Talk:PeopleFinderVolunteer

http://batonrouge.craigslist.org/laf/94698903.html Don't know if the surname is Langlois or Theodore. I responded to try to find out, and there are entries at the NON site under both last names.

Good call re entering both surnames - this is incomplete, unstructured data and we're going to get some of it wrong. Best to double enter, let the db schema folks sort it out. EthanZ 10:48, 4 Sep 2005 (EDT)

Foreign Languages

If you need a message translated from another language, the following is a list of volunteers and the languages they speak

name	email	languages
Marna Nightingale	marna [at] marna.ca	French
Paul Schreiber	shrub [at] mac.com	French
Phillip Lamb	phillip.lamb [at] gmail.com	Arabic
Greg Golin	greg.golin [at] gmail.com	Hebrew, Russian, Korean
Jason Charrier	jcharr1 [at] lsu.edu	Japanese
Liza Sabater	blogdiva [at] culturekitchen.com	English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian
?	realgeek [at] gmail.com	Russian, Turkish
Allison	allison [at] billingside.com	German
Tamara	amanital [at] gmail.com	Polish
Keen	keeeen [at] gmail.com	Chinese, French
Tami Shimoda	tamishimoda[at] gmail.com	Japanese
Wycams	luscinde [at] yahoo.com	German, Italian, French

You can also try Find a translator (http://www.lai.com/lai/ncta/trdb.htm).

corporate contacts

how to handle these? the first block I am doing has some corporate requests for employees to check in... I did them as last name company name and first name, "employees of"... how are others handling this? ++Lar 13:55, 4 Sep 2005 (EDT)

I've been emailing the people and pointing them to the New Orleans Network and also offering to do the work myself if they send full names & locations of their coworkers. Already got one grateful response. Eeblet 14:27, 4 Sep 2005 (EDT)

Duplicate effort

I signed up for this page:

Page 5 (http://www.craigslist.org/katrina/neworleans/20050831/005.html) claimed ++Lar 13:41, 4 Sep 2005 (EDT)

It looks like someone else is entering info from this page at the same time I am ... is that Ok? all the entries are duped when I search for them... what to do? ++Lar 14:21, 4 Sep 2005 (EDT)

Duplicates happen when a lot of people are accessing the wiki at the same time. Try a different, less populated page - this seems to happen most on the Craigslist pages. EthanZ 18:13, 4 Sep 2005 (EDT)

I also found that the same people were listed on multiple craig's lists. This meant I was entering them into neworleansnetwork and another volunteer was entering them at the same time from different sources. No way to prevent that, I'm guessing. Tedernst 02:02, 5 Sep 2005 (EDT)

New Orleans board crashing?

I'm trying to enter people but the board is crashing on searches. Entries are taking a long time to process. CarrieDCarrieD 17:14, 4 Sep 2005 (EDT)

First names but no last names

I've got a Craigslist entry from someone looking for a lot of family members--two of the people listed have last names given, but the others don't. I've included them in the "Details of person's status" field, for lack of anything better, hoping that if one of the ones with a last name is found, they might know something about the others. Does anyone have a better idea?

Here's the entry in question: http://neworleans.craigslist.org/laf/94673230.html

Last names but no first names

I have one with last names and no first names Chiquitita 03:22, 5 Sep 2005 (EDT)

No link from my post

I'm new to contributing to wikis; I posted the entry about no last names. It doesn't seem to have an edit link--what did I do wrong? -Gannet

Gannet - sections get edit links. You can create a section by surrounding text with two or three equals signs. But you can edit anything on a wiki - use the edit tab at the top of the page and the whole page is editable, not just sections. EthanZ 18:00, 4 Sep 2005 (EDT)

Field Entry questions...

Is "Entry Date" the date I enter it or something else? I notice the source date is already at the bottom of the form.

Under the "Current Status/Location" section I see a place to mark found. If the person is unknown or missing do I enter it in the "Last Known Location" field?

Thanks! It's great to be able to help.

hi, yes, "Entry Date" is today's date. As far as your second question goes: people are assumed to be missing unless the box is checked. You can pretty much not worry about the Last Known Location field unless it differs from their address and such. I find myself relying on the "Other" field a whole lot, as many of the entries have unclear information -- better to put it in there than leave it out. Eeblet 00:34, 5 Sep 2005 (EDT)

How do I find Source URL?

