I wish some of you might help me ...help all of us, with a complaint to Library and Archives Canada, as we once could search for any variation of a name, inluding using the middle or ending of a surname or forename...
I'll start by saying we are most lucky to have a site where we might have access to so much information. There are new census images and WW1 CEF files and ship's lists and so much more. All have been very accessible until the site began the database changes. I have pointed this out to them many time since, even recently, but my complaints have never been properly addressed.
I could look for variations of a name and pretty much always found my person, if they were in there..... When they first made changes to all the databases, I complained as they still said you could use asterixes for any missing letters, and this was no longer so...They said thank you for pointing this out, nobody had notice this had happened.........BUT!!!!....... Instead of correcting things to be back to the way they were, they simply made new instructions to show one asterix only may be used after the first part of a name. I do not see how rebuilding a database to be less intuitive than its predescessor would in any way be an asset to the site. Someone or several people were, I would imagine, paid quite well to do this backward thinking.
For example: Looking for surname STINCHCOMBE One could have once searched for ST*nc*O*M* STIN*COM* *INCHCOM* *COMBE STIN*C*MB* etc....but now you need the exact beginning/s and are now allowed only one asterix. ST* Stin* etc. & that's it....you must have the exact beginning in order to have a fruitful search.
To simplify, I think one can easily see that seaching for Henry Smith ( noting that forename could be Harry or Henry and surname could be Smith Smyth or Smythe, that using
H*ry Sm*th* was a great time saver. Imagine my irritation this weekend trying to find my friend's Ukranian ancestors.
Those who have taken a great deal of their time to enter into a database all these names that may never be found because they are wildly incorrect or transcribed wrong. It is not fair to those who worked on that nor to the descendants all over the world who would like to find their ancestors.
J.J.
The databases
http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/Pages/browse-product-type.aspx#databasesIf you have something to air about the site, go ahead and add it here, but please tell them directly. I was shocked that they said I was the only person who pointed out the shortcomings of their database service.
You can email here
webservices@bac-lac.gc.ca although they don't seem to acknowledge complaints.
Or fill out this form
https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/assistance-request-form/Pages/assistance-request-form.aspx?requesttype=3