RootsChat.Com
General => The Common Room => Topic started by: Roger Griffiths on Saturday 12 August 06 18:18 BST (UK)
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This Site is advertised as a Free Site on RootsChat. It is'nt, once in they want money. I tested it with my grandfather and his brothers and sisters, all born in second half of 19th Century. It recognized none of them.
Regards,
Roger
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Hi Roger
GenesReunited is about £7 per year isn't it.
If you put your tree on there it can be very useful as they notify you when people have the same names as on your tree. I have found a cousin I did not know I had and have found so much information from others who have kindly sent me lots of their information on the same families that I am researching. So I have found it a good £7 worth. Hope you give it a go. Doris
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Hi,
Curiosity has just got the better of me - having
never really looked at this site before.
By all accounts it is £9.95 to register fully, I know
this now because it appears someone else is also
looking into my tree.
How strange it feels to see all the names you have
spent years trying to trace, looking back at you,
but with someone else's hard work and not your own.
I was tempted to join and find out who this 'other'
person was, but for a very strange reason I suddenly
feel quite possessive about sharing my hard earned
knowledge.
I feel ashamed :-[ :-[
Pels :)
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Don't feel shamed Pels
I put my tree onto the site some time ago, but wasn't prepared to fork out to become a full member at the time. This meant that any paid-up members could see my tree, but I could not see theirs.
I had several requests to view my tree, one of which led to the person concerned taking all of my tree and adding it to his own, on-line, so I had no control of who was accessing over 20 years worth of research.
I promptly took the tree down but I have no way of knowing what has been done with the information.
I know that a lot of people have found missing relatives through this site, but in many cases it is a one way flow of information - OUT!
Now that the * Reunited brand has reportedly been bought by a commercial tv company, who knows what will happen next?
Regards, Bill
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It's fascinating how this discussion comes up again and again here. I suspect we will never reconcile those who put their whole tree up there and gladly pay the subscription, and those who react like Bill. For my part, it's the one pay site I would want to stay subscribed to. My own tree is up there, but I've benefited most when helping others to research their trees. I reckon that the information I've given others is just about balanced by the information I've received. Like Doris, I would say give it a go. But it's up to you.
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I also tried Genes Reunited on my grandparents through gg grandparents. Didn't get any hits.
What I did get was several e mails ... almost spam like.
I won't visit the site again.
yn8man
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Bill - Putting your tree on GenesReunited doesn't allow paid up membes to view it.
Anyone can put their tree up on GR free of charge and can search the site for names - it will show you if anyoe else has the same people in thier tree as the name you are searching for.
However - you must be a fully paid up member to be able to make an initial appraoch to another member to ASK to see their tree- or to seek further info about a name which has turned up. Otherwise you just have to wait to see if anyone who is paid up decides to contact you.
If a fully paid up member contacts you - and you AREN'T fully paid up yourself, you can reply to ther enquiry.
But no way does putting your tree up allow other people to see it.
Hope that reassures anyone who had worries - I've found it very useful and well worth a few quid
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Pels
Had you thought that perhaps the someone else who posted all the names you have could be a member of your lineage?
They may well be an unknown cousin who has listed all the names they have which coincide with your names.
With my McGurn names there are two other people who also have a lot of my names and they are descendants of my g-grandfathers brothers family.
Jean
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Hello Everyone! :)
This truely was my initial reaction, and it was a peculiar
feeling.
The really strange thing is - I would be thrilled to bits
if I found a post on Rootschat that related to me, I would then spill the beans on everything I've learned. ;D
We live in one of those very small communities, where
if you dig deep enough, you can find a connection
to most people. Hence I have passed on my tree to
numerous folk. This is why I couldn't understand it
when this 'orrible little green eyed monster suddenly
appeared from within :-[
Oh well, never one to say never, I think curiosity will
reign supreme, no doubt before the end of the day
I will have forked out my money, but will still remain cautious
and listen to all your sound advice ;)
Pels :)
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Bill - Putting your tree on GenesReunited doesn't allow paid up membes to view it.
