Uneasy about online tree

[yn9man]

Imagine my surprise this week when I found her on Ancestry and found that part of my tree in its entirity on the Public Tree section.

That is it, I am not giving anyone else my tree!!!!!! I'm just glad I have replaced all living people with the name Living.

Kerry Empty of Christmas spirit!!!!!

kerryb - Sorry you have to feel that way but I understand and agree with you.

I have not placed any "tree" on ancestry.  I would be very upset if I found any of my information on a "tree" that was there without my permission. However, I have looked at the "tree" section on ancestry just to see if any anyone else is researching my family.
How do you know if the information posted is correct? what research was done to validate the information?

yn9man

 

[kerryb]

Hi yn9man

I think perhaps people should be encouraged to use disclaimers more often because what distresses me most is the fact that I haven't got around to checking out parts of the tree so don't know if the information is correct and now it is there in the public domain to be populated by more and more distant cousins as correct information when it may not be. 

I was originally given the information by someone else who has done a load of research but I have found various errors on it and have shared the corrected information.

Someone else in the summer contacted me and we swapped information and I notice on his public tree he has acknowledged me so that if people have corrections or further information they can contact me as well as him.

I don't have any problem sharing my tree, it's not exclusively mine anyway but I just wish people would be more honest about what they want to do with the information and also a little bit of give and take goes a long way!!!!!

As I am working through my trees, double checking everything all my sources go and contacts go onto the sources page and I wish everyone would adopt that practice so that people could be acknowledged for the work they have done!!

Kerry 

[yn9man]

Hi kerryb -

I think perhaps people should be encouraged to use disclaimers more often because what distresses me most is the fact that I haven't got around to checking out parts of the tree so don't know if the information is correct and now it is there in the public domain to be populated by more and more distant cousins as correct information when it may not be.

I was originally given the information by someone else who has done a load of research but I have found various errors on it and have shared the corrected information.

Someone else in the summer contacted me and we swapped information and I notice on his public tree he has acknowledged me so that if people have corrections or further information they can contact me as well as him.

I don't have any problem sharing my tree, it's not exclusively mine anyway but I just wish people would be more honest about what they want to do with the information and also a little bit of give and take goes a long way!!!!!

As I am working through my trees, double checking everything all my sources go and contacts go onto the sources page and I wish everyone would adopt that practice so that people could be acknowledged for the work they have done!!

Kerry

Well said and I couldn't agree more. I always double and triple check my information in an attempt to eliminate research errors. Not always successful but as least I try to keep any  errors to a minimum. My family tree has evolved into a bush. 

My "list of sources" is now bigger than my family tree. 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and yours.

yn9man

[drewsankie]

I have found my tree on Genes Reunited, taken from my own website, but everyone in the family knows that i have done all the hard work.
so in a way i am happy, as maybe one of them could do more research and find even more out !

Only once i have had a problem when i contacted a guy who accused me of steeling all his info which he had worked on for 20years, and i had to point out a few facts that the info i had found was A) on the IGI B) paid by me to download certs from Scotland C) my log files to the internet gives the date of unploading which was before i had contacted him.
But that still didnt work and we dont speak ! such a shame.

Ian Markie

[Inchworm]

  Great to share info if you are a close rellie. I have had contacts with removed cousins and we have swapped great tales about our ancestors. Really broadened the picture.
Its the "copy & paste" types that you have to try and filter out. They should be firewalled !!! 

[Burrow Digger]

Most of the concern is about LIVING relatives, not those who have passed on.

So I have not put any living generations online at all.  My family tree online starts at my grandparents and goes back from there, No dates, no places, no info other than names. If anyone wants more info, they have to email me.

See my families signature link

BD

[Simon G.]

My family tree online starts at my grandparents and goes back from there

I'm the same (with the exception of my paternal grandmother, who's not dead yet).  I never really saw the need to include anything more recent than that...anyone who looks at my site looking for their ancestors won't find them with my parents, since I'm all they produced!

[cando]

I suppose I should have prefaced my post with - I would love to find a rellie with whom I could share information - none seem to be interested or have surfaced

I feel most annoyed that I haven't posted any details anywhere on the net but a very distant cousin's friend decided to 'do the family tree' and the the site is full of copy and paste   [The distant cousin has stated she is not interested in family history!!] There are details of my immediate family,including my 95 year old father and the name of the small town where they live.  Contact with the owner of the web page only resulted in the information being reworded and me being cited as 'working on the history together' 

I decided after a family conference, to totally ignore the misinformation on the site.  The misinformation has appeared on rootsweb on another person's family tree.  My dear old dad summed it up 'who would be interested other than our family, and those that matter know the information is incorrect and doesn't come from us'.  Spot on.

We have some lovely old photos and certificates, plus the family bible and feel that these are more important than lots of dates and names. 

Our family tree is not all that big as the women tended to marry late in life  and many of the males stayed single, so not lots of rellies.  Very few of us in Australia and many of the lines have 'died out' in UK.  However I am getting off the  topic

Cheers
cando

[loo]

I am very perturbed when I see trees online that have some of my living rellies on them - e.g. my mother.  I know she would hate it so I haven't told her.
Perhaps ancestry should abide by the 100-year rule - no postings less than 100 years old.
The problem is that the more recent it is, the easier they are to trace anyway, except if they moved to another country.

I don't have too much of a problem with identifying people who are long gone, and I don't care at all who benefits from my hard-won research.  It was my decision to do it and to pay the associated charges.  However, I accept contributions!  Who hasn't got something for free somewhere along the road because someone else had paid for it?

Let's not forget that the Nazis did extensive genealogical research and kept extensive records precisely so that they could identify everyone with a dram of Jewish blood in them.  You never know how this info might be used later on.