RootsChat.Com
General => The Common Room => Topic started by: Cockneyrebel on Monday 01 February 21 13:45 GMT (UK)
-
Has anyone noticed that Ancestry has updated their tree search hints system such that now you have to go 1 step further than before to see the record you want? I have complained to their Irish call centre.
It seems to me that programmers run Ancestry and not researchers as they are clueless as to what is needed by a researcher; they've already messed up the message system!
Apparently, they've never heard of the expression 'if it ain't broke don't mend it'.
Cr
-
There have been lots of complaints about this on their facebook page.
-
Personally. I think it is a complete mess & unnecessarily complicated.
-
Not sure if this is related to the hint changes, but has anyone else found that if you use '&' in the comments box for a person in the family tree, once you leave that person then go back to them, Ancestry has changed the '&' to '&'? Goodness knows how many '&' I have in the tree so will all them now say '&', and are we forced to type 'and' in full at the behest of an Ancestry whim? :(
-
Has anyone noticed that Ancestry has updated their tree search hints system such that now you have to go 1 step further than before to see the record you want? I have complained to their Irish call centre.
It seems to me that programmers run Ancestry and not researchers as they are clueless as to what is needed by a researcher; they've already messed up the message system!
Apparently, they've never heard of the expression 'if it ain't broke don't mend it'.
Cr
I wasn't aware of that but as I only took out a suscription last month maybe I missed the old method.
Agree that they should ask people who are doing research before making changes
-
Not sure if this is related to the hint changes, but has anyone else found that if you use '&' in the comments box for a person in the family tree, once you leave that person then go back to them, Ancestry has changed the '&' to '&'? Goodness knows how many '&' I have in the tree so will all them now say '&', and are we forced to type 'and' in full at the behest of an Ancestry whim? :(
& is standard computer-speak - nothing to do with Ancestry per se ;D
Some characters don't transfer between different encoding systems (EBCDIC, ANSI, etc), so this is a work around.
From my time in IT, I believe it's mainly a limitation of mainframe computer systems?
Or it's because the "&" character has a special meaning within HTML, and has to be replaced with "&" to avoid systems crashing.
The ampersand character is one of the suspect characters :D
-
& is standard computer-speak - nothing to do with Ancestry per se
How come it's only just happened now after years of it being ok? Just thought it was a bit of coincidence that it happens in the trees at the same time hints get changed for the worse. Perhaps it wasn't intentional but it's still annoying.
-
I use a separate ft program to hold my tree as I don't altogether trust Ancestry with it. This means that I can upload a gedcom as necessary.
Cr
-
The changes to the hints so it shows up on the right side of the page were, at first, very annoying because when I clicked Yes, I then seemed to have to work within that very small area to make my changes, additions, etc.
After a few frustrating hours, I simply clicked on the document link at the top of the hint 'screen' and was immediately taken to the more familiar 'screen' to add the information, pretty much as usual. I'm sure others have discovered this 'workaround', but just wanted to leave this here in case others haven't.
Cheers all, from a very frosty, locked down, Toronto!
Ms_C
-
That's what I do too, but it still involves an extra click, which is annoying!
-
ms_canuck I don't understand what you're doing to what is expected with this new 'daft' hint system? I don't add the hints to the Ancestry tree necessarily but to my tree program.
Cr
-
Usually when an online website makes changes, it's either to keep up with the latest technology, or it has changed owners.
I see from wikipedia that a new company has invested in the company. Clicking on the link to the new company, it seems it is also linked to life expectancy companies.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancestry.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blackstone_Group
In 2007, Blackstone acquired Alliant Insurance Services, an insurance brokerage firm. The company was sold to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts in 2012
-
Seems to me that it doesn't matter who takes them over, they still keep the original staff so that instead of concentrating on stuff that is broken, like the counties of the UK, they make researching worse, especially the message system and the new hint system. looks like the same idiot programmers have never researched their own trees!
Cr
-
Don't blame the programmers! ;D
They are simply working to instructions from Business Analysts or Management.
(from an ex-programmer ;D)
-
Yes I agree seems likely that by adding this superfluous step Ancestry wants us to take more time to do our research and thus increase their takings!
Cr
-
ms_canuck I don't understand what you're doing to what is expected with this new 'daft' hint system? I don't add the hints to the Ancestry tree necessarily but to my tree program.
Cr
I don't have a tree program, just Ancestry (and a few other non sub sites), that's all. :)
Anyways, when I logged in today, the new 'daft' hint system is no more! So a storm in a teacup methinks.
Cheers
Ms_C
-
Yes, the daft system has been removed-presumably they heard our comments as well as those on social media.
However, I don't trust them with my tree and use an FT program and upload a Gedcom to the site now and again.
Cr