Wikipedia talk:Fold3

Accounts

I am yet to receive my account despite applying ages ago, as a result i am wondering what is going on.Jason Rees (talk) 07:47, 19 March 2015 (UTC)

Hi Jason, we passed on email addresses for approved users to Fold3 a few weeks ago, so we're now following up with them on this issue. Nikkimaria (talk) 16:10, 30 March 2015 (UTC)

New reference tool

There is a new Visual Editor reference feature in development called Citoid. It is designed to "auto-fill" references using a URL or DOI. We would really appreciate you testing whether TWL partners' references work in Citoid. Sharing your results will help the developers fix bugs and improve the system. If you have a few minutes, please visit the testing page for simple instructions on how to try this new tool. Nikkimaria (talk) 04:48, 11 April 2015 (UTC)

Accounts redux

I've tried several times to log into Fold3 using my wikipedia email. No go. Most recently today. Is there a trick to this? Or ....? auntieruth (talk) 21:00, 18 August 2015 (UTC)

@Auntieruth55:, your name is on the next list of accounts to be approved by Fold3. We'll let you know when they approve your access. Gamaliel (talk) 00:37, 19 August 2015 (UTC)

great, thanks much! auntieruth (talk) 15:30, 19 August 2015 (UTC)

Images

Images of letters or signatures are sometimes used on wikipedia. Can we use such images from the fold3 archive, assuming the images are in the public domain (PD)? If so, is this the place to ask what sorts of government documents from the archive are PD? Are passport applications PD? Are letters from the continental congress archive PD? Letters regarding military pensions PD? Thanks! Smmurphy^(Talk) 17:55, 9 August 2016 (UTC)

@Smmurphy: Fold3's Terms and Conditions state: "...you agree to not reuse these images or documents except that you may reuse public domain images so long as you only use small portions of the images or documents for personal use. If you republish public domain images, you agree to credit the relevant Ancestry Website as the source of the digital image, unless additional specific restrictions apply. If you wish to republish more than a small portion of the images or documents from any of the Websites, you agree to obtain prior written permission from us." That said, Newspapers.com had a similar statement and when I asked they said it was fine for Wikipedia users to upload PD images. I'll email them to get clarification for you. Samwalton9 (WMF) (talk) 19:50, 9 August 2016 (UTC)

@Smmurphy: Fold3 have said that uploading public domain Fold3 images is fine provided they're properly sourced. They did warn though that "Any user-uploaded images are not what we would consider public domain, so we ask that you do not copy those images. User uploaded images are only found on Memorial Pages and would be clearly sourced to a username that does not contain the word “Fold3”." Commons has guides for your other questions I believe, in terms of what government documents are public domain by default. Hope that helps :) Samwalton9 (WMF) (talk) 21:24, 9 August 2016 (UTC)

Thanks. In case anyone else is curious, I tried to figure out the PD question myself. The National Archive webpage notes, "In general, all government records are in the public domain and may be freely used." and "For the few images that remain copyrighted, please read the instructions noted in the "Access Restrictions" field of each catalog record.".[1] The records I asked about all came from the National Archive to Fold3 and don't seem to carry any Access Restrictions, and thus are PD. Smmurphy^(Talk) 21:55, 9 August 2016 (UTC)

Footnotelibrary doesn't seem to be working

Links created with footnotelibrary don't seem to be working for me. First, the links seem to have invalid certificates. If I add an exception, I get redirected to the actual page on fold3, which if non-free I can only see with an account. Is this happening for anyone else? An example is this link: https://www.footnotelibrary.com/image/1/309025626, used on this page, Richard E. S. Toomey. Smmurphy^(Talk) 17:26, 7 November 2017 (UTC)

I already have access

I have access to my own paid subscription here, Ancestry and newspapers.com (save for publisher extra.) I'm not sure if there's somewhere I can sign up so that if people need content from there, I can help or what? CHRISSYMAD ❯❯❯¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 16:14, 16 April 2018 (UTC)

@Chrissymad: The Resource Exchange would be the place to monitor :) Samwalton9 (WMF) (talk) 09:50, 19 April 2018 (UTC)

Accessibility

I am continually frustrated by Fold3's inability to function as it claims to work. I use the resource for verification of command structures and notable members of ACW regiments, then discover that the user interface won't save searches when I find a record that doesn't match my search. Is anyone else experiencing this? Spacini (talk) 19:50, 16 April 2018 (UTC)

@Spacini: I'm not familiar with this problem, but you might want to provide feedback to Fold3 directly on this :) Samwalton9 (WMF) (talk) 09:52, 19 April 2018 (UTC)

Thanks @Samwalton9:, I have reported it and visited their user chat boards. Their consistent response is, we're working on it. But I'm never certain what "it" exactly is. I was hoping that one of us here with Fold3 access had discovered a workaround. I appreciate you taking the time to answer. Spacini (talk) 14:57, 19 April 2018 (UTC)

Premium Access?

I'm working on a biographical article about an ACW Medal of Honor recipient and discovered today that our Wikipedia memberships are now "Basic Free Memberships". All I can do is search and see results. Everything I need to see for this soldier is labeled as a "Premium Document". Did we have premium memberships and have now lost them or is this yet another new pricing model of Fold3 to fleece users? Spacini (talk) 17:46, 22 May 2018 (UTC)

Spacini I have an account unrelated to Wikipedia that appears to have full access (unless they changed it in relation to ancestry) so in the mean time, I'd be willing to look it up for you should you need it. I know it doesn't answer your question but, figured I'd offer. CHRISSYMAD ❯❯❯¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 17:53, 22 May 2018 (UTC)

@Spacini: I suspect we just need to get your account extended. I'm looking into this :) Samwalton9 (WMF) (talk) 09:09, 24 May 2018 (UTC)

@Spacini: Your account should now have been renewed. It will last for another year, and if you need it renewed in the future you can now do so through the Library Card platform :) Samwalton9 (WMF) (talk) 16:22, 24 May 2018 (UTC)

@Samwalton9: Thank you very much. The library where I work (Kansas State U.) had a bad fire on May 22. My office there has almost all of my research notes for the article I was attempting to create. Having full access restored to Fold3 will let me work from home. Spacini (talk) 18:42, 2 June 2018 (UTC)

I'm also having a similar problem. I received word roughly two weeks ago from a Wikipedia coordinator for Fold3 accounts that I was approved for an account through the Wikipedia Library Platform, but still only have the "Basic Free Membership" and am unable to view anything labeled as a "Premium Document." I'm not sure if I'm having access issues because it just takes awhile to process new Wikipedia memberships to Fold3 or if I'm having a similar problem to that of Spacini above, but would appreciate help in clarifying/resolving the access issue. (I did try contacting the Fold3 coordinator who notified me that I'd been approved, but haven't received any response; so, I'm assuming he/she may be on vacation this week since it's a holiday weekend.) Is this something you or another Wikipedia staffer might be able to help with, @Samwalton9 (WMF):?) As a bit of background, I'm a member of both the Women in Red and Military History WikiProjects, and was hoping to use the Civil War Widows' Pension Files on Fold3 to do research in support of new article posts this weekend since it's the Memorial Day holiday. 47thPennVols (talk) 18:08, 25 May 2018 (UTC)

@47thPennVols: Looks like you were accepted for access but the coordinator hasn't sent our information over to Fold3 for account setup yet. Hopefully they can get to that soon :) Samwalton9 (WMF) (talk) 09:23, 28 May 2018 (UTC)