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General => Ancestral Family Tree DNA Testing => Topic started by: sugarfizzle on Thursday 05 July 18 07:43 BST (UK)
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Noticed this on my DNA results page this morning. The invitation doesn't appear on my husband's DNA page as yet.
"Personal Discoveries Project Beta
Answer some simple questions to help us learn more about you and the things you might share with your genetic relatives.
Start Answering Questions"
I thought I would take a look at this project, but the next page was DNA processing consent, which I would have to agree to before proceeding. In this consent I would have to agree to them having what seems like total control of my DNA and personal information. Needless to say, I did not go any further.
There is a review here by someone who obviously didn't mind giving that consent, and it doesn't seem like I will be missing out on much by not participating.
http://whoareyoumadeof.com/blog/2018/06/13/what-is-the-ancestry-personal-discoveries-project/
What does anyone else think?
Regards Margaret
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Hi Margaret,
I too have the link on my page (I imagine everyone should have, so I don't know why your husband didn't). But I have mixed feelings about what your link describes.
On the one hand, I am keen to get as much out of my DNA to assist my family history, and I am happy to contribute to research. e.g I uploaded my results to DNALand, which hasn't assisted me with family history (though I hoped it might) but has contributed to research by Columbia University in the US. They too have surveys like the ones described for Ancestry.
I am not too worried about the privacy aspects. Maybe I am naive, but I can't imagine there being a problem there for me. But I do have a few doubts about Ancestry as a company. They seem to be very profit oriented (parhaps we could say "money-grabbing"), understandable in a private company, but there needs to be a balance between profit and service.
For example, when we subscribe to Ancestry our bank account gets billed automatically every month until we specifically cancel, so a few years ago I subscribed to Ancestry for a month or two and then cancelled, but somehow I must not have pressed the right button at the end and my subscription stayed open and I was billed for several months without my knowing or even looking at the site. Of course I didn't get any refund when I enquired about what happened. Contrast that to FindMyPast who I am currently subscribed to for a month, and that subscription ends unless I renew it. It's just a different approach, and I don't like Ancestry's way.
Another example is the analysis tools available at FTDNA and not available at Ancestry. It wouldn't be too hard for Ancestry to provide better tools, like the ability to download a match list, a chromosome browser, better searching, etc, but they have apparently refused to do so for years now. I think it is because this forces us to use the connection with trees as our main method of analysis, and of course that requires an ongoing subscription. Again, I may be ignorant, but it seems to me that Ancestry's main interest is in increasing my subscriptions.
With all this in mind, I can only assume that Ancestry sees this Project as another way to make money, either by selling our data to researchers, for whom it is valuable, or (more likely) partnering with a research company in using the data for research that will yield profitable outcomes. They get the benefit from our DNA and don't offer us much in return. In the end, I think this could be more profitable than selling the DNA kits in the first place.
So in the end I am suspicious, and I won't be participating until I am convinced that Ancestry is doing this for the public benefit, or until they offer something more to share the profits I reckon they will make out of this.
Maybe I'm ignorant and cynical, and have maligned Ancestry unfairly. I am happy to be convinced otherwise. But I'll wait and see.
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On a skim read, it looks as if they are trying to equate socially determined characteristics (like hobbies, etc) with biologically characteristics. It smacks of eugenics gone mad.
I certainly won't be taking part.
Gadget
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Seems similar to MyHeritage 'survey questions'
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Eric, you say "I too have the link on my page (I imagine everyone should have, so I don't know why your husband didn't). But I have mixed feelings about what your link describes."
I only got this today, presumably my husband will soon.
"when we subscribe to Ancestry our bank account gets billed automatically every month until we specifically cancel"
I have chosen to continue my ancestry subscription and they notify me about a week before it's due to remind me. Finddmypast I was thinking of cancelling this year. Before I got round to it, FindMyPast had taken my money for another year!!
"Another example is the analysis tools available at FTDNA and not available at Ancestry. It wouldn't be too hard for Ancestry to provide better tools, like the ability to download a match list, a chromosome browser, better searching, etc, but they have apparently refused to do so for years now."
The analysis tools at Ancestry are rubbish. A chromosome browser would be fantastic, I can never persuade any matches to upload elsewhere.
Search facility is very poor, even when matches have a good tree.
Regards Margaret
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Hi Margaret, this is my first time with FindMyPast, but it seems like it doesn't automatically renew, but stops when I get to the end of the period. I'll keep an eye on it. I don't really trust organisations that automatically renew - we should get what we pay for and then it stops unless we make a conscious choice to pay again.
But my main point was that this seems like a potential bonanza for Ancestry and they don't offer us much of a share in the profits, or let us know what profit they expect to make. They are asking us to invest our DNA without any prospectus or statement of potential profits - at least that's what it seems.
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"But my main point was that this seems like a potential bonanza for Ancestry and they don't offer us much of a share in the profits, or let us know what profit they expect to make. They are asking us to invest our DNA without any prospectus or statement of potential profits - at least that's what it seems"
Couldn't agree more, Eric, which is why I will not be contributing to this latest project. They get enough of my money already. I won't be giving them something voluntarily unless they are prepared to give a little something back, such as chromosome browser and improved searches. If searching by surname and placename is almost the only tool they are prepared to give us, it should at least work.
Regards Margaret
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Hi Margaret, you were right. When I delve further, FindMyPast has "autorenew", and I had to go through a couple of buttons to get it turned off. That really aggravates me, but at least that have a button that allows us to turn it off, and makes it clear what is happening. But I missed it first time (maybe it was at the bottom of the screen or something). These companies really shouldn't be allowed to assume we want to continue beyond what we actually ask for, and I wouldn't be surprised if this aspect could contravene some fair trading laws.
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Going back to the original question, I recently received my DNA test results from MyHeritage and a few days later they offered me the chance to answer similar questions. I like helping scientific Projects so I went through the whole series of questions, perhaps 30 to 45 minutes. They were quite fascinating questions and one question on handedness amused me, asking which hand I put on top of the broomstick when I'm sweeping. I had to simulate this in my living room as it is not an activity I am familiar with.
Martin
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Very strange.
After Martin's reply I looked closely at my DNA page (I do everyday, but not looking for anything other than my results), and the invitation has gone, still hasn't appeared on my husband's page.
Martin, I don't object to answering a few questions, and was in fact going to participate. After I pressed 'Start answering questions', I was confronted by a full page consent form, and I can't now remember the full details. I know at the time it seemed as if I would be giving them full control of my DNA.
Did you have to give any additional consent at myheritage?
Regards Margaret
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Margaret, sorry, I really can't remember. It was a pop-up screen, and even if there was a consent form I would have just approved it, as I can't be bothered with those privacy things. It was all anonymised, and I would happily tell anyone the answers to the questions, which weren't intrusive.
Martin