Genealogy Chat

If someone contacts you with common ancestors in your tree. Do you give them complete access to your entire tree or just send them a file on the relevant line?

I used to give full access to my tree but I am reluctant to do so now after someone pretty much copied it exact, not even confirming the ancestors are correct. I learnt my lesson after that.

However sometimes it is a pain to create a file just for that line, showing them several connections and it perhaps would be easier just to open up my tree.

I dont know. I would be interested in others thoughts on this.

read etiquette and genealogy above

Hi,
I normally only send details of the line in which there is a common interest. If from that a connection is made and further communication is forthcoming then and only then do I open my tree.
Only the other day I was contacted, sent off the information requested and never heard another word from that person again. It does appear to happen more often now than it did a few years ago. Just why, I don't know.
Herbert

I got caught that way in my early days. Someone copied all of my tree, which is in truth my children's tree as it includes my husband's line as well as my own. Why it should matter when someone copies a load of people who are no connection to them I do not know, but I was miffed!

Now that my tree is moderately extended, I keep it off-line (I use Legacy but that's just my personal choice), and up-load it periodically to GR, not showing the names or details of living people and a few recently dead as well. If anyone contacts me, once we have established there is a match, I offer them a report of the line they are interested in from my off-line tree, which includes my notes and source annotations as well. In order to send this we have to exchange email addresses as you cannot add an attachment to a GR message. I still do not send details of living people - I would regard that as a breach of their personal trust and am always amazed at how people happily hand over details of their small children to complete strangers (ie me!).

It is no great effort to produce a report on just one line from the off-line tree, and I consider it a much better way of doing things. This does not, of course, stop me from taking full advantage of GR trees which are opened to me, but I always check out the information myself as well. One never knows how precise other people are in their research.

Tina

I usually run of a decendant report from my FTM

I usually only open my tree when I have enough info that there is a connection. Yet I was caught out when looking at her tree afterwards, I found she had copied my photographs and put them on her tree. I sent her a message telling her to remove them as she did not have permission to use them. She did so and apologised but that wasn't the point.

Chris

Never thought of doing reports, that though will probably be what I do now,
like most once bitten twice shy.