About the data: Difference between revisions
Document Gross–Eddy WAC roster as a research layer |
Clarify AI drafts use curated person-specific sources; no open-web search |
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== How information on this site is compiled == | == How information on this site is compiled == | ||
Nothing on this wiki comes from a single authoritative database. Pages are built by combining several kinds of material, then edited in the open like any wiki. The | Nothing on this wiki comes from a single authoritative database. Pages are built by combining several kinds of material, then edited in the open like any wiki. The subsections below follow '''roughly the order those layers were added to this wiki''' (seed data first; later enrichments afterward). Ongoing channels such as family tips and open editing continue throughout. | ||
=== Dan Gross research files === | === Dan Gross research files === | ||
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Dan's original Excel timeline/roster file was the general starting point for this project, but it '''was not and is not uploaded to this site'''. Its information was combined with other research and records; it was never treated as the sole authority. That work is invaluable but was never a formal archival finding aid; typos, duplicate names, and uncertain matches were part of the working process. Later additions under Research notes may come from OCR, family contributions, or other cited research and should be judged by their own source. | Dan's original Excel timeline/roster file was the general starting point for this project, but it '''was not and is not uploaded to this site'''. Its information was combined with other research and records; it was never treated as the sole authority. That work is invaluable but was never a formal archival finding aid; typos, duplicate names, and uncertain matches were part of the working process. Later additions under Research notes may come from OCR, family contributions, or other cited research and should be judged by their own source. | ||
=== | === Camp Ritchie Museum class data === | ||
The class, section, and related roster data for Classes 1–31 come from U.S. government training-roster records held by the National Archives (NARA). '''Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc.''' (also known as '''The Ritchie History Museum''') digitized that material and made it available for use on this wiki. The underlying records are public-domain government information; the museum does '''not''' own the data. Cite the museum as the digitization source because their work made the Classes 1–31 roster usable here. | |||
That roster is separate from Dan Gross's research files and is not data created by this wiki's maintainers or by Dan Gross. On the original theritchieboys.com site, this was a '''standalone searchable class roster database'''; on this wiki those fields appear inside soldier infoboxes and class pages alongside biography, research notes, and other material. See the [[#Class roster disclaimer|Class roster disclaimer]] above. | |||
=== National Archives and census records === | |||
Soldier infobox fields also draw on WWII Army enlistment records, the 1940 census, and related public government data merged into the project file at the initial roster import. NARA data itself can contain transcription errors, missing men, or fields that do not align cleanly with later research. Each page's collapsed technical section shows some of the codes used in the merge; it is not a full NARA record dump. | |||
=== Facebook posts and community pages === | |||
Biographies, gallery images, and captions on many soldier pages were ported from the [https://www.facebook.com/rbofwwii Ritchie Boys of WWII] Facebook page and similar community posts. That material is often valuable—photographs, unit stories, and identifications—but it was written for social media, not for archival citation. Posts may repeat family lore, omit context, or attach the wrong image to a name. We curate and rewrite where we can; errors may remain. | |||
=== Family members and other contributors === | |||
Relatives, historians, and readers send corrections, photographs, obituaries, and memories by email, contact forms, and wiki edits. This channel has been open since the wiki launched and continues alongside every other layer. We welcome it and rely on it, but '''information from families is not automatically verified'''. Memories conflict, documents are misread, and names are confused between relatives. Treat contributor prose as a lead until a primary source confirms it. | |||
=== Automated and AI-assisted work === | |||
Parts of the site use software—and, in places, AI-assisted tools—to draft opening summaries, merge duplicate fields, link names of other Ritchie Boys in text, clean up imported Facebook prose, and suggest infobox values from biography text. In some cases, AI tools also draft or rewrite short biographies for an individual soldier. | |||
Those drafts are built from '''curated material already gathered for that person'''—for example information already on the profile, plus sources editors have collected and screened, such as newspaper articles, obituaries, family packets, and research notes. The AI tools do '''not''' search the open web or discover new sources on their own; they only rearrange and present what they are given. Editors intend that fed material to be accurate for the named individual, but curation is not the same as independent verification of every claim. | |||
