Genealogy Chat

Well, what a response! Just to say I know no permission is needed, just asking more from an ethical/courtesy point of view, so to speak.
Jan

In answer to a question above, anyone can order a birth cert. It is a well know and much used form of ID theft to find a child's death and order the birth cert of that child and pretend to be them.

I never have any living people on my tree, even for me my tree just shows my year of birth not date of birth. OK I know that with Ancestry etc a lot of details are effectively out there in the public domain, but I am still careful.

I have recently asked a fellow GR member to remove me and my husband from her tree as I hadn't given permission for us to be on there. She did it with no problem at all. If I open my tree to anyone, I tell them there are no living people on there and that they do not have my permission to publish my details. Obviously if there is a close family connection then I am happy to help them via PMs with more detail.

I think if someone has you on their tree and you aren't happy about it, you should just ask to be removed. You can always cite the risk of identity theft as a reason.

I am not sure that I can explain
Once your details are published online then anyone can copy.
It is not necessary to ask permission as the information is public.
You yourself have provided the information.
One or more of these I assume.

Janet 1954 BIRMINGHAM West Midlands England Heather
Janet 1954 Birmingham, England Janet
Janet 1954 BIRMINGHAM West Midlands England Janet
Janet 1954 Birmingham Janet
Janet 1954 Birmingham Janet

Yes it does. It also says on the bottom of the certificate that it is not proof of identity.

Probably slightly a different angle to this topic but I think info is easily gained on the web for living people. A relative wanted her grandsons birth certs to open a bank account for them as the mother wouldn't give her them. From Ancestry we got the volume page etc. She rang the records office and they didn't even need that, just their names and date of births. Following day the certs arrived in the post at a cost of 50p more than ordering from the GRO

I was suprised as I thought you would at least have to prove your relationship...does this mean anyone can get your birth cert?

Marcelle

It is up to you what information you post. However it is discourteous to include information about living persons without their knowledge and agreement.

GR also have this rule in their T's and C's, so if you do include information on living persons without agreement, you can be asked to remove it, or in extreme cases have your membership terminated. This may not, however apply to other sites.

Sometimes the Data Protection Acts are cited as providing redress, however the likelihood of a case being brought against an individual posting information on a genealogy site is unlikely. The poster could also claim that the information was being used purely for research purposes, in which case the DPA does not apply.

I am also amused when I hear of people trying to disguise or hide details of living persons in more and more intriguing ways - why? Just leave them off altogether.

If i saw it on FreeBMD i'd give them the web link to look for themselves.
I have never as far as im aware posted "living" peoples details on here

This is really a catch 22 & i feel there should be the same law as there is for the census.

I also hate the fact that Ancestry birth have been made easier to search......what is the 1st thing we are ask as a security question>>>>>whats your Mothers Maiden Name <<<<<

Hi Kate

Thanks for the reply, I really had not expected to receive one so soon, I assumed I am the only very late Owl up and about lol!

If I had been asked directly then I would have agreed to our details being displayed on their trees, but it was the assumption that irritated a little. I will broach this with M in L, so fingers crossed.

Thanks again for the reply
j

Good comment, Julia - it's a topic that often comes up so I think it is an important thing. Could you ask your relative with the tree on here to either disguise your birth dates and names, or set their tree to "hide living relatives"? (This will screen out names of people born in the last 110 years - I think - without death dates.)

Technically speaking, I think the rule on this site is that you have to ask living people for their permission before you put them on your tree but people don't always do it. Perhaps you could come to a compromise whereby, if they do make contact with family, your family will tell the contact to send a message to you?

I am new to this and so am still learning how to go about the research as well as etiquette regarding creating a family tree. So I have read with interest your comments and agree with you about posting details of living people.
I do have a dilemma though as my husbands family and extended family are very active in genealogy and have created very extensive trees, which I have now found myself displayed on along with our children and grandchildren however, my point of irritation, no one has asked us if we agree or for info, it was provided by his Mother on our behalf. Any suggestions would be gratefully received.

j

If it's on freebmd then I will post - although I sometimes have doubts about this.

Any later I would be very cautious of info posted on open forums regarding "living" people.

I understand people are trying to find "living" relatives and any information, I feel should be send to that person via GR email and NOT posted on the boards,

I also believe there are other avenues that could be explored. That is just my opinion.

Regards Paula

I try to be thoughtful to peoples privacy and generally wont post 1930,s plus births as theses could well be still alive,(I'm a 1930,s girl) lol
But if someone has already quoted personal details like a death or marriage in the last twenty years and seem to know some info and have already posted this then I will respond. I try to be respectful of privacy but its difficult sometimes to know when or not to post whats found, If i have serious doubts then I will post that I have found details but will PM them, I think its not possible to have hard and fast rules I have to go with my instincts

Is there a general consensus about how old birth records etc should be before sharing them on threads? I was born in1954, and although in a sense the details are there to be found, not sure I want them quite so public. I put some 1930's stuff on recently and was criticised - I think fairly - but others put out info much later than that.
What do you folks think?
Jan