I'm working on one of the WWL-TV Message Board chunks (http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/assignments/wwltv/2.html) and I don't see any Source URL or Source Dates. How do I find those?

hi, I think the answer is they aren't there -- so don't worry about it! :) The only really imperative info is name & contact info of both the missing person and the person looking for them. everything else is just extra. Eeblet 00:31, 5 Sep 2005 (EDT)

Database Confirmation

This is probably posted everywhere, but I haven't found the link to the database to verify my submissions. I'm working on [1] (http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/assignments/NOLAMissing/11.html), just want to make sure I'm doing this right. Tried the linked DBs above, but cant seem to find any of my submissions. Also, is there a good place to look up neighborhoods given the street name? Delrocco 00:34, 5 Sep 2005 (EDT)

If the form reloads empty, you can assume that the information was submitted and mark it completed. Right now, if I understand correctly, the database is not searchable.Emaxson 09:58, 5 Sep 2005 (EDT)

Posting Lag Time?

How long does it take for the posts to show up in the database? I'm not sure any of mine worked, and I did a whole chunk. I left it marked "claimed" but not "completed..." I did pg 101 of New Orleans Craigslist... Laurendw 00:01, 5 Sep 2005 (CST)

Message About People Trapped In House

I've just come to a message that is asking for help to be sent to a particular address because people are trapped inside. The message is dated 9/1/05. Is there someone to forward this information to who can reach them? Tmyers526 01:31, 5 Sep 2005 (EDT)

Site link to REPORT TRAPPED or STRANDED PEOPLE!

Hey, found this on a list I was working on at Nola.com.

In order to assist the United States Coast Guard in Hurricane Katrina Search and Rescue efforts, submit a missing/stranded person request here: http://homeport.uscg.mil/mycg/portal/ep/home.do

Emergency Numbers

The Coast Guard strongly urges people in distress in the New Orleans area contact the search and rescue emergency lines for the State Office of Emergency Preparedness in Baton Rouge , La.: (225) 925-7708 (225) 925-7709 (225) 925-3511 (225) 925-7412

Additional Phone Numbers:

IN LOUISIANA, Louisiana State Police:

(225) 922-0325 (225) 922-0332 (225) 922-0333 (225) 922-0334 (225) 922-0335 (225) 922-0341

I hit a posting about stranded people so I submitted the info myself to the link above. Left the poster's contact info. Also, in the NO Peoplefinder database, I entered the claim ID# and that it had been submitted to Coast Guard for rescue.

Hope this helps. CarrieCarrieD 01:47, 5 Sep 2005 (EDT)

I've been doing the same thing on the NOLA.com Missing Persons board if there is nothing saying that it's been reported to the Coast Guard already. Left a reply on the NOLA.com board with the claim ID # and date I reported it for the original poster to check on. Karen 17:21, 5 Sep 2005 (EDT)

People that are Alive and Well

People that are reported safe and okay? NOLA post that has a reply saying that the people are alive and well. Do we just ignore these or what are we doing with them? Chiquitita 03:00, 5 Sep 2005 (EDT)

re: people Alive and Well

I've been putting them in anyway but marked FOUND, just in case someone else is looking for them. CarrieCarrieD 03:05, 5 Sep 2005 (EDT)

Text field

I am new to this so I am sorry for another question but, What is the "text" field for? Chiquitita 03:12, 5 Sep 2005 (EDT)

I've been using the "text" field to copy the 'comments' field from familymessages.com. If there's no extra info, you probably don't need to worry about it. Shrike999 03:30, 5 Sep 2005 (EDT)

Combining Records

I've been putting in any comments or information in the Text field, Reason being-- if someone was evacuated from one facility to another, (like the nursing homes) so in case someone knows where they may have started, but it does not fit the standard address format, it can be searched.

MaryLu

comments and extra things

How do I enter in information about who's looking for the person? In the "other" section? Is that the stuff for the "found" person?

See Tips_on_entering_data#Form_Field_Guide (new!). -- Toby Bartels 04:47, 5 Sep 2005 (EDT)

DATA ENTRY FORM: If you are improving the data entry form, is it possible to make it smaller (reduce width, maybe make fonts smaller). This would facilitate having it open side by side with data to be entered on a laptop. Thanks! Rebekb 14:24, 5 Sep 2005 (EDT)

Need to Change a Record

Just started entering records today, and I need to correct some records. The URL is http://familymessages.org/display.php?n=1564. There is one survivor looking for 5 other people so all 5 need to have the "found" box unchecked. Please let me know how to correct this. Thanks, Laurie

Laurie, this is probably quite difficult as they would have to make a search interface for this. I imagine you probably just should go on, there will be errors in our database and that's sort of ok... Tarkowski 06:12, 5 Sep 2005 (EDT)

If I accidentally enter a record too soon, or mistype, I just re-enter. Better redundancy than risk having someone be excluded! Eeblet 12:14, 5 Sep 2005 (EDT)

How do I check the database?