Yes, I'm aware of that, but when someone asked to be allowed to see my tree I didn't realise they could just grab the whole thing from the site to add to their own.
I don't object to sharing information with distant cousins who can add to my knowledge of the family but I am not happy about the way some people (a minority I'm sure) assume that they can publish your information without even asking.
I am planning to publish my family history when I have gone as far as I can, so I don't want someone else giving it all away before I can complete the work.
Regards, Bill
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Bill - yes, I am in total agreement with you on this one!
You must be livid in the circumstances and I can see where
you are coming from with the commercial aspect.
This is why it is so important to listen to advice
such as yours, people can then also see the reverse
side of the coin.
I personally wouldn't publish my tree for all and sundry to view but nor would I mind sharing it with genuine family members. I am starting to soften a bit on this
one particular issue. - thanks to suttontrust, keenbutconfused and Jean!
Pels :)
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I'm with suttontrust on this one, I have paid my membership fee and use Genes Reunited quite a bit.
I have gained quite a lot of information from the site as a consequence. However after a couple of people asked to view my tree and then take the information and show me their tree which has no information on at all, I now just have my direct line on there, I take my time to give permission to my tree. I get to know that person a bit first, find out their information and research before I give out my hard won information.
That way I have had some very fruitful connections both giving and taking information and it makes my subscription fee worth every penny.
Kerry
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Hi
I have been with Genes now for quite a few years, at the beginning I was not wary of people and some took information without giving any back, I have now learnt and get to know a lot more about the person before I open my tree to them and I have come into contact with quite a few relations and now share my hobby with them.
regards Mimosa
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I've found Genes both useful, and also misleading ! I'm 'paid up' (£7 a year) and have located a cousin on it I hadn't met since we were children, and we emailed a bit; then I looked at 'his' tree (mine also if you think about it !) and it looked impressive ... until I realised there were so many errors in it, it was just unbelieveable.
So my advice is this ... use Genes with care; as someone said, get to know who you are in contact with before giving them permission to see your tree. Then when you see another persons tree, USE IT WITH CARE ... and confirm facts from it yourself; trust no one elses research except your own. And maybe ask their permission before filching info from it !! You wouldn't like them to use yours without the OK.
But I've found it useful more than un-useful ...
Lydart
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I was going to start a new thread on this subject after being stung yet again but then saw this and thought i would give my two pennorth. Having received contact in the past from prospective rellies and having had so much initial enthusiasm that I have projectile vomited information at the recipient, only to have not received any info back, also to have given permission to view my tree only to find this has not reciprocated. I am now only giving snippets
I am now in the same way of thinking as Mimosa (nice name by the way, my mum's favourite flower). I am very dubious about any contact I receive from GR. Like Pels, I don't like this 'mine all mine' attitude but as I say having been stung so many times it is hard not to feel this way.
But yet again I continue to help - I had 1 contact who thought we could be related - a very unusual name from the same area as my rellie. We could yet be related as distant cousins. Fascinated as I was I looked on BMD for a cert. and emailed back the info. I probably spent 1/2 hour doing this and yet again I didn't even receive any thanks! Why am I doing this I have to ask myself!
I remember when I first started my quest I attended a genealogical fair and over heard a conversation of a lady being very protective of her family chart and saying how she didn't like any one looking at it. How selfish I thought to myself, but I do understand now when one has put in the hours of research and brain scratching that one does get possessive about it.
GR is not all bad. One of the first contacts I had was with a lovely lady with whom together we cracked the story of a distant cousin to some lovely conclusions and I was able to provide her with photos. We did work well with each other.
Sallysmum
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Hi all,
When I first started my "quest", all I had were sketchy bits of paper with family names scribbled on them, handed down and never properly sorted out. I thought GR was the bee's knee's, as I could build my own tree, and cross reference with others information.
