tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post3079479380938176909..comments2023-04-20T12:46:11.858-06:00Comments on The Ancestry Insider: Monday Mailbox: Find A GraveThe Ancestry Insiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490682912125335188noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-29961979221075854152017-04-13T23:50:26.384-06:002017-04-13T23:50:26.384-06:00If it ain't broke, DON'T FIX IT!! Find A G...If it ain't broke, DON'T FIX IT!! Find A Grave has been one of the really good websites with a minimum of fussing. It figured that when ancestry took over they would eventually have to muck things up. Some change OK, but the current "new" website is just AWFUL. As mentioned above more than one click for basic info is unnecessary. Info is spread across the page instead of being compact and most information is missing. Try again guys, or better yet, leave well enough Alone!!Lindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17745229462658250515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-2288235192892603092017-04-08T14:33:14.443-06:002017-04-08T14:33:14.443-06:00The secret access code is AncestryInsider followed...The secret access code is AncestryInsider followed by an at-sign followed by gmail.com<br /><br />Posting one's email address on an open website will get you all sorts of inappropriate spam. Sorry to be obscure.<br /><br />---taiThe Ancestry Insiderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02490682912125335188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-77762742253985488242017-04-04T13:45:31.543-06:002017-04-04T13:45:31.543-06:00I entered my late wife's information and it sa...I entered my late wife's information and it says nothing found. Not exactly what I wanted to find.JhugHoovhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15804769009916422684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-21137545698054982762017-04-04T11:50:27.933-06:002017-04-04T11:50:27.933-06:00About fonts and value contrast between background ...About fonts and value contrast between background and text, all website designers should think about the ADA guidelines for people with visual impairments: they require a lot of contrast between the color of the background and the color of the text. Sure older folks like that contrast too, but many people require it. Some years ago a research project looked at a lot of websites (in that particular case it was library websites) and the vast majority did not meet guidelines for those with visual impairments. Sara Scribnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03966772928333737795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-57137337136289064262017-04-04T10:05:11.431-06:002017-04-04T10:05:11.431-06:00It's not awful and they will improve it. I ju...It's not awful and they will improve it. I just wish there were less video ads and that they would get rid of that "I'M NOT A ROBOT" Captcha. <br /><br />Find A Grave Member 48529350. - David MayoAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11810954938122998721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-60282296203571888592017-04-04T10:05:04.654-06:002017-04-04T10:05:04.654-06:00Michael Dorsey mentioned remembering "handica...Michael Dorsey mentioned remembering "handicapped" people. I guess I am?? However, I would imagine that there are a good many older people who are doing research in genealogy and would appreciate the colors that are easiest to read. I think everyone's eyesight goes downhill a little as they age. So that is a factor. <br />I have not tested the beta version but having all the information right on the same page with pictures you can see well has been one of the best parts of Find a Grave to me.<br />Websites where you have to keep clicking and searching to find the information you want are frustrating and not enjoyable at all.<br />I hope they can adjust their plans and keep the information easily available.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07126833334495467313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-84178966967195439992017-04-04T04:06:22.975-06:002017-04-04T04:06:22.975-06:00I think many family historians, like me, just want...I think many family historians, like me, just want data from genealogy websites. Provided the data is well organised, we're not interested in fancy design. All web designers working on genealogical websites and software need to understand this.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-76500261311072832672017-04-03T19:43:29.211-06:002017-04-03T19:43:29.211-06:00Also, a search for a person in a group of states w...Also, a search for a person in a group of states would be really helpful. Lots of people have family in one state that originated in a nearby state. Trying to find family members would be easier if you could, as an example, search for a person who might have been buried in West Virginia because he or she lived in a town near the border with Maryland, or in Maryland, where his or her family was concentrated. This would enable you to search in Maryland and West Virginia, as an example, in one search. Same with cemetery names. Is that cemetery in Maryland or West Virginia, as an example. YOu might want to know if you're looking for the cemetery ahead of creating a new entry for a cemetery. Also, searching on more than one county at a time might cut down on duplicate cemeteries. Choose a state and then search for the cemetery in two counties at once. <br /><br />To reiterate, broadening and deepening the search engine is where you'll find the best cost- benefit comparison for Find a Grave! cynthia mullens, memberAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10754348042147581090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-56441881338398248572017-04-03T19:36:04.997-06:002017-04-03T19:36:04.997-06:00Here's what needs fixed: 1) you have a powerf...Here's what needs fixed: 1) you have a powerful lot of data and only a handful of ways to search it. Deepen and broaden the search engine: fuzzy names, dates instead of names, countries of origin, birth dates, months of deaths, etc. At that point, Find a Grave starts becoming useful for historians. Imagine being able to search for deaths in 1918, during the pandemic, for a specific state, say. That would be great. 2) some nifty programming fixes might make the ads load faster and get out of the way of research. Honestly, the only thing I dread about the current website is that the horrifying ads load slowly and sometimes crash my web page. You might offer a membership that gets rid of all ads for the user. Takes way too long to upload memorials and photos due to the unhealthy way that the ads load. 3) Find a Grave has nothing without its membership out there doing free work for it. Make things easier on us. Loading multiple photos in one fell swoop through a browsing feature could speed things up.<br /><br />In short, the changes should be aimed at making things easier on the people who are loading your content, and for researchers. Anything else, such as just making it look more "modern" is a waste of time and money. If you really can't stop yourself from making this mistake, do it only to the cemetery front page. It might actually look better if the white space under the cemetery name and location was filled with photos of the cemetery instead, but for God's sake, leave the memorial pages alone. Add that advanced search feature, which is where the really good work for this powerful load of fantastic data lies. <br /><br />cynthia mullens, member Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10754348042147581090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-5477589774282312722017-04-03T17:50:42.921-06:002017-04-03T17:50:42.921-06:00Oh, the new design is dreadful!
