GenesReunited advice needed

[Nick29]

May I ask if any of you reply to enquirers who admit that they are not related to you?

Those enquiring tend to fall into two camps - those who have just one name (and usually a birth year), asking if I have more information on that person.  If the person they are enquiring about is the same one that I have, I usually reply with information that I have on that person, plus information on parents, if I have it.  The second group are usually those asking for access to my tree, because they appear to have matches for more than one person, and in that case I will treat each enquiry on its merits - about 7 times out of 10 the enquirers will already have given me access to their tree.  I have to point out that my tree on GR is much simpler than the one I have on Ancestry - this is for two reasons - the first is because I don't want endless enquiries about people that I've uncovered during "sideways tree research" and the second is because the GR tree falls over and stops once you go much above 700 people (my Ancestry tree is currently hovering around 3500 people).

[Sloe Gin]

I don't want endless enquiries about people that I've uncovered during "sideways tree research".

I don't mind that so much, but I wish there was a way to indicate someone who has only married in to the family, as I don't research their ancestry and have to disappoint a lot of enquirers.

[uk2003]

Hi Nick29

I had GR - Ancestry and Tree Maker (pc) family trees and have just recently deleted the ancestry one.
I just replie on regular gedcom file downloads to my (C) drive from GR to update Tree Maker, also my Tree Maker is sat on a spare (E) harddrive I have.
So fingers crossed my pc & GR servers never burst into flame at the same time   

[Springbok]

Cats ears, That doesn't always apply.

Where families have lived in the same area for generations ,they often intermarry.

I have a couple of (seemingly non-related)Spouses who are turn out to be  related by birth, way back to a blood relative. And whilst it may not be obvious at the time, later on ,we all share a miniscule portion of  DNA link.

As for GR then why get all steamed up about other members foibles!!

one could say the same about Rootschat. Click on any name on here, you get to their profile ,Family names are there. click on their postings and any one worth their salt could "steal" the information given and from  the replies.

Had my rant for the night

Spring

P.s I relly shouldn't answer posts this late !!

[uk2003]

one could say the same about Rootschat. Click on any name on here, you get to their profile ,Family names are there. click on their postings and any one worth their salt could "steal" the information given and from the replies.

Hi Spring

This is very true I have proved your comment already to a fellow rootschatter. It was very easy to piece together someones details from rootschat postings, you could probably root me out if you looked at early posting of mine.
To be honest I did it twice but one denied it was them, but I knew better, they had a not to common name and referenced a shop in a small village in their postings, the other was shocked when I told them their address, phone number, parents, grandparents.
I have not gone paranoid over my data security, I just take very great care of who I allow into my zone.
If some of my past comments have rubbed some people up the wrong way, Sorry, But I have my way of doing things.   

I proved it to a fellow rootschatter how easy it is to find out who they were, even down to the grandparents and that was from the info they left just in the rootschat forum.

[Nick29]

We all leave a considerable "paper trail" of clues as we traverse across the internet, and although most of the stuff we leave around may seem fairly inconsequential, a dedicated stalker or identity thief could generate a fairly bulky file on all of us, if they wanted to.  Of course, the very nature of family tree research means that you will inevitably give away information about yourself, when asking for help or advice.  Although it's very difficult to stop this completely, you also don't have to make it easy for people either.

[beady]

If people are so paranoid/scared/upset, by others copying their tree, and are not willing to share them, why bother to upload their tree or even join one of these sites?
You know your own research - how honest it is and how correct all the facts are, then if someone else copies/ messes up things then that is their loss.
If they are numbers game only types then they are very sad characters and should get a real life.
I have a full paper trail of all entries on my tree from parish records/BMD etc and can happily defy anyone to prove my tree in error -- that is proper research.
So I'll open up to scrutiny by anyone.
Barry

[wrjones]

I entirely agree with your sentiments Barry.

Regards
William Russell Jones
Cefn Mawr
Wrexham.

[wrjones]

On further thought Barry,I can only hope that the paranoid types Tree's were entirely created through their own research and they had no assistance from others!

Regards
William Russell Jones
Cefn Mawr
Wrexham.