Ethics of ONS stickers

Question

Someone raised a question (not here, not me!) that I thought would be interesting to clarify.

Sticker guidelines https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Help:Stickers say.
They should not be placed by someone who does not actively follow the profile and who has not otherwise contributed to it, unless they communicate with the Profile Manager before or when the Sticker is placed.
Stickers can be removed by any contributor to the profile. They should not be added back without communicating with this contributor.
Stickers should not be included if any contributor does not want them there.

So is it acceptable to add ONS stickers without consultation to someone's managed profile? I couldn't see any guidelines on the ONS pages. Also some of these stickers include the category, so removing them would delete the category?

Edit, of course since  Iposted the question, I see it has been discussed before - I did a thorough search, honest!

Comments

From all this ONS stuff, I conclude that PM's own profiles and that the day I get annoyed at someone adding a sticker to one or more of my profiles, is the day I should say WT is not for me.

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Profile managers do not own profiles, not even our own.  We / they manage them, which allows us / them to (mostly) have the last word in what is added in the way of stickers and some other images.
If someone has been a major contributor to a profile, they get to have a certain amount of say as well.

While I was not exactly annoyed (more surprised, really), I have removed at least one ONS sticker from a profile I manage - because I deemed it inappropriate.  (There had been a name change, and adding that profile to a such a study would not advance the knowledge in any way.)

Some folk thoroughly dislike stickers, and never add them.  Other folk really like them, and add as many as they are allowed (3 to 5 for deceased ancestors).  Many members decorate their profiles with scads of stickers, which is something allowed to members.
Adding stickers to profiles with active managers should probably be done after consultation, lest that particular manager is one who dislikes such adornments.
"Drive-by" stickering should never be done.

For me, stickers or no stickers, it's not something I would wave goodbye over.  But everyone's milage varies. 

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"We/They manage them, which allows us/ them to (mostly) have the last word in what is added in the way of stickers and some other images..." Sounds like ownership to me.

Ok I just came across a profile with a surname of a ONS I manage and instead of placing a ONS sticker on the profile, I messaged the PM/Owner of the profile. And of course I dont know if that person knows anything about ONS so I had to explain how the ONS works and what it entails. So I guess I'll do this with each PM/Owner that I come across. I think for PM/Owners who do not want stickers on their profiles that they manage, they should have something that says on the profile "No Stickers Allowed" because I won't remember who I asked and who doesn't like stickers.

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I myself am a Project Manager of an ONS Project, and instead of bothering Profile Managers with adding ONS Stickers, I just add the ONS in the category, making everyone happy

Answer 1

I may be an outlier in this area, but I question the whole idea of adding an ONS sticker on every single profile with the last name. I don't understand why someone would sticker, just to sticker, without some overarching goal within the ONS itself to do so.

For example, I would place a sticker on the top level ancestor with the last name who is not connected to the rest of the family tree. This is to help identify, and categorize, those with the last name who need connecting. But I would not sticker any of that person's descendants (known and already connected).

WT already offers views of surname lists (and I really like the table view) of people with the same surname. I use this if I want to see everyone who has the same surname. I don't need to put a sticker on everyone and have them in the same category. Doing that serves no goals that I have in my ONS.

But again, that's just me. I'm sure there are others with differing views.

Comments

Integration is definitely the way forward. But a relational database is so yesterday. Just give me a sentient AI for my One-Name Study. By the way, a One-Name Study not only addresses every instance (globally) of a surname, but also every instance of its variants.

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What I said has nothing to do with the DBMS type. And your AI is only as good as your test data. GIGO.

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A ONS sticker highlights the important piece of information that a community of people with interest in that surname exists on WikiTree.

This alone might be a reason why a ONS sticker would be valuable on a profile, as it can draw in readers of that profile into the name study free space page where additional information can be found about the study and how others might contribute.

Many ONS study coordinators are also running a Y-DNA project and would hope to potentially put on the sticker as “cousin-bait” with a stronger visual cue than just a category text at the bottom of the profile page.

Funnily enough, it was a ONS sticker on a profile that got me interested in the idea of an ONS through the underpinning ONS page. It was the reason for me to be joining WikiTree and later registering an ONS study with the guild of one name studies.

Therefore, as a name study coordinator one would usually be very grateful when profile managers would accept the request of adding a sticker onto a profile within the scope of the study.

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@Sven: fair enough. Those are good reasons.

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Eric,

Correct.

What do you think is the best way to implement data analysis on WT which facilitates drawing the type of conclusions required for a ONS?

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@Alan: currently there is no single way of doing an ONS. An ONS does not impose any kind of requirements. One would first have to consider what kinds of data analysis might be done in an ONS, before considering the best way to implement it.

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It should be intuitively obvious that a ONS requires at a minimum:

1) Surnames.

2) People using surnames over time.

3) Data pertaining to those people.

4) A study which collects, examines, and draws valid and sound conclusions about, that data, and is published.

So, the proposition, a "ONS does not impose any kind of requirements" is patently false.

WT's One Name Studies Project refers to the Guild of One-Name Studies regarding the nature, scope, and components of a One Name Study.

