The tick on My Ancestors page

[webwiz]

Some of my ticks (which indicate there is a cousin who has entered the same individual) are blue and others are grey. What's the difference?

 

[Bryman]

If you click on "How to use this page" on My Ancestors page,
you will find a description under "Searching for 'lost cousins' ". It is always worth reading the Help information every so often to remind oneself about features which might have been 'forgotten'.

All new matches are shown as red ticks for a few days - up to a week (?) to allow for those who do not check every day.
Matches made with a LostCousins member who is a blood relative then get changed to blue.
Matches made with someone who is not a blood relative (according to data entered) get changed to grey.

The difference in colour can help to focus your thoughts when looking at the list of ancestors after a few months.
I also add a note about the number of matches and when they were made against each member identified on
My Contact page (reached from My Cousins page). I find this information very useful at times when communicating with several contacts at about the same time.

The Search button should be used after each batch of ancestors are added to My Ancestors page
and also after any significant period without additions by you, in order to check for matches with entries made by other members since your last search.

 

[webwiz]

Thanks @Bryman - and apologies for not finding out for myself instead of asking an expert.

 

[Bryman]

No worries, at least it brings it to everyone else's attention . . . and less of the x-spirt if you don't mind.
(My comments apply to me too. I had to read the Help to make sure that I was correct!)

 

[Bryman]

I have a somewhat related query which I shall place here rather than start a completely new topic . . .

When I click on the SEARCH button on My Ancestors page, the button sometimes changes from blue to red but not always. Why is there a difference? What causes it? Should I take note and do anything particular as a result?

 

[peter]

The button should change from SEARCH or SEARCH AGAIN (both blue) to SEARCHING (red). You'll find that it takes longer to search if you don't have a current subscription - this might explain why you don't always notice the colour change.

 

[Bryman]

I think there must be a little more involved than just the currency of my subscription. I don't notice any difference in the time taken by searches, except during periods of system backup about 2am UK time, and have seen both red and blue SEARCHING conditions in the last few days when my subscription has not changed. There does not appear to be any obvious reason for one or the other appearance, which prompted me to raise the question. Might it depend on whether anyone else is searching at the same time?

 

[peter]

There is no blue SEARCHING graphic, so I think you must be mistaken.

 

[Bryman]

Sorry for any confusion. The above post was written based on memory as the appropriate screen display was not visible at that time.

Having entered more census references, I repeated the search after each household and saw both blue and red buttons displayed during separate searches.

When the blue button was shown, the word remained as SEARCH, ie the button did not change at all while the search was performed.

When the button display was changed to red at the start of the search, the word was SEARCHING, until the screen was cleared and the search results were returned. The button was then blue and shown as SEARCH AGAIN.

Perhaps my question should therefore be changed to, "Why do some searches not get the red SEARCHING button displayed when the search starts?". There have been no similar posts by other members so am I the only person experiencing this?

 

[Heather]

The button should change from SEARCH or SEARCH AGAIN (both blue) to SEARCHING (red). You'll find that it takes longer to search if you don't have a current subscription - this might explain why you don't always notice the colour change.

I do have the blue SEARCH and blue SEARCH AGAIN, but I have never had a red SEARCHING, just an empty space , I feel as though I'm missing out Peter, only joking.

 

[peter]

Bryman, I can only suggest it's because you're on the other side of the world, and so a long way from the server. Whenever I click the SEARCH button it immediately changes to the red SEARCHING.... message, even if I log in to your account and try repeatedly.

Whatever you are seeing, it certainly has absolutely no bearing on the prospects of matches being found (though you may find that this anomaly disappears if you renew your subscription ).

I suspect that distance is also the cause of Heather's blank space, but it's just possible that clearing the browser cache will solve this problem. Again, it doesn't affect the mechanics - it's simply a visual disparity.

 

[Bryman]

Peter, such a smooth talker - are you sure that you don't have Irish ancestors?

I may just have to do as you suggest as I think that I MAY have identified another LC member (RS) who would be my 7th cousin and aged 95 (!). If I am right then I would hate to miss the opportunity to make contact. No doubt you would know who that might be but I am not asking you to breach any confidence. Also, if I am not mistaken then he would be an even closer cousin to another LC member who is also my 7th cousin and with whom I converse quite frequently.