However, now that I have spent over 6 months glued to the computer doing my own research, I am MUCH more wary of allowing people to view my tree. Before I was happy to share, now I make sure there is a definite family link before sharing. I have unfortunately allowed too many people access to my tree on the slim hope info would be shared, only never to hear from them again!
On a good note, I have also made contact with a handful of people whose help has been invaluable in my research.
The best advice is to be cautious! It's not being selfish being protective over all your hard work!
T.
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This is perhaps going to seem silly but the main reason that I use Genes Reunited was because I didn't have a computer at home and was using lots of different ones at uni and couldn't install family tree software so I needed an internet based tree. I regulalry download my tree as a gedcom to back it up though.
I have found a few people through the site and have met some of them so it's been worthwhile. I don't think I've got to the stage in my research where it couldn't be easily repeated by somone else. so I don't really feel that protective over my tree yet - although I can see why people can feel like that!!
Caz
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Carrie
I have no problem with sharing any of my information, in fact this last couple of weeks I have shared two wills that I have transcribed with two different people.
What I object to is doing that with people who clearly just can't be bothered to do any work themselves. They just want to 'do' their tree off the back of others who put a lot of time and effort into researching their tree and helping others.
I know I can't exactly call it my own as it is all shared with so many other people, even if I do feel a bit possessive over some of my ancestors!!!!
Kerry
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Kerry - I totally agree with you. I just meant that I haven't really spent that much time or money yet....but it's starting to add up!!!
Luckily I haven't met any complete pinchers yet, but I did have someone who copied the info that we shared plus a load of stuff that didn't really have anything to do with them and I just thought "why???"
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I try not to let it get to me too much, and yes I think 'where's the fun in that'? :o but when you have put a lot of time and money into research it is a little annoying to say the least.
However I am always glad to help anyone who has just started out, after all it's not that long ago that was me!!!
I have several contacts now who when they find new information they contact me again and share their finds and I do likewise, when I remember ::) ::) ::) ::) ::)
Kerry
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he he he. I've got some certificate sharing partners too :)
I'm certainly glad of one of them because we are researching two illegitimate sisters
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You two have just hit the nail on the head!
I would imagine a lot of people, like me have spent
years finding information, a lot of which is now easily available online.
Thinking about the time I spent, initially at the library,
trawling through the census returns and also the
archives, it is extremely easy pickings for others to come
along and with no effort at all, claim the lot!
To add insult to injury I then didn't find RootsChat
until fairly recently ::) ::) but I'm glad I did :) :)
Pels
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Pels
So am I! ;D ;D ;D
what makes it extra sad though, is these people who can't be bothered are really missing out on the joy of the chase and the discovery, the trips to local record offices etc.
I love spending an afternoon pouring over old documents. ;D ;D ;D
Kerry
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I have written before about Genes Reunited, so this is turning into one of my hobbyhorses.
I too have had my information completely lifted, used and passed on (cutting myself out of the equasion) and I had said that I wouldn't be so willing to pass on information again. However last month a lady emailed me and we worked out that we shared gggrandparents in common, so when she asked to look at my Tree naturally I opened it and asked the same of her.
Back came an email saying that her Tree was 'private' and she didn't allow people to view it! I was speechless. Of course I blocked my Tree but it was too late as she had had a couple of days to pillage it.
Having said that, I have made some GOOD contacts who are willing to share and exchange.
Daisy
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I do think that on a site like Genes Reunited, people should be prepared to share as well as see your tree.
That could easily become a hobby horse of mine too!!!!! >:( >:( >:( >:(
What a cheek to ask to see yours but not shares her with you!
Kerry
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it's reassuring that others have experienced GRers not sharing trees. I got so paranoid that I asked HELP if I had a problem with my account!
Devondaisy - at least you got a rebuff from your request - my hotmatches don't even bother to reply!
What does worry me is that if we get to the stage of not wishing to share because we have been burnt, then that makes us the same as those we are talking about!
