This note has been prompted because someone was added to the ASU section, when they were already a member of the Group Exec section, but instead of transfering them to the ASU as a copy, they were added completely new.
If you are going to add someone to one of the sections (this mostly applies to an adult), please check that the person is not already a member of another section, before adding them in. Otherwise we get partially duplicated records, which are NOT linked to each other and not all data is correct.
To add someone to multiple sections, just transfer them as a copy, to the new section. This is done by using the Transfer to another section action, but ensuring you tick the Should the member appear in your records and the target section’s records at the same time? checkbox, which then makes a copy.
Technical explanation for those that can be bothered:
Every persons record is unique within the entire OSM system, regardless of which section, group, district, county and country they are in. Each one has a unique reference number (or ‘primary key’ – PK, in database parlance) and when someone is first added anywhere, there record and PK is created and then that PK is recorded against the section they are being added too. If you transfer someone to a different section (like a Beaver swimming up to Cubs), their PK is removed from the old section and added to the new section (their record is not even modified). If they are copied to multiple sections, their PK appears in multiple sections.
If you add someone who already has a record, as a new member of a section (as opposed to transferring or copying them), you are creating a new record and there is no relationship between to two.
