Genealogy Chat

Joanne, people not only steal trees, but professional geneaologists come on here and nick other people's research. You do the work, they get the money.

No your not, i get an email about every other day saying ' can i view your tree ' i always ask them to let me know which names they are searching and area and i'll see if we have a connection, if we do, i'll pass on what ever info i have. I never hear from them again. I've taken my tree off g/r, so have no names on here. i know the hobby is about sharing, but im not going to share if you have'nt got a link, as why would they want the info in the first place ?, esp if there is no connection what so ever, i find it all very strange. :-)

Absolutely you aren't being too hard. I am very proud of what I,ve found on my family to date & discounting the cost of certs ,its been a costly thing timewise. I would be only to glad to let any of my extended family have what i have to date ,& to share with distant relations on a mutual basis our family tree. But I wont share unless I,m sure we have a family connection. Shirley ( maybe being a bit perdantic!! )

I have just recieve the most hilarious message to date yet - the person thinks they may be a distant cousin - they hope so as they have noticed that Paul has a lot on his tree - they have confessed that they are too lazy to do all the research - you have GOT to admire their cheek.

Hi No your not being to harsh... Do people really go round stealing other peoples trees? I didn't know that.. Joanne

On ancestry your tree is always there for all to see, but when you submit a gedcom, all details of living people are automatically removed. You can also download a gedcom of anybody`s entire tree. I find this useful, as my maiden name is quite uncommon, so I am sure we are all linked somehow.

Sam, No, you're quite right! Unless the person who sent you that wretched auto message can tell you more, I'd keep the info to yourself! It's GR's fault for putting this facility on the system - it adds to any unintended 'abruptness' of some of the contacts we get. Goodness knows, there's enough potential for mis-communication and misunderstanding without it! 'Fraid I don't keep most of my tree on GR now, just enough sprats to catch any passing mackerel. Regs Jane

I agree, I never let anyone see my tree unless there is a definate link. not just a single name. Our trees may contain all sorts of sensitive info that can be required by banks etc, of a number of people. So many people have allowed me access to their trees, but unless there is a link, being honest all it's doing is cluttering up my pages, some of the trees are very extensive, others just have 3 people on them!!!! Obviously no regard for security whatsoever!! Suex

You are definitely not too harsh. Similar thing happened to me when I first joined and as I didn't know about 'highjacking' I let them see my tree it was a very tenuous link which turned out not to be a link at all. Lo and behold he entered everyone onto his tree, even my Mum and Dad. After many emails back and forth I finally got him to delete, but of course he still has all the information. Linda

Is the 'Request to view tree' message sent automatically if someone clicks on that symbol in the My Contacts area? I've never dared to click on that just in case. I wonder if some of the strange messages with no answers come from that cause - then they're too embarassed to reply. Still not good enough I know. They should reply out of politness - but the anonimity of the internet etc! Anne

Hi Sam Not at all - if I want to view someone's tree, then I'll always give them the name I am interested in, and whatever information I have that leads me to suspect a connection - and I would expect the same from anyone wanting to view mine. Trudy

Not harsh at all - someone asked to view my tree and I simply asked who they were interested in finding - never even received a reply!! so can't have been important.

Hi Janet, The only subject/title of the message was 'Request To View Tree' and when asked, they still couldn't (or wouldn't) give me a name of any of my rellies they thought they might be connected to! Sam x

What you have to remember is that if they have spotted, say, 'John Smith' as a possible link when they contact you that persons name should appear as the subject header of the message.

No, I don't think you are being harsh at all. If someone wants to view your tree then surely they could give reasons why. It's only polite to say, |I think we are related because ......etc. Ann

I think you are quite right to restrict access to only those who you are SURE are connected. It is a pity that GR cannot devise a way which only a small part of the tree - relevant to the name in question - be shown rather than the whole tree! Kind regards Linda

No, if they cant even tell you what name it is they are linked to, dont bother. I always send a brief resume of the history of someone I think may be related to me.

When I find a name that may be linked, I send a polite message giving the name, parents, dates and places. I certainly wouldn`t ask someone to open up their tree to me, (the trees on here are not easy to follow anyway) As someone said before, if they just want to have a look, then they must have a name they are looking for, if they are genuine, that is. Stick to your guns, you are not being harsh at all, but simply using common sense.

Thank you all, I felt guilty at first. But then I thought - well, there must be one name that led them to me, if they can't even tell me who that is then I ain't letting them see my tree!! I have been in contact with one or two distant relatives through this site and most of them haven't asked outright for permission to view my tree, I just gave it as it was so obvious that we were talking about the same family! Sam x

too right , its your tree and you choose who can look at it. well done in having over 500 in your tree mines more like a privet than a tree but its growing. love linda x