Sallysmum
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I think that the 'grabbers' don't have as much fun (??) as we who do all the researching do.
After they've 'done' or should I say copied the Family Tree in a very short time, what hobby next?
My 'Family' are more to me than just a bunch of names and dates. I have spent about 10 years doing mine and I'm not finished yet.
I suspect that even though I get cross when I come across selfish people, I will still end up sharing next time its requested, if not as Sallysmum says it will make us as bad as them.
P.S. I have always found Rootschat people very helpful and I also try to answer a request when I look in if I can.
Daisy
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To answer SallysMum ...
I agree ... up to a point ! I would repeat what I said before ... be wary and careful ... give and take ... I would say that my experience with GR is that I have received more info than has been snatched from me ... I got one line back from 1907 to 1550 in one email !!! (And I did check it all, and its OK and accurate info !)
People can be mean in all walks of life, not just GR. So take care ... GR might give you just what you need one day !
Good luck, and say 'Hi' to Sally !!!!
Lydart
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Lydart
I agree with you - you must have been so pleased with the 350 year info - lucky you! I am going to persevere with GR. When you do get a good lead it is so rewarding especially when you work together as I did with one contact (very new to this research and thus am working alone to a great extent.)
Sally says woof back! (still not sure if you directed that at me or if you think I am someone else, but Sally is my Heinz 57!)
Sallysmum (AKA Wendy)
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Some interesting points so far...
I have been quite lucky, after taking note from previous posts on Roots Chat about GR. I never share my tree until I am satisfied we have a connection.
The contacts I have made are all related, albeit some distantly. We don't only share our trees on GR but are in contact by e-mail/post as well.
In my opinion it is definetely worth the £9.75 per year.
Dolly
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Maybe I feel differently from some people about GR because I have done research for several friends. Their trees can't be put on GR because they're not mine, so I have to look for matches and contact the owner. I always say that I am happy to share information if we have a match, and do so by email. I've never had a bad experience that way. The only time I got unhappy was when someone found a distant connection to my own tree and I made the mistake of allowing her access. The next time I looked she had lifted the entire thing. However, soon after that I discovered that I'd got one line (hers) completely wrong so deleted it all and rebuilt it with the right people. I couldn't help feeling that it served her right.
I've found most people to be extremely generous. And I take the view that if someone lifts all my research, well, I've still got it.
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The silly thing is that my family tree contains about 60 different ancestral lines going back, in some cases, about 15 generations. Unless they are your silings, at least half of your tree is of no interest. If they are 1st cousins, only about a quarter is likely to be relevant. With second cousins this reduces to an eighth, etc.
Given this obvious situation why do they need to have the whole tree? If a proven relative contacts me (usually through my own websites) I am happy to share with them the relevant parts of my tree, but I expect them to make an effort to give me the details of exactly how they fit in so that I can check their data and (if its correct) add them to my tree.
I also happily spend several hours in the local libraries most weeks searching parish and other records for totally unrelated individuals. The results go into my database just in case I get asked for them again. It would be nice to think that some of these people would return the favour if I ever needed it - I know some of them will.
Regards, Bill
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Lets face it, RootsChat is MUCH more fun; the people who use it are generous with their knowledge, they share their photos and pass on their useful web-sites ... I've got FAR more from 3 months on Roots than I have on Genes (and its free !) BUT I'll stick with Genes because its often where people new to Family History start ... (well I did !) ... and they often come up with a lesser but different sort of info to Rooters.
I'm enjoying what I'm researching; it started as a quest for ancestors but very quickly became a way into very varied history. In the last 3 months, I've read up on the Battle of the Somme; settlers in Canada in the 1890's; uniforms; the Norman conquest; DNA; and dating old photos !! Can't be bad, especially as its been dry and the grass hasn't needed cutting and thus time for this !
(And Sallysmum, I thought Sally must be your daughter ! Well, pat the dog from me and my dog !)
