courtesy when doing mass merges

[Lianne Lavoie]

Hey all,

When we're doing mass merges, especially when there are a tonne of them so we're not really talking to the profile managers unless they're in the user groups, it's easy to step on toes. We're going in and changing stuff that people may have put a lot of work into. So it's important that we try to be courteous when we're doing that, to avoid hurt feelings.

I think the main way in which we can do this is to listen to the concerns of the profile managers. If someone contacts you, and questions/complains about/comments on a merge or change you've made, get them involved! If they care enough to have noticed, then they'd probably be an asset in this process. Explain to them what you're doing and why, and give them a chance to help and voice their opinions.

One specific byproduct of merging that can tend to bother profile managers is the big, messy biography and sources section. I'm actually going to start a new discussion thread about that topic in particular. No one likes to find their nicely crafted biography transformed into an ugly pile of Ancestry user tree "sources".

Any other ideas on how we can avoid offending people? I'm eager to hear them!

~Lianne