Dumb question, but I am new. I have read and read, and I am just not sure. Chiquitita 06:25, 5 Sep 2005 (EDT)

I was about to ask the same question. Where is the search page for the database so we can see what we've entered? Jenny- 07:35, 5 Sep 2005 (EDT)

There is no search function, it's explained on this page that it's unavailable after server meltdown. Tarkowski 10:52, 5 Sep 2005 (EDT)

Now it LOOKS like the search is available, but when I follow the link and try it with names I know I entered, it says it has nothing. Andreac 02:21, 7 Sep 2005 (EDT)

Oh, it's working now. Excellent job, search-page-makers! Andreac 10:31, 7 Sep 2005 (EDT)

Reply posts on NOLA.com

If I open a post that has several replies, am I handling the info in the replies as well? Sometimes the replies have nothing to do with the original post and is a seperate person. Chiquitita 06:25, 5 Sep 2005 (EDT)

Hi, I hit a few like that. I entered the replies into the database as individual records, since they are missing people too. But if the replies are additional information stating someone has been found OR moved somewhere yet still no final confirmed location (eg. Found), I input that with the one I'm working on. Trying to ensure all people are listed whether lost, found or stranded. CarrieD 11:00, 5 Sep 2005 (EDT)

I've actually only incorporated the data in replies if they have to do with the person/people I'm filling out a form for. If it's for an entirely different person, I'm leaving it alone because the replies are their own separate posts (they have a different post number) and they're on someone else's assigned page. Karen 17:19, 5 Sep 2005 (EDT)

How to cope with John Doe Jr. vs John Doe, III

I have two people with the same name and address, the only distinction is that one is "junior" and one is "the third". Which field should I put the "III" and "Jr" in?

I think you should put it together with the First Name. Anyways, people probably search by surnames, and then get a list showing both first and surname (not sure that is so, but it would make sense). Tarkowski 10:52, 5 Sep 2005 (EDT)

Again, the way I deal with any ambiguity is to put it all into the "Other" field, that way it will still be searchable (when the database search function is available again). Eeblet 12:16, 5 Sep 2005 (EDT)

This is also how I'm dealing with nicknames, I'm going into the "Other" field and entering "X's full name is XYZ, Jr. (aka 'A')" Karen 16:06, 5 Sep 2005 (EDT)

Who do I tell about a database I found?

To automatically report a messageboard or site, you need a del.icio.us [2] (http://del.icio.us) account. Once you have an account, you can add any website to your online bookmarks, and if they are tagged "PeopleFinder" and "unstructured" they will be automatically submited to the PeopleFinder team.

As an alternative, you can leave a link here and someone should post it on del.icio.us. Tarkowski 00:07, 6 Sep 2005 (EDT)

What about duplicate posts from the same board?

I found several entries that were duplicates from the same board. The posts run in alphabetical order on that board so I'm positive they are duplicate posts. Is it okay to skip them?

Other site?

' Are we in touch with this site? I found it at http://neworleans.craigslist.org/laf/95232696.html

Reply to: katrinapeoplefinder@yahoo.com Date: 2005-09-03, 1:42PM CDT

Hello,

In an effort to centralize the numerous message boards and help facilitate the burden of finding loved ones, www.katrinasos.org has been created. We have been and continue to compile and aggregate data from various sources, including message boards, CNN.com and MSNBC.com, and have almost 25,000 posts to date. The hope is that people can go to one place instead of having to search multiple web sites.

If you need to make a posting, know of anybody that is safe, or have any information please post it at www.katrinasos.org and spread the word. If you need a posting done for you or help in any way email us.

Many Thanks.

Shouldn't this data be shared with the Red Cross site?

I looked up some of the names I entered at the Red Cross site: http://www.familylinks.icrc.org and they aren't there. Maybe PeopleFinder could share as the Red Cross is fully searchable.

Tips and Step By Step instructions may be inconsistent?

Tips on entering data says that multiple first names, same last name, should get multiple DB entries, but the PeopleFinderVolunteer#step-by-step Instructions on this page say enter multiple first names in the same entry, and only split into multiple for different last names. Which is correct? I am normally quite happy to be bold but not here, too important... Someone that knows for sure should get these two to be parallel... Thanks! ++Lar 22:25, 5 Sep 2005 (EDT)

Date problem

The form would not let me enter data; said date format is wrong. I used "09-06-2005". Then I tried "09-07-2005" and "09-05-2005". No workie. Maurreen 02:58, 6 Sep 2005 (EDT)

That's happening for me, too. Magid

Same for me Veripteri 12:16, 6 Sep 2005 (EDT)

I'm also having this problemKerstinmac 13:06, 6 Sep 2005 (EDT) Please post an answer soon, whoever can help!

