My complete tree pirated!

[Stanwix England]

Personally speaking I don't mind if someone uses my tree. After all I got a huge amount of help from a tree a relative of mine, now sadly no longer with us, did before me. Without him I doubt I'd be where I am in my research today. Also, for me, huge breakthroughs have come from requests I've made for help here at Rootschat. I suppose I'm coming from a place of feeling like my tree isn't all my own work, so sharing is fine.

I'm nervous about someone using my original research because I'm a beginner. I know at times my tree contained errors, which I've tried to iron out, but I wouldn't want someone to copy the errors.

I do look at other peoples public trees online on Ancestry. I can't say I've ever taken much information from them, as usually nobody has info that I don't already have. I've always assumed however that as their trees were public they didn't mind sharing.

As a whole I really enjoy sharing the things I have found and I'm working on a website which will host my results.

I'm not sure how I would feel if I became aware someone had borrowed my whole tree. If they really belong in the tree I think I'd be pleased because it's nice to share the information. If they did it in error and attached it to themselves in error I think my view would probably be more fool them.

[jess5athome]

Well when I see a poster with that amount of names that they are tracing first I think I am dealing with a women, as they much more than men trace all the female lines

Hows that work out then?

Frank.

[cocksie]

Ummmm .....
The female ancestor branches are actually probably more vital than the male.
Kind of easier for everyone to see a baby emerging from a woman .....
Not so easy to ascertain from the records whose sperm actually made it to the egg.
Possibly only the mum knows .... And she may not want anyone to know about the milkman (or postman or butcher)
Cocksie
Apologies for going off the op topic

[groom]

Very true, Cocksie. Looking at it that way, only by tracing the female can you be certain you are following the right line.   

[geno500]

The last two postings are too weird to reply too ,getting back to the original posting people do grab trees online and do attach them to their own and end up with a complete mess,my point was that when you are looking at half of England with as many as 30 names being researched people do this,when you email them you do not get a reply,firstly because just maybe they are a little shame faced in having done it and second because they do not give a dam and cannot answer or be bothered to answer your question,at least these postings have shown the dangers of putting your trees online,even when you make them private on Ancestry they are available on another site.

[youngtug]

If you are no longer a paid member of Ancestry then you cannot send nor recieve messages. If some one tries to contact you they have no way of knowing that, most people here  seem make the assumption that you are refusing to answer if they recieve no answer when it may be that the recipient of their messages haven't actually received them, not that they could reply. If you use the "other" site [Mundia] mentioned then you can exchange messages, paid member of ancestry or not.

[Katharine F]

That is what I always think too Cocksie, so I have tried very hard to follow the female lines of my family.  However one line where every Sarah married a James and on another where every William married a Mary hasn't exactly made things easy. Good job I like a challenge.

I won't put my tree online after a very distant relative that I had contact with put all that information online then added me and my immediate living family!!!  She said it was a mistake but it took a very long time to get us hidden. 

Most people are not like her though.

[forthefamily]

ellarose,
you can write to ancestry and ask for any pictures that you have uploaded yourself to be removed from another public tree. Pictures of my great-grandparents, which my cousin had posted before she went private, were showing on 2 public trees. I wrote to both tree owners explaining the situation and they ignored my request, so I took the matter up with Ancestry who removed them with little fuss.

I had the same experience.

Someone had my grandmothers picture on their tree. Since they were obviously not my relative I was a bit miffed. I wrote to the tree owner twice but he ignored me.  I then wrote to Ancestry. The photo was removed within the week.

mab

[Coco2101]

Hi Ellarose

Concerning the pirating of your family tree, the same thing happened to my cousin. Following a complaint to Ancestry, the tree of the other person disappeared off the site.  It may be worthwhile contacting Ancestry about your concerns.

What puzzled me most with my cousin's experience is that there was no relationship between them.

I hope this won't put you off your family history research.

Regards
Coco