Thanks for confirming that there is no particular significance to the non-appearance of the SEARCHING display.

 

[Bryman]

I can only suggest it's because you're on the other side of the world, and so a long way from the server. Whenever I click the SEARCH button it immediately changes to the red SEARCHING.... message, even if I log in to your account and try repeatedly.

I don't think that distance or response time is really much of a contributor to this situation. Having added a few more references, I tried searching again, and again, and again . . . (after having renewed!) and still managed to get both outcomes from clicking on the SEARCH button. The search begins (rotating indicator) within a second of the click so there is no appreciable delay involved.

Regardless of my renewal and however many times I SEARCH AGAIN, I don't get any more matches.

 

[peter]

I do think that distance is a factor - the fact that the only two people who have noticed an anomaly are on the other side of the world from our servers is very likely to be significant.

There is NO rotating indicator - what you are describing is probably a graphic that your browser displays while it is waiting for information. So, far from indicating that there is no delay, it is showing the opposite.

Regardless of my renewal and however many times I SEARCH AGAIN, I don't get any more matches.

Unfortunately the Search algorithm is so accurate that re-running it will only give different results if the data has changed, ie you or one of your relatives has entered more relatives. But you should have found that it is much faster now that you have renewed your subscription.

 

[Bryman]

Peter, I haven't noticed any significant speed-up in the searching process but the overall time taken may well be mainly affected by the distance (and number of nodes to be passed through) from the server. Presumably, the main determinant of the duration of the search/match process is the total number of recorded census references rather than the number entered by the member searching.

I don't wish to make too much of this discussion as the results do not appear to be affected in any way. However, I do not understand how distance can be the cause of the red button not being displayed. I have run more than a dozen tests with mixed results.

When the red button does get displayed, it appears almost immediately after the blue button is clicked, within a second.

a. If the display is the result of client based processing then I would expect such a fast response but then not those instances where the button remains blue.
b. Although the only two reported instances of users not seeing a red button displayed are both from 'down under', what about all the other LC members that operate from similar distant locations?
c. If the display is the result of server based processing then the immediate apearance of the red button (when it does appear) would suggest that distance is not a problem.
d. If distance really did introduce a delay then why doesn't the red button appear after several seconds when not immediate?

Please don't spend a lot of time investigating and justifying what currently happens. I have included these thoughts here only for consideration if ever there is a need for changes to be implemnted in this area. I only raised this issue initially because I thought that there might be a simple explanation which I might avoid. I don't really have any complaints with the way that the system works.

 

[peter]

Bryman, because nobody can reproduce the results you're getting they must surely be related to your location, your computer set-up, or your broadband connection. The fact that Heather in Australia also reports a visual anomaly - albeit a different one - supports this, as does the fact that if I log-in to your account and click the Search button it works exactly as it should, despite repeated attempts.

There is no further investigation I can do, since everything works as expected here. However you could try using a different browser, a different computer, or a different broadband connection (though as it's only a cosmetic issue it probably isn't worth spending much more time looking into it).

By the way, if I click the Search button when I don't have a subscription it takes 17.7 seconds to produce the results; it takes just 10.8 seconds after subscribing. However I've only entered just over 1600 relatives, so I'd expect it to take longer for you.

 

[Tim]

Take some screenshots of what you're seeing Bryman. I use Greenshot, it's an amazing app but you can use things like Paint etc.

 

[VTinOZ]

The above is what I see when I search from my ancestors page... it has always been the same sequence as best as I remember. Screen shots taken using snipping tool in windows 10.
Is that the same as what you see Bryman?

 

[Tim]

I get exactly that sequence.

When I click on the SEARCH button on My Ancestors page, the button sometimes changes from blue to red but not always.

Bryman appears to be saying that sometimes he doesn't get the red icon.

 

[Bryman]

The sequence shown is exactly what I see, when the red "SEARCHING" is displayed.
Sometimes, the search gets performed even though the red display is not shown. In that case, the original blue button remains until the search is completed and then it is replaced by the blue "SEARCH AGAIN".

As Peter says, it is probably just cosmetic. Everything behind the scene seems to be working in both cases. I was curious in case it was indicative of something that I ought to do/adjust.