Same here, at 2 pm CDT, 6 Sept. susmitha67

My sister was having problems last night too, yet I wasn't having any problems at all lluvrig 15:59, 6 Sep 2005 (EDT)

I am having the same problem. Is there a work around?Spankymlimey 00:04, 7 Sep 2005 (EDT)

Are you guys on Macs? The mailing list is reporting that there is an issue with Macs and certain browsers. If you can post your machine/OS and browser type/version it might help resulve the issue. (I know nothing more than what i just said, but hope it helps!) ++Lar 10:40, 7 Sep 2005 (EDT)

I am not on a Mac. And I use Internet Explorer. Maurreen 11:18, 7 Sep 2005 (EDT)

My sister is on a PC and using IE lluvrig 16:51, 7 Sep 2005 (EDT)

Yes, I'm a Mac running OS 10.3 and Firefox 1.0.4. I tried it with IE 5.2 but got the same thing. just let us know something's being worked on... - thanks!

looks like the problem is 'fixed' - i.e. you still have to enter in dates in the right order - but at least you can enter them in.

Where's the search function?

The search function seems to search for exact matches, which is not useful at all. It should be possible to search by surname or to match a string in any of the fields

YahooKatrina chunks unavailable?

Earlier today, I was working on a set of Pass Christian (MS) chunks from YahooKatrina. Just now I tried to get back in there and work on it some more, and the link no longer goes to the data set. I get an error message from Yahoo saying the page has moved or expired. I explored some other random YahooKatrina links and got the same result. Any idea what's going on?

Database for Volunteer Services

Is there a database for people willing to call others/email, or who are willing to house people, or donate clothing/food etc?

At http://www.lifelist.us , people can volunteer to search for people online and then contact relatives with info. And they can volunteer to offer free housing to evacuees at http://hurricanehousing.org/ . I don't know if those are the kind of databases you're looking for, though. Hope it helps! Karen 17:26, 6 Sep 2005 (EDT)

Multiple seekers? / Futile effort?

Should more than one entry be made if more than one person is looking for a single person? E.g., Jon posts that he's looking for Susan. Bob, Joe, and Jane each reply saying "Me too, my number is ###-####." How many entries to make in this case? (Esp if "Susan" is replaced with a family of 3.) Maybe the extra seekers should be listed in the 'other' or 'text' section?

Also, it seems that people continue to post on the boards that are listed here as being completed. Maybe I'm missing something, but is there going to be any way to keep up with the new posts that need to be entered manually? Seems like it could be more helpful to create a site/engine that searches many message boards at once, rather than transferring the data to a single place...

I don't know about anybody else, but I made seperate entries for each individual person that was being searched for. I kept the author information, URL, etc. the same and changed the names accordingly. I also made a new record if someone else had posted "I'm looking for them too". I entered all the information into the "other" field on each record I made. I didn't want to leave anybody out or leave out any information that might be pertinant to the individual doing the search.*lluvrig 17:03, 7 Sep 2005 (EDT)

Survivorregistry.com -- what to do with the entries

There are a couple of dozens of entries on a small website, http://www.survivorregistry.com - is it OK if the owner of the site is adding the entries directly to the database (http://ethanzuckerman.com/entryform.html)'? Thank you. --CBasturea 00:41, 7 Sep 2005 (EDT)

Source Fields on Form?

I don't find the Source Name, Source Date, and Source URL fields on the entry form. Where should these items be recorded? MNBikerMom 23:13, 8 Sep 2005 (EDT)

Turns out I was using the form meant for users entering NEW records directly into this database. The correct form is here: http://katrinalist.net/katrinaPeopleFinder/volunteerSubmit.html MNBikerMom 11:21, 9 Sep 2005 (EDT)

Thanks - they forgot to tell us there were two versions of the form. //JL

Duplicate fields on form?

The reworked form seems to have TWO places for source info: on the right side, "source date" etc, then on the bottom of the form to the left there's "originally posted at" etc. ? --Pookhan 01:24, 11 Sep 2005 (EDT)

Where is the data going?

Is the information we are gathering going to www.katrinalist.net? If so, I did a test run by choosing a random person and doing a search. I found that the person is listed on katrinalist as "Found: No", but by going to the "Source URL" listed under "Record Tracking Information", the same person is "SAFE" along with additional information on the person's location. Should we try to keep the listings in katrinalist updated with current status?

--Sophiaw 03:14, 19 Sep 2005 (EDT)

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