Curator Guide: SorceForgery

From GO Public

Guidelines for Curators

All changes to ontology content and organization (terms, parent-child relationships, and definitions) should go on the SourceForge tracker. This will help reduce duplication of effort, improve record-keeping, and let any outsiders who check the tracker see what's being worked on.

Every member database whose curators have GO CVS write access should have at least one curator on the SourceForge list; Jane and Midori can add any GO curator to the list of possible assignees, and grant the necessary "tech and admin" privileges. Technicians can be assigned items; admins can make changes to items.

Anyone can enter new items even if they don't have the tech or admin privileges.

Effort should be made not to duplicate entries; check whether an open entry already exists for the topic of interest, and if so, comment on the existing entry rather than making a new one. This will help avoid having to keep multiple entries in sync.

General guidelines

• The SourceForge tracker is not meant to be a substitute for discussing complicated issues on the GO mailing list. There are a lot more people on the main GO mailing list than on the SourceForge request mailing list, so if an item turns out to be really complicated or to result in extensive changes, messages should be sent to the GO mailing list. In some cases curators will have to use some judgment to decide whether to post to the list or not. An item can be sent to the list at any time, not just when it's first posted. If in doubt, err on the side of going to the list.
• If the topic falls under the remit of one of the "interest groups", a member of that group should claim it. See the interest group documentation for more information, including current groups and members.

Step-by-step SF instructions

• Assign the item to yourself before you start work. Adding comments as you work is optional; sometimes it's helpful to keep track of your reasoning or to allow others to comment.
• Choose a group. The "group" selector has two different sets of options: the group options, such as "GO" and "SGD," indicate where the curator is; others, such as "developmental biology," indicate interest groups. For both types of group, more can be added if needed.
• As the first step implies, it is OK to comment on an item that someone else is working on. You can offer to help the assignee if you have relevant knowledge or are simply interested.
• Don't assign an item to anyone other than yourself unless the other curator has already agreed to it, or reassign an item without checking with the original assignee.
• Consider the GO content points made in documents in the curator guides category.
• Send the item out to the GO mailing list if it proves non-trivial.
• Before you close an item, add a comment that explains what you've done. The minimum is the new term ID and text string especially if the text is different from what was originally suggested. Other affected terms should also be mentioned: parents, children, etc., and any rearrangements fully described. If the work was complicated, also explain the reasoning behind the changes.
• Supporting material for a new entry or a comment can be put in an attached file. This is particularly useful if the comment is long or involved, or if you know of a relevant email or other document.
• When you've finished an item, change the status to "Closed" and choose a resolution. New term requests are usually either "Accepted" or "Rejected." Other requests can be assigned whichever resolution seems best.