1939 - At last! TNA explain why references removed

[davidft]

Seems they have also updated error correction times. Do they EVER think things through?

It  has gone from 36-72 hours to 6wks 

A sign of how many errors have been found maybe ?  I know when i took advantage of the free searches a few years ago they got all five requests wrong in the first instance. Maybe a sign of how bad the writing is on some records (they later got them all right after I explained where the places were geographically)

I am dismayed that FindMyPast were forced to remove the reference from the preview screen in the first place.

Guy

OK i think you can stop over egging this now Guy. I have read all the "discussions" you have had with people over this and I think you are being obsessive and not doing your cause any good, and that is from someone who largely agrees with you on the issue

[Parmesan]

Seems they have also updated error correction times. Do they EVER think things through?

It  has gone from 36-72 hours to 6wks 

A sign of how many errors have been found maybe ?  I know when i took advantage of the free searches a few years ago they got all five requests wrong in the first instance. Maybe a sign of how bad the writing is on some records (they later got them all right after I explained where the places were geographically)

No doubt. They are still claiming 98.5% accuracy though. I do wish they would treat us as intelligent life forms 

[Guy Etchells]

Surely a genealogist uses all means at their disposal?  It's an investigation so you use all the evidence provided. They provided the evidence, it was used, why so shocked? FindMyPast treat their customers like dullards. Who would have thought the references would be used to ascertain you had the correct family before purchasing the record? 

If they did use all the means at their disposal I would agree but if you read what has been written on the forums you will see many are not.
They are using the transcriptions but not going on and looking at what is the "original resource" in this case the image.
That is what is shocking to me.
This is not my imagination they admit on the forums they have not purchased the image.

This common decency thing IS lopsided. They expect folks to pay for records that are very likely to be wrong - names like Smith, Jones, Taylor etc, the list is endless.  If you discover an error on an unrelated family on the page your family is on, they expect you to buy the correct family (on the same page you already have) to report the error. Who in their right mind would do that? You are just trying to be helpful and improve the service but FindMyPast want their pound of flesh. I condemn that behaviour.

If it was only people researching ancestors with common names then yes, I could agree but unfortunately it is not.
It includes people with far less popular names.

People are complaining of transcription errors when they have not even looked at the image so how can they possibly know whether the transcription is in error or it is an accurate transcription of what is written.

It is very easy to moan and condemn something but at least they have made the effort.

Try looking at the situation from their point of view.
I have even seen people asking if they will be able to ask for look ups from it when it becomes part of the subscription site. If you were in charge of FindMyPast would that king of posting make you think I shall add the 39 to the subscription or would it make you think, no way mate it will stay as pay as you go for as long as possible?

[bugbear]

They at least are being up front about the reasons, unlike FindMyPast who have been anything but!

"Findmypast have removed The National Archives catalogue reference from search results in response to concerted efforts by some online groups to share and even build apps and spreadsheets...

I know rootschatters (including me) used a fair bit of ingenuity, but unless I missed 'em, "apps and spreadsheets" wasn't us.

Anyone know more?

EDIT; I've done considerable googling using my professional knowledge of web programming, screen scraping, HTML parsing etc to look for forums discussing such things and come up empty.

 BugBear

[Guy Etchells]

I know rootschatters (including me) used a fair bit of ingenuity, but unless I missed 'em, "apps and spreadsheets" wasn't us.

Anyone know more?

EDIT; I've done considerable googling using my professional knowledge of web programming, screen scraping, HTML parsing etc to look for forums discussing such things and come up empty.

 BugBear

I know of at least two apps, there may be more as I saw a number that I thought were duplicates of the same one.
One was from the UK based on a spreadsheet and one from New Zealand.

Cheers
Guy

[bugbear]

I know rootschatters (including me) used a fair bit of ingenuity, but unless I missed 'em, "apps and spreadsheets" wasn't us.

Anyone know more?

EDIT; I've done considerable googling using my professional knowledge of web programming, screen scraping, HTML parsing etc to look for forums discussing such things and come up empty.

 BugBear

I know of at least two apps, there may be more as I saw a number that I thought were duplicates of the same one.
One was from the UK based on a spreadsheet and one from New Zealand.

Cheers
Guy

Apps?! You mean iPhone/Android telephone resident apps?

EDIT; I've found a web page based on a spreadsheet. Both do no more than take a "full" TNA reference, break it down, and feed the piece and item numbers parts to the normal 1939 Register Person search.

This is trivial to do manually, of course.

Is there anything more sophisticated? (It's a good job I never coded the Address finder I designed in my head whilst finding an address manually...)

  BugBear

[Parmesan]

If they did use all the means at their disposal I would agree but if you read what has been written on the forums you will see many are not.
They are using the transcriptions but not going on and looking at what is the "original resource" in this case the image.
That is what is shocking to me.
This is not my imagination they admit on the forums they have not purchased the image.

Do they HAVE to buy an image?  Most people would want the image but it would have to be the right image and worth the cost.  In the same way we think BMDs from the GRO are an excessive price, we need to be sure we are requesting the right certificate before we can make a decision as to whether we think the purchase is worth the cost.  I have no concern about an organisation's profit margin!

This morning I was searching on Manchester City Council's Burial record search. I got a few possibilities but the initial search only gives you the name, burial date, cemetery name and plot number - all great information - if it's the right person! So I used the GRO index to search the death and found the person I thought could be right is too old, so I didn't continue and buy the image.  Am I duping MCC? Do I feel ashamed?  Certainly not!  I am quite willing to buy a right image but I think I have too many brain cells to buy record after record that prove to be wrong. I am more concerned about my bank balance than anyone elses!

[DmTomo]

Is Guy saying there are apps which can take the reference and get past FindMyPast's paywall to the transcripts and images?  I only have 35 years of IT experience, including managing some very expert web developers, and do not see a way to do that. 

My gripe with FindMyPast is that there is no way, except email to support, to report errors which are obvious from the ordinary search. For example, I searched for my current address.  In the list of addresses found I chose and opened/unlocked my home address but I noticed that our local was misnamed as "The Croos Inn" and it had 2 entries in the search results.  On the image the name of the pub, you will probably have guessed, was clearly "The Cross Inn".  The family under the second entry actually lived at number 13, again very clear on the image. I emailed these two errors and the response was that I needed to pay and unlock the records to report the errors through their system.

[StevieSteve]

Is Guy saying there are apps which can take the reference and get past FindMyPast's paywall to the transcripts and images? 

No, he isn't