These tools are intended to save editor time, not to certify accuracy. AI-generated and script-generated text may contain errors or misinterpretations. While we review output when issues are noticed, we cannot guarantee that every AI-generated sentence has been checked by a human expert. | |||
=== Document OCR (contributor uploads) === | |||
Logged-in users may upload document scans from a soldier page or [[Contribute documents]]. Optical character recognition proposes facts (dates, ASN, class, and similar). '''Proposed facts are never written to a profile automatically'''—a human must review and click Apply (the <code>ocr-reviewer</code> group or an administrator). OCR misreads names and numbers; treat suggestions as leads until confirmed against the image. | |||
=== Dan Gross timeline documents === | === Dan Gross timeline documents === | ||
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Timeline enrichment is additive: existing biographical prose and profile data are retained, while clear new events are added to the appropriate opening summary, biography, infobox, awards or service fields, and the detailed Timeline section. A biography should not be replaced wholesale merely to incorporate timeline research. | Timeline enrichment is additive: existing biographical prose and profile data are retained, while clear new events are added to the appropriate opening summary, biography, infobox, awards or service fields, and the detailed Timeline section. A biography should not be replaced wholesale merely to incorporate timeline research. | ||
=== | === Camp Ritchie faculty notes (Dan Gross) === | ||
A separate Dan Gross working spreadsheet lists early '''staff and faculty''' at Camp Ritchie (sometimes labeled the faculty “first 13”), with ranks, section assignments (Terrain Intelligence through Enemy Order of Battle), and related notes. It is '''not''' the First Class student photo roster and is '''not''' uploaded to this wiki. Clear identity-matched fields are published on soldier profiles with a descriptive Sources credit (for example: Dan Gross research archive … ''FACULTY - FIRST 13.xls''). Browse the published names on [[Camp Ritchie Faculty]]. | |||
=== | === WAC roster (Dan Gross and Beverley Driver Eddy) === | ||
[[Ritchie WACs|WAC profiles]] and the [[Ritchie WACs]] roster also draw on a separate working spreadsheet of Women's Army Corps members associated with Camp Ritchie. '''Dan Gross''' compiled the base list; '''Beverley Driver Eddy''' expanded it (2021 additions). It is '''not''' a complete list of the roughly 2,000 WACs who trained at Ritchie, and it is '''not''' the same file as the Camp Ritchie Museum Classes 1–31 roster. | |||
Fields on that spreadsheet (nativity, religion, personnel-card type, ASN, vitals, rank, assignment, notes, and service / Military Intelligence Training Center / release dates) were used to create or enrich public profiles where a clear name or ASN match existed. Card codes are explained on profiles as research notes: '''A''' = 3-by-5 personnel card, '''C''' = regular card, '''N''' = no card. Incomplete cells stay blank rather than guessed. Alternate or married names that share one ASN may redirect to a single canonical page. | |||
The spreadsheet itself is private research and is '''not uploaded''' to this wiki. When its information appears on a page, the '''Sources''' section credits both researchers descriptively (for example: Dan Gross and Beverley Driver Eddy, ''WACs at Camp Ritchie'' roster research spreadsheet). Treat those notes and incomplete rows the same way as other Research notes: leads to check, not verified biography. | |||
== Accuracy and open editing == | == Accuracy and open editing == | ||
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* The raw NARA enlistment dump string | * The raw NARA enlistment dump string | ||
* Dan Gross's original Excel timeline/roster file was not uploaded. Its data was used as a general starting point and combined with other research and records. | * Dan Gross's original Excel timeline/roster file was not uploaded. Its data was used as a general starting point and combined with other research and records. | ||
* The private Word-document timelines were not uploaded. Selected clear findings from them may be incorporated into public profiles with descriptive citations, but the original documents remain private. | |||
* The Gross–Eddy WAC roster spreadsheet was not uploaded. Selected fields were published on WAC profiles with credit to both researchers; the original file remains private. | * The Gross–Eddy WAC roster spreadsheet was not uploaded. Selected fields were published on WAC profiles with credit to both researchers; the original file remains private. | ||
* The | * The Gross faculty “first 13” spreadsheet was not uploaded. Selected staff/faculty fields were published on matching soldier profiles with a descriptive citation; the original file remains private. | ||
* Internal merge logs and ambiguous-review queues (those stay with the research project) | * Internal merge logs and ambiguous-review queues (those stay with the research project) | ||
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== See also == | == See also == | ||
* [[ | * [[Start here#Looking for a relative|Start here]] — find a name, understand roster fields, add a photo or obituary | ||
* [[Ritchie WACs]] — working roster of Women's Army Corps profiles | * [[Ritchie WACs]] — working roster of Women's Army Corps profiles | ||
* [[About]] | * [[About]] | ||