One Name Study Stickers contribute to the publicity and data collection components of a One Name Study.

Of course, different students of a surname may have different objectives. So, the type(s) of data they collect, analyze, and synthesize may be different. Accordingly, methods of collection, analysis, and synthesis may also be expected to vary.

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#4 is the stickler. I agree with the first 3. Yes, the general scope of an ONS is derived from what the definition of an ONS is. But it does not impose specific goals, which are left up to the individual researcher. One can gather data. But with out a research question, or a theory to test, it's just a collection of data. That is what I am referring to. Many One Name Studies that I have seen here don't have a list of goals, or what they are studying the data for. To me, that is the great tragedy. Otherwise, it's just activity for the sake of activity.

I concede the point that the stickers can contribute to the publicity of the One Name Study. After reading other peoples' responses here I see how that can be useful. If the stickers also contribute to data collection via categorization, so be it. I would just like to see most studies actually do something with that data to serve a genealogical end goal. 

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I agree with the need for goals.  For the Rowland One name Study, the goals/mission is stated clearly at the top:

Our Mission: To cross-reference (Xref) every Rowland Y-DNA test-taker to their descendant trees, and to be a center-of-competence for genealogy research related to the Rowland surname (and its variants).

Where descendant trees are maintained on WikiTree and Y-DNA test-takers are in the FTDNA Rowland Project.

https://rowlandgenealogy.com/

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That's excellent, Ron!  I wish you the best of luck! DNA studies take a lot of time and patience.

Answer 2

In light of the sticker rules, I think it makes a lot more sense for ONS projects to use the appropriate ONS category on profiles rather than an ONS sticker.

Comments

That sounds like a viable alternative.

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But Sven made a compelling case for stickers above.

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And if a profile already has 5 stickers?
(Despite some arguing that it is technically feasible because members are allowed unlimited stickers, and that the "should not have more than 5, 3 is better" allows for more than 5 stickers on ancestor profiles because it is not a hard and fast "must not have".)

Answer 3

Wow, this is really an interesting topic for me! While working on a new ONS I did add stickers...everywhere. One, because I thought we were suppose to, and secondly, as a way to try to contact researchers who might be interested but were unaware of the ONS. Fortunately, this is not a common name so it is a relatively small group in comparison to most names. I had actually wondered what was done with those larger groups. Now I'm wondering if I should go back and delete those stickers or if that would be irritating for some?!?

I am actively working on any and all profiles of this name, adding to the existing ones and adding new profiles.

I also thought the stickers made it easy for folks to click on to jump to the study page. I do that quite often as the study page has an associated free-page that is used as a holding spot for findings of this name not yet placed on a profile page. I use that quite often to store items I run across, don't want to lose, and don't want to get side-tracked by, LOL. 

Kind of confused now. Maybe I'll just coast on this and wait to see what happens. I appreciate reading the thoughts on this.

Comments

Hi Linda, 

Here are some of my thoughts on all this.

Like you, I manage an ONS (actually a few of them) where the surname is not that common. In many instances I have been the only one who has any interest in it, and certainly the only one working on them. I started these One Name Studies with "open eyes" and the expectation that I would be the only one working on it. But also that I would commit to actively working on them, and not abandoning them, as so many do. If any collaboration does happen then I look upon that as a happy accident and in grateful for it. In other words, I keep my expectations for collaboration extremely low. Why? Because awareness that something exists usually does not translate into active help on something. 

This comes from decades of my own  experience working on Open Source software projects. There is this type of "funnel" of "users to developers". There will always be more people interested in your project and using it. Less people who are interested in helping on the project, even less who have the skills to help, even less people who have the time to help, and even less people willing to commit to helping. It helps to adopt the attitude that if you want something done, then do it yourself. The idea of "build it, and they will come" really only works in Hollywood movies. Now, having said that, there's nothing inherently wrong with a bit of advertising. But again, keep expectations low.

Then there is the ONS itself. There are many out there that have very little in the way of a project page, nor any kind of overarching focus. In other words, many do not have any goals for what their study is trying to achieve. If there are no goals to focus on then many projects (in my opinion) devolve into stickering profiles for lack of anything else to do. To me that is activity without a purpose. As above, if I'm going to be the only one working on these things, then I need to make sure to make my time and work effective. When I work on these projects I know why I'm doing the work. It's the clarity of having a purpose.

I have been lucky in that I have 2-3 other "active" collaborators on the same number of One Name Studies. Even then, the work is still sporadic. We all chip away at them from time to time. I'm thankful for that amount of help.

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Thanks for the reply, Eric, and the advice! I took a peak at your Weddington page. Very nice! I can see you have put a ton of thought and effort into it. While I have some ideas of my own for projects I'd like to see done, it is nice to see what others are doing to get ideas to enhance that.

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Thank you too! I have borrowed ideas from others as well. I'm always looking for ways to improve.

