Genealogy Chat

May the guilty party stand forward? A public apology. As you will see from other threads on here, I am new to GR and Genealogy and copied Shelly's tree in the best of faith. I have read everyones comments on this thread, and am pleased that some people also are of the view that trees are for sharing and enjoying the fact that you have managed to get so many names on - this is all was intended and I have been very excited by finding all the new relatives - however distant. More importantly though, I apologise to Shelley for causing offence as this is not was intended. I understand that she has put a lot of effort into researching her tree and I did not realise that adding this info to my tree would be percieved as 'stealing' all her hard work. I will be removing all of Shelley's info from my tree and in future will ensure that if I do get a link, that I ask permission first to ensure that I do not offend anyone as it is clear that we all have differing opinions of how other people's info should be used. Let this be a lesson to me, and also to other 'newies'

Ah, yes, Peter - if I could guarantee that ONLY my correct version was passed around the internet, I would be very happy! Unfortunately, when it gets tacked onto 100,000 other names, who can tell which bit is accurate and which isnt? The problem with internet research, as I see it is - you can never tell what standards other people are working to. I am long past the stage in my research where I want to bother with trees made up from Great Aunt Mabel's recollections, or from stuff lifted entirely off the IGI, by someone who doesn't have the slightest intention of spending a hapenny of their own money on genuine research. Having waded my way through umpteen of those sort of trees, I am a bit fed up with it and prefer to give out information by email, rather than open my tree - AFTER I have proved a connection. And I can also say - no one, not once, on GR, has ever questioned my information, even when I have made a typo, making someone dead 50 years before they were born! OC

Hi All. Just sticking my nose in I think more than a few have made this error as for myself when I started I was stuck so I desided to find out how many surnames were conected to mine no matter by what means I was so adicted I got carried away the upshot was I had a file from a well known researcher with a name from my family and because this researcher was well known I coppied the file to my tree then the problem started if you can imagin a V shaped tree his tree came from one side mine from the other and at the bottom of the V was a person were both sides met and without this person the trees could not join I was so engrossed I put the persons name in without asking permision and she rightly played hell I ended having to put living persons in some of the boxes so now I check and double check my information and that's a tip for every one CHECK AND DOUBLE CHECK. pAUL

Im sure everyone loves to share and get pics and personal info about their family but we arent talking about that close sort of relationship/contact (which is lovely) - we are talking about the 'name collectors' -people add on hundreds/thousands of names through one link - and probably a vague link at that. I cant understand why people would do that and I cant understand how some of the trees people have shown me just have lists of names and dates, nothing else, no real flesh from occupations, from workhouse, poor laws, courts, wills - just the basic names from a census or something - thats not what family history should be about.

I think the easiest answer would be an introduction page on your tree where you can lay out what you expect from others, this way they know they cant just copy your trees and photographs. I was bit on the bum by a names collector and he has never been in touch since i broke his contact, if the information on my living rellies ever appears anywhere i WILL take action, I personally have a large tree this is through all my own work, I like to know the information is correct and be able to explain the facts to my family members, Unfortunatly when you have been at this game for a long time you realise most of these people just want to waste your time therefore i have my main tree offline with all my detailed info on it, It is a shame but i know chose to be selective on what info i want to give out, I have a few huge brick walls that have challenged the best of us but they are still standing, Just wish i could get some decent contacts off like minded people as myself. Well this saga will continue.............

Joanne I hope you and Shelley get the 'misunderstanding' sorted. I must say that I think it was very brave/honest of you to stand up and be counted on this thread :) Chris

Hi All There is a problem for new people to Genes when you start and listen to the adverts and read the bumf it leads you to belive that you can get in touch with lots of people with the same relations as you and make your tree grow this can be taken as to be able to copy trees, I can't find any where on Genes were it say's don't copy someone else's tree without permision or did I miss it. Paul

Hello Joanne, Thank you for standing up and being honest, although I wasn't prepared to actually name you myself. I will message you privately about this but I just want to say first about the tree sharing business, I personally don't mind sharing my tree with people who could be related distantly on one side but I wish to draw the line in people taking info from the other side when there is no real connection with them. Yes it is nice to share a tree and information on the side where there is a connection, and I have been given a few names recently that I either didn't know about or had not seen people since I was a little girl, but I personaly wouldn't just take and add the info without doing my bit of research first to be sure, which 9 times out of 10 would involve buying a certificate to be sure, some people can make mistakes on their tree, and I even followed the wrong man at some point last year, so any mistakes we make the mistake is also copied, and I wouldn't take any info that is not directly related to me. At the end of the day some of us and perhaps many of us work so hard in doing the research (I can see that by how some of you are quick to answer some replies with the answer they need) and most of us are doing it all on our own with no help from anyone else, for example, having no one to ask to get any info from, my fathers parents had both died before he was 16, so never spoke of his family and was estranged from other family members, I have found out all of his side by doing it all on my own from scratch buying certificates etc. and it took two years and getting in touch with 2 relatives who had never met to both come up with the same surname to actually find what surname the family ended up using which then resulted in that brick wall being knocked down!

I just have to add my bit since I get so uptight when this happens to me..... and I listened to OC's (and other's) words of wisdom and stopped opening my tree.... and yet it has happened again.... but this time through a third person. Do not open/give your tree to anyone if you don't want them to copy it. Marie

I agree with coments...some people are a bit brusque to say the least....but at the end of the day....it's their problem not ours, so chill

i had something like that once,someone contacted me about a rellie and there was a connection, they allowed me to see there tree--fair enough--- so allowed them to see mine, but that was before i looked at there tree, i heard nothing back from them,so had look at there tree,and they only had a few rellies on it, anyway, i closed my tree to them,and got rid of the contact, it really annoys me when someone contacts you,they let you see there tree, you let them see yours, then you hear s*d all from them!! i have built mine up over 3yrs,with help from others,exchanging info,well,you don't mind if they are willing to exchange,but when they just want to see your tree and take the info with out them looking for info themselves and buying certs [which i have] it's just not on!!! Chris.