Genealogy Chat

I have spent a good number of years now working on my family tree. I am more than happy to help out those who are stuck where I can and, perhaps to willingly, will share my tree with those who ask. However, I feel it is a liberty when someone asks to view your tree and then takes a great big chunk of it, adds it to their tree and then uploads it as their own! I know I am not on my own with this but am I the one in the wrong here for allowing others to view my tree? How can I politely point out the error of their ways and explain how upset I feel about this?

Hi, It's happened to me too, I was really shocked when my Mum and Dad showed up in my Hot Matches. I have my tree and my husbands linked. The person concerned was connected to my husband in about 1780 and had copied the whole tree. I know when you let someone have access it's fair play if they use the information but being asked would be nice, I asked them to remove some relatives but they ignored me. However someone else who did a similar thing immediately removed all my recent relatives and was very nice about it Linda

Someone did that to me only, now i very rarely open my tree. I think there are 3 that have it, and 1 is nothing to me we just share a surname and help each other out.

Carolyn, It has happened to many of us. Some people are interested in quantity, not quality, where their trees are concerned. Unfortunately, once you open your tree to someone, you have no control over what they do with that information, except in the case where they put living people on. You can insist they take their names off, and if they don't you can report them to GR, who will take the names off at your request. I, and others, have found it best to give them a summary of the information that concerns your mutual ancestors only, which you can do without opening your tree. Amanda

If you were to find a tree online perhaps on Rootsweb or a similar site and found a lot of your own ancestors on there then you might assume that they'd been put there for others to use. If you open your tree on this site (remember it is called Genesreunited) then it is again likely that a lot of people would assume that you are sharing your information. I can understand that you are cross. Not long after this site began I found my living father and sister on the tree of someone I'd shared with. I was able to get them removed and since then my tree on GR has been only what I am happy to share. The tree on GR should not be used as your main tree. It should not have any living people on it and if you want to keep detailed information then that should be elsewhere. Just remember whoever you have shared with doesn't have copies of any of your proof documents or photos or detailed notes about the lives of your ancestors. You haven't actually lost anything. Sue

Thank you Linda, Julie, Sue and Amanda for your wise words. You are quite right, if I open myself up to it then I have to be prepared to risk the consequences. I have learnt my lesson and sadly I shall be more cautious in future! Thank you all for taking the trouble to reply. I appreciate it your help. Carolyn

Please read my thread .Have found my name Annie

The problem is with the recent glitches on here you may be sharing your information without even knowing it.

hi i share my tree with anyone who askes to view it .. regarding the names in my tree, .. not everyone on here takes advantage!! ... maybe im lucky i dont know? tracy

Just today I had a request to view my tree so I wrote back saying I hope you don't think me rude but could you give me a bit more information as I have had people take some of my tree without asking. The reply was 'no I understand and here is what I have'. It turned out we were conected so I opened my tree. just a polite question can save you problems and most will understand. Paul

I'm OK re opening my tree - although one person copied all of the tree once which really annoyed me as he is definitely not connected to my ex-husband (doing my son's tree for him on here) so it makes you wonder! However, my tree on here is very much a 'draft' tree - my 'accurate' one is on my PAF file - so anyone copying from my tree takes the risk that the info is not 100%. Most people who are genuine will query info - ask questions etc - and I'm happy then to copy them bits of the PAF file. The reason I keep info on here is to try and make contact with others with the same families - I will update info as and when I know it to be accurate. As I say, my PAF file is the one that counts. Yes - I think you're right to be cross because I think people should only make a note of the bit of your tree that interests them/connects them. They certainly don't need all of it. I make a note of the relevant parts of other people's trees - it helps get me further back sometimes - and sometimes it just fills in bits of the 'background' which is interesting. I wouldn't want the whole of their tree. My son once asked me what I would do if someone appeared and offered me the whole of my family tree - complete and tidy. Would I be pleased? No - a lot of the enjoyment of this hobby is the detective work involved - I love it. I wouldn't want everything handed to me on a plate! Sorry - I sound like I'm on a bit of a high horse here! Jill

LOL I think you'd be very unlikely to find someone who'd done it all already Jill, though parts of it could be possible. In a way that happened to me a year ago when a brick wall tumbled down and I was shown many generations going back on a particular branch. But it didn't mean an end to the hunting as I've been checking and rechecking plus discovering links other people didn't seem to have made. I've discovered a whole new branch this week and already found mistakes in an online tree so the finding out never ends. Sue

Carolyn, This is an almost daily chestnut on this board and I am surprised that there are still people who are unaware that fellow members will take information and put it on their own trees. There are two starkly different reactions: one group is horrified almost as if someone had stolen their homework and was going to pass it off as their own; the other group is pleased that what they consider an accurate version of their tree is in the public domain rather than the erroneous versions derived from the slipshod readings of the IGI. If you want to keep your researches secret, then don't tell anyone. Once you have passed them on you have lost control. Peter

Yes, GR warn you about this in their Terms and Conditions. If you have a problem with people using''your'' information, then don't let them see it in the first place. In fact if you remove your tree altogether then it is far safer.

I must admit that I really don't mind sharing my research, but understand others opinions as well. What may happen though, which I have found, is that you contact someone who is quite closely related, pass on your info, and they then pass it on again. I had this happen, and my name appeared in my hot matches. I had not even been in touch with them before!! The secret is not to give it out in the first place Lynda x