Lydart
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My initial annoyance was caused by it being advertized as a 'Free Site', when it is in fact a 'Subscription Site'. I did not stay very long, but I got the idea they wanted paying for some results after that. The owners have to be untrustworthy.
In this World, there are Givers and Takers. I don't know the proportions. I have always given info. free for the asking. I am also known on a couple of history sites. I have given, given, given info for years, yet when I asked for some information just once, which someone must have........nothing.
Thanks everyone for the input, your posts have been very illuminating. IGI remains the best thing since sliced bread. I have dealt with Reading FHC and Salt Lake City. Nothing is too much trouble for them. They truly are good people. You can put your Tree on there.
I have got nothing from here on a personal basis, but that is because I don't think anyone else in my extended family has an interest in FH.
Regards,
Roger
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Found this whole thread very interesting indeed, and I can see both sides of what you are all saying.
I joined GR a couple of years ago, and its rewards have been quite beneficial to me. I have traced my grandfathers brothers through it which I think would have been impossible otherwise. Their families found me, and I found their families ... fair deal.
However, Bills original point about others gleaming "your" information is pertinent. It has to be said though, that nobody has access to you tree unless you explicitly give them permission to view your tree. If you were possessive of your information, then you can deny all who approaches you. But, the beauty of this brother/sisterhood of the genealogy game is the sharing of information, but, alas, only amongst like minded individuals like ourselves.
The real issue is who actually "owns" that information once you have put it up on GR. More disturbingly, as Bill points out that they have been bought over by a COMMERCIAL tv company, what can they do with "our" information. Did any of us actually read the terms of use when we subscribed at the start. Have we lost our intellectual rights regarding our hard earned information? More concerning is that many people have put in their trees living persons ... date of birth, marital status, age and a location. What would happen if that got into the wrong hands?
Although we are concerned what we have done in the past, I think that there should be concerns over what possibly might happen in the future.
Neil
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To be perfectly honest, I don't care what anyone does with "my" information. Okay, I've done a lot of work, and had the joy of discovery. But long before I did family history, I did local history research, and when I found stuff that no one had put together before (the history of the Georgian building I live in) I couldn't wait to share it with others, to publish it. I feel much the same about my family tree. All the living people who are on my GR tree and on websites have happily given their permission. Since information about me, and them, is readily available elsewhere, I can't see how anyone can put it to nefarious use. GR is a good starting point for many people. If you worry about it, don't use it.
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That's my point Suttontrust ... by sharing your information you sometimes get results back. If Bill is intending to publish his findings at a later date, then he shouldn't have opened up his data. It's the price you pay for getting more results.
However, Bill has reason to be concerned because now he doesn't know who has his data, it's all very well taking your tree down so future subscribers can't access it, but the damage has been done because there is no way of really deleting electronic data. GenesReunited ( or their subsequent owners ) will have a cache storage of his tree wether he likes it or not ... so who "owns" it?
Neil
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Is it the question of "ownership" that's at the heart of this concern, then? I don't "own" my family tree. The data - names, dates etc. - is public property. If I fill it out with personal and background information, and put it in narrative form, I automatically have copyright on that. I've done that, and have given it to my neares and dearest. The only reason for my research has been so that I, and my young relatives, know about our roots.
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I am very grateful to GC as it has introduced me to so many distant relatives and friends, most of whom I have now met personally, from all over the world.
I have only shown my tree to those whom I have known for a long time and can trust. If new contacts ask to see my tree, I firstly ask them what it is they wish to know, and answer that question. From that I suggest they do their own research. I had one dubious contact last week, who said that a long time ago I had sent him a lengthy email with a lot of information on it which he had lost, would I let him see my tree. As I keep all my GC contact list, I looked for him and he wasn't on it, nor did I remember sending him such information. I therefore ignored his request.
My friend in the US phoned me the other day and said that someone on GC had stolen her tree and called it his own. She knew it was her tree as she had foolishly opened it to him some time back, and there were several errors on it, that she has since corrected.