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I have been very lucky with good collaborators to help with our ONS.  We put ONS stickers on all profiles with the study surname and spouces.  I think people like to see the ONS sticker on their profiles.  The categories help us watch where the people move and also show us the other surnames that are connected with our surname in that area.  That's important, because we have quite a few of our lines that do not know where they came from.  We also plan to do some descendancy stickers telling that some ancestor in their line migrated from England during the Great Migration.  I think people will really like seeing these stickers and the info that comes from seeing it, making them proud of their ancestry.  We have also just started a list of those that migrated from one country to another on our ONS main page.  

I'd like to also publically thank all our ONS members that have actively worked on this study and their profiles.

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Not all people like them though, hence the question. Surely ONS organisers would have a better response if they approached profile managers first and encouraged them to have an interest in the project? Just to have a sticker suddenly appear on one of your family can be quite a surprise.

Answer 4

I manage some ONS sub-Projects and suffered indiscriminate stickering.

As Little is not uncommon, and very common in the Anglo-Scottish borders, the sub projects have limited scope (e.g. by county, or even parish) and in particular in time (e.g. only before 1851)

I don’t even find using a specific ONS category very helpful.

Stickers or categories may be useful just for the actively researched ‘roots' of unconnected branches.

So I agree with the guidelines and have not found 'helpful stickering' helpful.

Answer 5

This is a great question, Gill.  Thank you for raising it (even if it's been discussed before).  Prior to taking on the leadership of the One Name Studies Project, I co-ordinated two studies and at that time, stickers were to be used for profiles under active study only.

Since then, sticker usage has evolved and there is no documentation that I'm aware of that says you can't use the sticker on every profile in your study.  There are, however, other style rules that apply.

ONS Stickers are very rarely objected to, but if a Profile Manager did object, it would be expected that the sticker be removed.

The key to a One Name Study is the category usage.  Grouping profiles in specific Name Study categories allows a researcher to collect, review analyze and produce conclusions about the surname they are studying.  Stickers are great for quickly identifying whether a profile has been included in a study or not, but they are not essential.

I hope that helps.

Answer 6

I generally don't add "McCool ONS" stickers to profiles in my McCool study - but I'm starting to create McCool ONS categories down to the county level.  Because this is a relatively small profile population (currently about 1,000 WikiTree profiles), I am including people in the county categories for any significant life event. We have a lot of relationship knowledge gaps (especially 1770-1850) that I hope this will help address.

That tactic wouldn't make sense for a major surname like Lewis or Davis.

Answer 7

For the three One Name Studies I manage, I ask people to add a sticker only to the head of a line (that is, the oldest known person with that surname in that family line). And, for myself, I only add it to profiles that I manage myself, or to orphaned profiles. At some point, I may go through and ask profile managers of other profiles for heads of lines for permission to add the sticker to those profiles, but up to now, I just haven't had time to do that.

Answer 8

As stated a few times one way or another in the various instances of this topic being discussed: "The Guild of One-Name Studies has been at this a while--44 years, in fact--and a core principle for them is that a ONS undertake exploration of "all occurrences of a surname, as opposed to a particular pedigree (ancestors of one person) or descendancy (descendants of one person or couple).""

I administer the DNA project for my surname, and have a number of sub-studies within my surname ONS. One is the spouse study, and the sticker for that adds the category which, as far as I am aware, is the only method to create a list of the surnames that have married members of my surname. I have become particularily interested in pedigree collapse occurances and double-in-law and other interesting events which may affect DNA inheritance.

Being required to ask for "permission" to add an ONS sticker does not constitute a major, or even a minor, change to a profile which I believe is the criteria the guidelines give for when permission is required ("change" in this instance defined as altering existing information). It also flies into the principle that profiles are not owned by profile managers.

If a PM wants to remove a ONS sticker for my project, I would hope they would replace it with the appropriate ONS category, or ask me to and I'm happy to do so. That said I've seen as many complaints (more actually) about the number of categories on profiles than I have about ONS stickers. Not everybody can be satisfied. 

Comments

It wouldn't be required, but it would be polite.

Also, be careful to not change some other data like Current Last Name on wives of somone with the ONS surname should not be changed unless you have documentation that says it should be changed. There was a recent case of that where along with the ONS Category being added, the women's Current Last Name was changed for Acadian women. Same would apply in Québec.

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That would be a major change, which per the Honor Code requires collaboration. To the best of my memory I haven't made any changes to anyone's Current Last Name, and my ONS Spouse sticker only adds the category, no other changes.

Does everyone ask permission to add sources to profiles? I've been on WikiTree for a while now and I don't run out of fingers when counting how many people have asked for my permission to make changes to the profiles I manage in all of that time and I don't recall ever being asked permission to add sources, and I'm pretty confidant I'm not an anomaly in that regard. Adding sources isn't changing any information, just adding to what is existing. I don't need/require/want anyone to seek my permission to add them either, seems like a huge drain on time and energy to have to ask permission for each and every profile. ONS stickers are no different.

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I only mentioned it because major vs minor seems to be viewed differently by different people.

As to adding sources, some people do ask permission, especially if the PM is active. There have been a few of those type changes where I wish I had been asked but that isn't common.