Fed Up With Genealogy Tree Thieves

[cassandra123]

It is a hobby of a lot of people simply to collect the largest number of names into THEIR

[Comosus]

One person who was descended from the sibling of my GGG grandmother sibling's husband/wife.  (Note: not a blood relative at all).  I wouldn't have minded if they just took a few details that were needed, but instead they copied the ENTIRE tree.  Including things like my parents' wedding date.  I don't just mean the descendants of the line either.  They went down from my GGG Grandmother, to her daughter, to her daughter, to her son, to his wife, to her mother, to her mother, to her mother, and to her mother, along with all the siblings too and every single detail.

The two reasons I hate it are because:

1. The information is often about living people, and for someone you don't know to have all that information about you, is extremely creepy.
2. Anyone wishing to find a link to my tree might find theirs first, and contact them instead of me.  They must get tons of emails.

I now search quite regularly for living family members to see if anyone has stolen my tree.

Andrew

[cassandra123]

Sorry this posting messed up and only put part of my input. full comment reposted below.

It is a hobby of a lot of people simply to collect the largest number of names into THEIR trees.  It need not be their proven tree just a single surname will do.

These people are not doing genealogy they are simply name collectors at best.   They invariably do not even know their own gt grandparents, nor source of entry into whichever country they live in.  The do not have any documents to verify matters.   A famous name or person will do just as well for them.

They don't join FHS's  nor do they go to libraries or Records Offices,  why should they when they can sit around bob into forums and websites every so often and find what they want to add.

I know its me being cynical but this is exactly what happens.    Either don't put full information on line, or limit access to it.

[pjbuk007]

cassandra123

You are so right!

Nothing goes in my tree unless I have the verification myself.

These people are playing some game other than family history or genealogy.  Name collectors indeed.  Fine if that is their bag, if rather sad and pointless.  It is just SO annoying when they pretend to be family historians, and muddy the waters for those of us who are quite serious about this hobby.

[cassandra123]

You will find so many of these collectors as to be pathetic to my mind to say the least.

I had what I will call a "run-in" with a person
who claimed in open room that he was descended from King Durham of England.

Of course I said there was no such person and all hell let loose because of my comment.

This man didn't even know his grandparents. and presumed that there was a King Durham of England because that was his surname.

I was told I was out of order for picking on him and that he was correct anyway.

Tough luck  still incorrect.

Then there was another one, who came into the same open room and stated that he had been in UK on a University Course (which by the way lasted a matter of weeks) and that he was a chaplain who had given The Queen Holy Communion each Sunday in Westminster Cathedral,  which was most certainly untrue as Westminster Cathedral is the Roman Catholic Cathedral and even so the Queen does not attend even Westminster Abbey each Sunday.  She spends the weekend at Windsor where she has her private chapel and clergy.

Then he came up with that the Queen had told him that if he renounced his allegience to the United States of America then she personally would make him a Baron.

Now I find all this so sad, so silly and so unnecessary,   you are what you are,  not what you state to people and especially if you are going to tell a lie make it a good one and don't tell people who can confirm it is untrue.

[Inchworm]

Someone that I know said last week that she was " doing her family history". "Great",  I said. She then told me that she had got it all for nothing on Genes Reunited. I asked if she had checked out all the info through census returns etc.. "Why would I want to do that ?", she replied.
Says it all really.

[Comosus]

A lot of people just expect that everything is right, and it's not just for genealogy - it's for pretty much everything.  People read things in newspapers like "scientists discover x does y" and assume that it is now absolute fact, whereas what the newspaper will be commenting on is the release of a new scientific paper, giving just evidence for it.  A lot of people just don't seem to grasp the concept that everything is not always black of white, and in genealogy that's especially false.  There are a lot of grey areas.  Some branches on my tree are for people that I suspect to be my ancestors.  I know which ones are dubious but others don't, so I try not to share them.  People just seem to assume that everything they're told is correct and it's completely wrong, especially when it's told from someone you don't know ie. someone off Genes Reunited.  For all they know, the person they got the information from may not know any more about genealogy than they do.  I can't believe how easy people can think some things are.  It's never as simple as going online and printing off your family tree, but I don't understand why some people think it is.

Andrew

[Guy Etchells]

You are right Alan.

It's the nature of the beast. 

If you put the info out into the public domain, then it's the property of the public.

I don't think it's ethical but it happens all the same 

What seems to be being missed is that publishing information on a website does not put that information in the public domain.
Here in the UK one has to specifically put refute copyright for any work not to be protected by copyright.
I would also add before some start on about facts not being copyright in Europe they are covered by Database Right for 15 years.


Having said that I cannot understand people who put their trees on closed sites, if you are going to share then share on an open web site for all to see, if not why bother?
Cheers
Guy

[Comosus]

Having said that I cannot understand people who put their trees on closed sites, if you are going to share then share on an open web site for all to see, if not why bother?
Cheers
Guy

I have a site set up for the family to view, and only family can access the tree.  I can also put more details on there than on GR, like living relatives (who would otherwise have to be blanked out, or simply not included on the GR tree).  I don't want the details of living people available for anyone to see, or even grandparents who have passed away.  I don't mind adding their details if they're on the census but if they're not then I'd prefer to leave them off because it just seems a little close to home for me.

Andrew