Su
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The only time I got unhappy was when someone found a distant connection to my own tree and I made the mistake of allowing her access. The next time I looked she had lifted the entire thing.
I spoke to soon in my last post :-\. This has just happened to me and it doesn't feel nice, especially as I am included in the tree and my contact hasn't had the courtesy to ask my permission >:(
Dolly
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I must say, I am a tad surprised about the strong reactions to people "stealing" information from GenesReunited. It's a public site, and anything you publish there is pretty much fair game. Such is the internet.
My tree is on it, and if anyone copies it, good luck to them. I hope it saves them the years it took me to compile it. They might even point out some errors, or let me know about new connections.
I was astonished when a distant cousin allowed me access to his tree, and I simply added the missing parts to mine, which eventually got published by GR. He sent me a very abusive e-mail calling me a thief! I have since deleted the offending section, but feel I have been cut off from part of my family.
That's why I prefer Rootschat - we all happily share our knowledge! :D
meles
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My story so far.. .. ..
I did join on Sunday and left a message for the person I had initially spotted researching the same names as me.
Now comes the deceitful part, I only clicked onto the name of my husband's great grandfather, when in actual fact I could have gone back a further generation with all the names on offer.
This information could have been obtained from either the 1881 or 1901 census. ;D
So far - nothing! In all fairness, with the holiday period in full swing, my contact may be on holiday?
I don't think so - I really do think, in view of your advice the fact she doesn't think I have anything to offer is the reason for her lack of communication!
Shame really, because I hit and then bypassed a huge stumbling block in this part of the tree. Once past that particular hiccup you can sail straight back to 1700 quite easily ;D ;D
Without listening to you lot, I would:
a) Be a far nicer person - oh, alright gullible!!
b) Feeling very let down!!
I will keep you posted, if I am wrong I will hold my hands up, instinct for some unknown reason tells me otherwise and I can't explain it?
Pels :)
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I subscribe to GR and whenever anyone contacts me and it proves to be a genuine contact (even if it's a bit distant) and they give me access to their tree, I happily give them access to mine. My tree on GR is far from complete due to lack of time so when I give someone access to my tree I always state that I have more details available, so if they don't keep in touch and they lift my tree straight off GR then they've still got a lot of gaps.
Bee
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Someone further back in this topic asked what will happen to GR now they have been bought up by a TV company, and if the daft programme they are sponsoring (time warped dinosaurs, for heavens sake ... !!!!!! ) is anything to go by, I'm not sure we can be too confident they will keep our hard won info about our families as 'members only' info ... has anyone asked GR about this ?? We know that only those we give permission to see our trees, can see them ... but all that info must be stored with GR ... and now the TV company ... what then ??
Lydart
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Lydart is quite right to ask "... has anyone asked GR about this ?? " Well, take the bull by the horn, and I will do just that. I will write to GenesReunited and ask them to post the answers, here, to some of the questions being raised in an attempt to dispell any speculation.
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I wonder if they will answer - I sincerely hope so!! My subs are due next months!
Kerry
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Keep us informed, OurSutherland !!
Didn't someone once say something about 'If good people do nothing about the bad things they see, then the bad will prevail' ? Not that GR in itself is bad, its just that we want to know what others (specifically the TV company) will do with our info, especially that which is (unwisely) put on by some members about living relatives ...
Lydart
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I have found GR fairly useful so far, I have met members with the same ancestors as myself and we have swapped information and everything has gone fairly well.
If you dont want others to 'steal' your hard work then dont put it on in the first place, it is give and take in my opinion. Sometimes you will take info and sometimes you will give. If it helps others gain further insight into their family history then it is fine by me if they want to use some of my information.
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But, BrianS, perhaps not info about illegitimacy, family breakups, divorce, etc IF the members are still alive and might find it intrusive or hurtful for it to be published on a public site ?? The 'give and take' which I too, find the best way to go about things, has always to be done with concern for others ...
GR has been good for me so far, but I do know of others who have found it intrusive ...
Lydart