Hi Dave, This is a bit of a tough one for you and for all of us. I really appreciate the problems FreeCen might be having because at one point I did try to coordinate a bit of their transcribing with running my syndicate. It was about the time we moved back to New Zealand from Canada and the complexities of it, combined with everything else I was doing at the time, were overwhelming and I had to pull back. My syndicate is deliberately small and has always done handwritten originals With the second confirming transcriptions of handwritten quarters that we are now doing there's no substitute for experience. Where I didn't do a lot of the first transcription myself in the past I now do plenty of second, especially the more difficult stuff. In addition, when Alan Tyerman asked me to look at some very old Scan2 stuff I'd done, in the light of Ancestry scans becoming available, I redid both them and also now do some second level checking for then of other retired transcribers' work. We work with their IDs and passwords, as if we were that transcriber. This raises a question: the original aim of the project was to blind double transcribe each quarter. Clearly what I am doing for Scan2 falls somewhat outside this definition, but seems a not unreasonable way to go - though you have to have an automated checking system and people who are interested. In my own syndicate, that doesn't require automated checking, I call for PEC reports from Bob Phillips as and when a quarter is sufficiently transcribed as to make it worthwhile. Charles Hillman and I rework our own data on the basis of it, but I am somewhat reluctant to ask everyone to revisit everything they've already done, unless there are major surname issues. You have to have an interest. So I guess my question to you is what you see the project doing about second transcription and error reduction - beyond the obvious things like systemic corrections of wrong districts and the work done by the aliasing committees. By the way, the page range data is brilliant for those of us working in the early years. I insist on its use and I think most of my people use it fairly religiously. For myself I see no problem in continuing with what I do. For Charles, who essentially is my number 2, but with a young family has no interest in leading another syndicate, I can't be sure, but if the sort of work we do on second transcription dries up or changes I think he would be up for a new challenge. He works alone as it is and like a whole quarter to work through systematically. He would however be a good person to approach if you are looking for one of the very brightest with an abiding interest in history and research - he also does articles for Wiki and is always up for a challenge. Cambridge grad in I think history, very computer literate. Lives in Essex, general Epping Forest area - Greensted - not far from Chipping Ongar, so closer than I am in NZ! He also used to go up to London before the closure of access to the original books to confirm bad scans from the 1860s and did a lot of the rescanning for the project. So a good man to keep around. (We have met him and his family personally). charleshillman@hillmanc.fsnet.co.uk I am very willing to embark on second level checking along the lines of what I have started for Scan2 - or any other level of checking that you want to slot me into. My expertise is in reading old documents, so I probably am of more value working with handwriting than with pages of 300+ lines of typescript, but it's over to the project. Some of what I am currently doing for Scan2 (but don't tell them!) is of questionable value. The transcriber I am working on at present, syddell, is careless, but not excessively so - mostly missed lines and occasional careless picklists, but he also worked from some quarters that have good scans available. Equally, some of the quarters he worked with have already been second transcribed, so I am a third person correcting the work of the first person, when the second transcription is essentially perfect. If we were to go this reworking route, rather than second transcription - or do both - I feel that we would be better employed working through quarters that haven't already been through a second transcription round, would we not? It's a project wide issue, not a narrow-based syndicate one - or it ought to be. And as new Ancestry scans become available, ought we not to be concentrating (a) on quarters for which the original scans are very poor and (b) quarters or transcribers where the error rate is proven unacceptably high, irrespective of the syndicate of first transcription? As to more technical stuff, my husband, now retired, is a mining engineer who spent his working life leading a tech services IT group - modelling, developing software etc - for a very large gold mining company in Canada. He might be up for working with code and software, if you needed him and I could get him interested. Not sure this helps, but hope it gives a perspective on how I see the project at present. Regards, Melda Brunette, Brunette Syndicate, Auckland, New Zealand. charleshillman@hillmanc.fsnet.co.uk david mayall wrote: >FreeBMD has now been running for over ten years, and has a number of >co-ordinators who have built up considerable experience in that role (often >adding to considerable real life experience). We also benefit from a number >of highly competent people at the core of the project, and whilst we are >very keen to retain all this skill, we recognise that from time to time >people will wish to find a more challenging role, or a lighter weight role, >as their ability to contribute varies. > >One of the things that we have never been good at is succession and >development planning. Put bluntly, we have no idea who might step up to the >mark if needed, or who might like to step back, or who is getting a little >bored and looking for new challenges > >This message is asking for people to tell me this information. > >Vacancies do occur from time to time in the core team, and it would be nice >to know who would be interested, but perhaps more importantly at present, we >need to share our talent pool with our sister projects, FreeCEN and FreeREG. > >Because these projects have a much more difficult time getting their hands >on data to transcribe, the job of a co-ordinator there is a particularly >tough one, and the job of their core teams even tougher. Regrettably, this >tends to lead to syndicates remaining without leadership for periods of >time, and a difficulty in retaining a stable executive at times. > >If a new challenge in one of these areas appeals, then now is the time to >put your hand up. > >Those who are interested should respond to me direct (not to the list >please), stating; >Which projects they would be interested in (BMD/CEN/REG) >What type of role they are interested in (COORD/CORE/EXEC) >What particular skills they can bring to this role (please, no false >modesty) >Whether they wish to retain their existing role, or hand it over >Whether they have a candidate in mind to take over from them or deputise for >them (wow, succession planning) > > > > > >