FamilySearch or WikiTree. Hawke’s Bay is a large region like a state in New Zealand. There is a disconnect between the FamilySearch locations and the Suggestions report. I’d like both fixed ideally to the official correct spelling. I’m happy for either spelling, but we’re trying to be accurate here, aren’t we?

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And there I was thinking we were trying to build a One World Tree, aren't we? Oops nearly forgot the apostrophe then.

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Chris, this isn’t me being picky about an apostrophe. It’s about having to fix ongoing errors thrown up by the Suggestions report which are caused by an incorrect FamilySearch location picker. I’m just trying to save myself (and anyone else with Hawke’s Bay profiles) extra and unnecessary work. Thanks to Jamie’s suggestion above, there may be a workable solution.

Answer 3

Which suggestion are you getting? I am not sure, what you are referring to.

If it is 6x8 that was not intentional.

From the spelling variations https://wikitree.sdms.si/default.htm?report=ana2&Location=hawke%27s+bay

hawke's bay

413

770

99

1282

 

hawkes bay

1944

3336

394

5674

It is usually used without the apostrofe. I can corrected the suggestion to accept both spellings. Here is the new country table for NZ.

https://wikitree.sdms.si/function/WTShowTable/Table.htm?table=Countries&filter=NZL

Comments

As a former resident of Wairoa, NZ I can confirm that the official spelling is Hawke's Bay but that most people omit the apostrophe. So, having both available is a good idea.

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We can't get the migration CIB to work with Hawke's Bay..is this part of the problem, Aleš?

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668 and 638 Aleš. See my suggestions. Personally, I don’t mind either spelling. Let’s see if other New Zealanders comment and then deciding might be easier.

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Our existing categories for the location have the 's. I've only ever spelt that way. Definitely got confused when I saw that suggestion emerge.

Don't go down the route of using both spelling variations, this will lead to a secondary category with the alternative spelling and therein a host of duplicated categories which will confuse a lot of people down the track

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Richard, I haven’t even thought about categories. This was just data location errors.

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I know, I was just thinking ahead to "what could happen next"

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Aleš, I don’t know how the Editbot or a global fix works. Is it possible and easy for you to change all the Hawkes Bay to the correct Hawke’s Bay with the apostrophe spelling and make this the official spelling on WikiTree?

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Editbot doesn\t correct fields at all. Just the Biography.

You can use WikiTree+ to make it easyer to correct both fields.

https://wikitree.sdms.si/default.htm?report=srch4&Find=Hawkes+Bay%2C+New+Zealand&Replace=Hawke%27s+Bay%2C+New+Zealand&SortOrder=Default&PageSize=10

You get the Correct button, that can correct both fields on the profile.

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Thanks Aleš. There is obviously not a quick fix and it looks like it will be an ongoing issue given that the location dropdown menu will continue to give the incorrect spelling.

Answer 4

Suggestions for getting Hawke’s Bay spelt accurately.