Thanks very much for making that clear, Barrie. I'd seen debates from time to time on whether fields with dashes should be regarded as "empty", but was not aware the policy had been changed. I haven't seen anything on either the Syndicates or Admins lists about it. Personally, I think that if we are now to use a hyphen, the reference in 6(aj) to the "?" UCF should be removed, as it will confuse people. -- Nowl Barrie wrote on Tue, 6 Apr 2010: >My understanding is that the previous advice to transcribe as a ? was >wrong because it did not correspond to the definitive information ><http://www.freebmd.org.uk/Format.shtml> since it would contravene Type >What You See. In other words transcribing a dash as ? was an >interpretation of what a dash means rather than typing what is there. > >The link to UCF now says "see details of UCF characters for information >on the use of ? when there are no characters in the field". Arguably it >should be removed completely. (Lines starting with - have been removed, >lines starting with + have been added.) > >At some point the definition of ? in UCF was also changed to make it >clearer that it was only used when the field was missing. > >I will change the definition (again!) so that it is clear that a hyphen >should be typed. > >Changes to the Transcribers' Knowledge Base are not yet getting through >automatically (I forwarded the last one) because they need to moderated. >I will try to get this sorted out - if I can find a way to contact the >list moderator! > >Barrie > >On 19:59, Nowl wrote: >> <div class="moz-text-flowed" style="font-family: -moz-fixed">Thanks, >> Barrie, but I'm confused. >> >> It looks as if the revision still says: "Transcribe it as a dash" >> instead of the previous advice to use the ? UCF, but it links to the >> entry for "?" in the UCF table. >> >> Has the rule been changed, or is it a mistake? And if we're to use a >> dash, which character is it, hyphen or underscore? >> >> Thanks for any clarification you can give. For info, here's (part of) >> the "old" wording: >> >> "The long dash indicates that the field is missing, therefore >> transcribe it as ? which means that the field is missing (see details >> of UCF characters)." >> >> -- >> Nowl >> >> >> >> >> >> Barrie wrote on Mon, 5 Apr 2010: >> >>> barrie 10/04/05 20:36:48 >>> >>> Modified: html vol_faq.html >>> Log: >>> Clarify 6aj: Which is the surname field and reference to UCF >>> >>> Revision Changes Path >>> 1.138 +5 -3 UKGEN-FreeBMD/html/vol_faq.html >>> >>> Index: vol_faq.html >>> =================================================================== >>> RCS file: /home/cvs/UKGEN-FreeBMD/html/vol_faq.html,v >>> retrieving revision 1.137 >>> retrieving revision 1.138 >>> diff -u -r1.137 -r1.138 >>> --- vol_faq.html 28 Mar 2010 06:40:44 -0000 1.137 >>> +++ vol_faq.html 5 Apr 2010 19:36:48 -0000 1.138 >>> @@ -854,9 +854,11 @@ >>> >>> <H4><a name=6aj>6 (aj) I have an entry in which the Mother's >>> name is just >>> a long dash. How do I transcribe it? </a></H4> >>> -Transcribe it as a dash (see details of <A >>> HREF='/Format.shtml#ucf'>UCF characters</A>). >>> -The same applies to other fields but <U>not</U> to the dash in the >>> Surname field of typeset pages which >>> -means "repeat the above Surname"; for these you repeat the >>> Surname. >>> +Transcribe it as a dash (see details of <A >>> HREF='/Format.shtml#ucf'>UCF characters</A> for >>> +information on the use of ? when there are no characters in the >>> field). The same applies >>> +to other fields but <U>not</U> to the dash in the Surname field >>> (i.e. the first field) of >>> +typeset pages which means "repeat the above Surname"; for >>> these you repeat the >>> +Surname. >>> >>> <h4><a name=6ak>6 (ak) How do I transcribe an Index Page where >>> one or more names are out of sequence and their >>> correct place on another page is indicated by an insertion mark (and >>> possibly a comment).</a></h4> >>> <p> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> --Certified Virus Free by 4SecureMail.com ICSA-Certified Scanner-- >>> >>> ------------------------------- >>> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >>> FREEBMD-SYNDICATES-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' >>> without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >> > > >--Certified Virus Free by 4SecureMail.com ICSA-Certified Scanner-- > >------------------------------- >To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >FREEBMD-SYNDICATES-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' >without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message