My complete tree pirated!

[simon tree]

Any way of knowing who looks at your tree.

[jess5athome]

I've placed many hours and money into my tree, and have been grateful for the help and advice received from others whilst researching my ancestry, but I could never wish to overcome the annoyance of those who collect ancestry details by going private with my tree. What if I drop dead tomorrow and my tree is on private? All that time and effort and nobody, be it distant relatives or descendants, can benefit from it in the future. I look upon doing my ancestry as ensuring that the names and lives of my ancestors are remembered and free for others to continue in that remembrance.

Each to their own of course. 

Hi, Now that is a very good and clear way of looking at the "Public/Private" debate, I think one of the main reasons (to me anyway) is that it only takes a second to contact someone and ask if you could use a photograph etc from their tree, I know that by making your tree and your research "public" it is there for all to see and no doubt take, But, good manners cost nothing.
I found something on Ancestry lately which was of use to me (A photograph) and I emailed the tree owner to ask if it was OK to take a copy saying that I knew it was public but still thought it fair to ask their permission, I got a wonderful answer back saying certainly and how nice it was of me to ask, I think if everyone acted in this way then a lot of the problem would be solved.
Regards always.
Frank (Just getting down off his high horse  )

[meekhcs]

Couldn't agree more, and I have done the same. Unfortuately I think we are in the minority!

[KatPez]

I recently put mine as private because my father passed away 2 years ago so he now would automatically come up as no longer private and this worried me.

Can't believe people would do that though.

[Dom1]

My tree was set to private the moment I begun it because I knew that many of my cousins would not like their ancestry in the public domain. Unfortunately, there are several sites on the web about my family which reveal personal details that I find uncomfortable - I hasten to add that there is no one in my ancestry to be ashamed of,  and much of the information is readily available in the newspapers or documented on TV but  I fail to see the need for others to parade them quite so publicly, especially when said sites reveal the living. Fortunately, my own branch has remained off the radar, and fingers-crossed, they remain so.

The password for a private tree could be included in a will or tree could be downloaded as a gedcom file and transferred to a flash drive and given to a relative.

I do, however, understand those who choose to have public trees.

[patpat]

One simple answer Dont put your tree on ancestry.

[Ayashi]

I have a "skeleton tree" on Ancestry, just with names and birth year & place on them, enough for anyone to wonder if we are related but not enough to people can nick anything significant off them. I have, however, sent info directly to a cousin who apparently passed it all off as her own to her father, who praised her to various other relatives...

[jnnelias]

Ella Rose, does your cousin realise what they are doing?  I made a blind mistake when I first set out and ended up getting a phone call off my uncle asking if it was me... apparently one of the Welsh cousins had noticed my info matched his (right down to the capital letters I am ashamed to say) and emailed my Uncle.  Once they realised it was me I was allowed to join their tree and given access to loads of resources and shown how to look up records etc. 

To add to the general discussion I was recently contacted by a family History researcher who posed as a.n.other ancestry member helping out a friend and asked me for a copy of a certificate I had.  While I don't mind sharing info even with professional researchers it just felt underhanded as he didn't tell me what he was until I after found out.  I shared because he had something I wanted, but I didn't give him access to my online tree.

J

[Malcolm33]

Do what Sir Francis Bacon did - use a code.    One could begin all names with x, y, or z which would indicate a certain code in what followed.   Some of the Bacon codes were so ingenious - all in the Shakespear Code by Victoria Fellowes.