Why is there no "Explain your changes" box for one to record one's reason(s) for altering marriage details?

+40 votes
326 views
There is an inconsistency in Wikitree's requirements to provide a reason or reasons for making editorial changes to data. On the main profile page, one is asked to "explain your changes", whereas no such requirement is asked if one edits the marriage details page. This is an inconsistency that ought to be addressed by adding the requirement to do the same to the latter. What do others think?
in WikiTree Tech by Living Criddington G2G6 (8.1k points)
retagged by Robin Lee
I totally agree. As a work around, you have to open in edit mode to get to the change marriage data, which opens on a new page.  Before you close the original edit page, you can add your "explain your changes" there. It doesn't show up in conjunction, but at least you've recorded it.
I agree, there should be an explanation for changes to that information, except possibly for the very first addition of marriage info.
What Anne B recommends is what I do also.
It's also what I do when editing parents where you also don't get an option to explain the edit.

3 Answers

+13 votes

Suggested change WIkiTree: 

  1. Add a text box to add a comment on the marriage page
  2. Save the logfile so it appears in both the wife and husband change logs
We have the same problem with Free space pages that has no place to add a change comment 
by Living Sälgö G2G6 Pilot (299k points)
+6 votes

Since we are suppose to put in a "note" or say something about the changes we make with a reference, I put the "note" or info in the bio, add the reference, put in the explain box, Add the marriage info and reference, save it, then go back and edit the marriage information...if you put a explain the change box in the marriage portion, I would be concerned that people won't put in the "note" and reference, leaving the profile manager to try to find where they editor found their information. I don't know about everyone else, but any changes made to the profiles I manage, I always make sure what they put in is a valid change with the appropriate reference (those little "citation needed" flags bug me, and I feel it's kind of rude to just make the change without including the info and reference in the bio, because it creates more work for the profile manager who may not have access to what you found on Ancestry.com or the others, so how are they suppose to cite the reference (if that's where you found it). Just my opinion based on my own experience with the profiles I manage.

(Please forgive any typos in this answer, I'm tired)

by T Counce G2G6 Mach 7 (74.0k points)
+3 votes
Relationships are a crucial aspect of genealogy, perhaps the most crucial. Adding support for adding reasons for changes to relationships, be they marriages or parent-child events, will help us to ensure that these important connections are as accurate as possible.

While a few people have developed work-arounds, most of us probably haven't. I fully support an effort to add this functionality.
by Pamela Lloyd G2G6 Mach 4 (42.6k points)

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