Correcting Internet trees.

[Redroger]

Problem is Coombs, what can we do about it? Not much if anything. Look out for pm not on this subject.

[coombs]

Yes we are powerless to stop it. I often may collect the odd date or name off another tree with my ancestors in it but not whole chunks. I think many of us have taken the odd date or two.

[Redroger]

I certainly have, but only when verifiable or they confirm info I already have. :)We must get a smiley with a halo!!

[Nick29]

I have had people copy and paste my tree as their work is identical to mine right down to the additional notes, sources and mini biographies. A sheer, sheer coincidence or family tree theft.

If they have stolen your biographies, then sue them for copyright.  However, you can't copyright names or relationships which are already in the public domain.

[Nick29]

Surely the big problem is that other researchers might upload erroneous information in  good faith.

If they do that, they deserve all they get, because proper researchers verify their data.

[tedscout]

I've had a couple of people over the years, point out my "deliberate" mistake. I know these are genuine researchers and we have then gone on to work on that part of the tree together.

As for the ones who just copy my "deliberate"mistake and dont change it, well It gives me some idea of how they research.

Cheers Ted

[Redroger]

Nice one Ted.

[Nick29]

One of my friends had a tree on Ancestry, and one of his lines was the Behr family.  Now, with Ancestry, you can sometimes get better search results if you put in ancestors with just a guestimated birth date and place, and so my friend did this.  He named his unknown Behr ancestors "Mummy Behr" and "Daddy Behr", and a few weeks later he was quite bemused to find that half-a-dozen people had adopted said couple into their trees 

[Redroger]

As was said previously serves them right!!But was their porridge too hot or too cold?