Why can't I open my Ancestry tree to a DNA match?

[JaneyH_104]

A couple of thoughts on this.

Back in January I was contacted by a half second cousin and we’ve since been sharing lots of information. I struggled to share my Ancestry tree with him because of different permutations in account names. His user name (changed here for privacy) displayed as Adam Smith, but this didn’t work when I tried to share my tree. It turned out his account was ABC Smith which then worked. It took me a while to sort this out.

On the green button / brown button issue I’ve read an equal number of posts saying it IS the problem and those saying it was fixed a long time ago. But ever the cynic, perhaps I should now make a note to use the brown button! 

[Janethepain]

In the chat about Ancestry's messaging system, I assume that by brown/orange button on the profile screen you mean the envelope icon on the banner at the top of the screen, next to the hints leaf icon?  I don't see any button for messaging on my profile page.

If that is what you mean, then I have another issue of how the 2 systems work differently.

If you use the envelope icon, then there appears to be a permanent record of your message, and any responses.  I certainly have messages logged back to when i first joined ancestry before 2010. 

If you use the button on the DNA  individuals match screen - the green button mentioned by others, the message disappears into the ether, with no log of it anywhere, certainly not on the messaging envelope log!

When you have lots of matches, mostly without ant tree's, you need to message lots of people, and having no record on screen that you have already contacted someone is poor.  I am keeping a manual list, but I may already have missed writing a match down.  I'm sure it wouldn't be that difficult to log the mesages from the DNA screens in the other messaging system.  Or of course to send an independent email to the customer/individual of interest to us!

[Janethepain]

By the way, I've just realised the button on the profile page, is everyone else's profile page - not your own!

Obviously you don't send messages to yourself!

[Pheno]

Jane I don't know how you are logging details of those you send messages to but there is a facility to add notes alongside the username on the DNA page in which I just make a note of when I messaged that person.

Also you can add a star to make them appear in your favourites group so selecting a list of favourites would bring up a list of people you had messaged and also you could deselect the blue circle to show them as new if you had already messaged.

Just a couple of options.

Pheno

[Janethepain]

Thanks Pheno, honestly, I noticed that just after i posted yesterday, and went back to everyone I had noted as having replied to, and just as you said, I noted when I had got in touch, and who/where in my tree they might fit in!!

Great minds and all that