It looks like any...Oh, the new design is dreadful!<br /><br />It looks like any generic WordPress theme you've ever seen. Way too much white space. Page down, page down, page down, eventually you'll get to the data you came there for in the first place. Putting the main photo next to the memorial text is nice, but why not scale the picture so the WHOLE THING fits into its box? My great-great grandfather is only visible from the eyes up. Makes him look like he's lurking in a dark alley.<br /><br />My suggestions:<br />1) leave the memorial pages alone. They're fine.<br />2) clean up the main index/landing page a bit. It's confusing for newbies. But no big redesign.<br />3) in the name of all that's holy, give us a fuzzy name search. And the ability to search a range of dates.<br /><br />Maybe I like the design the way it is because it's old fashioned and quirky, like me.<br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09714595992585438427noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-9372491598542122402017-04-03T16:34:50.999-06:002017-04-03T16:34:50.999-06:00I did several searches using the the same name, co...I did several searches using the the same name, county and state on both the beta Find A Grave site and the present site. Each time the beta site gave me less results than the present site. Several graves listed on the beta site had incorrect dates listed. None of the Memorials that were missing were newly added. <br /><br />If they want to add a cemetery search it should be separate from the city/state search. The present drop down box for location is much easier to use. <br /><br />The header photo with moving objects is unnecessary and annoying to anyone with visual issues. <br /><br />Is bandwidth still an issue? When a search is done, having multiple, repetitive ads within the list ie: newspapers.com and a small image of an unreadable headstone make the searches longer to load. <br /><br />The only good thing on the beta site so far was the lack of all of the urls added in the lower left hand corner. <br /><br />Donna Kauffman H <br /> tcandkkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03501372264031010961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-82772027301371692142017-04-03T14:41:52.114-06:002017-04-03T14:41:52.114-06:00Been a member over 16 years. Went through compute...Been a member over 16 years. Went through computer changes at my last job. I will repeat: Change for the sake of change is not a good plan and don't fix what ain't broke.Billlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15576269592629117857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-70183115595549412102017-04-03T14:18:29.239-06:002017-04-03T14:18:29.239-06:00I gave it a spin and found everything worked prett...I gave it a spin and found everything worked pretty much as before. I liked the way they populated the cemetery search field with suggestions as you typed in the cemetery name. Everything was nicely laid out and I didn't have trouble finding all the functions. I was also pleased that I was still able to cut & paste a memorial into my research note file. A few extraneous lines to edit out but something I can live with. I'd like to see fuzzy searching on birth and death dates that allows a range of years in the search. I suppose you can do this already if you use the Ancestry search engine. The existing mobile app addresses my other enhancement for bulk photo uploads. Janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16473905334605518834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-13677333995470649322017-04-03T13:56:19.267-06:002017-04-03T13:56:19.267-06:00Dear Ancestry Insider: Pardon this comment not on...Dear Ancestry Insider: Pardon this comment not on the content of this particular blog. You have a Monday Mailbox, but I've searched high and low for how to submit a question and can't find any way. Is there a mail link somewhere (other than closed shops such as Facebook)? Maybe when you do your mailbox you can tell people the apparently secret access code.M Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02212235374255965306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-49837010872629646752017-04-03T13:52:46.061-06:002017-04-03T13:52:46.061-06:00I do hope the maintainers of the memorials will be...I do hope the maintainers of the memorials will be able to change the photos that come up in the search. I get the idea of mirroring Ancestry.com but don't think it works. Denise Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15794443727015706399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-16619077215218558012017-04-03T13:04:18.832-06:002017-04-03T13:04:18.832-06:00Ancestry, why are you trying to fix something that...Ancestry, why are you trying to fix something that isn't broken? Please leave the find a grave site alone. As it is, my husband was very upset when you took it over. Again, please leave it the way it is. -Jeanne F-A-G Member since 2010Jeannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00978041672915770008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-10853216217121323592017-04-03T12:32:12.578-06:002017-04-03T12:32:12.578-06:00Just leave Find A Grave website alone....we dont n...Just leave Find A Grave website alone....we dont need new and improved / the old one did the job. When you feel like you have to redo something, take a walk around the block....just chill ... Sally Bishop, Find A Grave memberSallyBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08120979885065051043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-3743370064745224892017-04-03T10:54:03.045-06:002017-04-03T10:54:03.045-06:00Oh, and they put in a bunch of "advertising&q...Oh, and they put in a bunch of "advertising" for newspapers and Ancestry taking up space Bonniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06494190967174359622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-37224996509443041492017-04-03T10:49:36.274-06:002017-04-03T10:49:36.274-06:00It's obvious the same bunch that does the Ance...It's obvious the same bunch that does the Ancestry.com site re-did this site. Same basic design, which means it's easier for them to maintain because their programmers are already familiar with the design. I'm betting they started from scratch, rather than figure out the existing code. Lazy programming and analytical skills.Bonniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06494190967174359622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-88075947733332578142017-04-03T10:46:02.418-06:002017-04-03T10:46:02.418-06:00Thank you for sharing some of the feedback on the ...Thank you for sharing some of the feedback on the FindAGrave beta site. I hope, with all my heart, that they listen to us. Such a beautifully designed site. It's special. The designers don't care about that. This site means a lot to many of us, in more than just a documentation way. It's a memory of our loved ones, those close to us and those who've come before. They are special, the site is special. This must be understood before changes are made.Diane Gould Hallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15362418860289987479noreply@blogger.com