Why Do People Pay For An Ancestry DNA Test But Fail To Respond To Messages ?

[Craigellachie2019]

I think a lot of people have been lured into buying the DNA test for their ethnicity rather than anything to do with their family tree. A lot of people really aren't interested in anyone past their parents and grandparents and particularly not 3rd or 4th cousins etc whereas I looked at a person I added the other day and discovered it was 15th cousin.......  getting a little carried away.

[Mart 'n' Al]

YouTube is full of crass videos of folk opening their ethnicity estimates.

Martin

[CarolA3]

Crass stuff?!  On YouTube??!!

Surely not.  Whatever next.

[jillruss]

I agree about the ethnicity element - and about the advertising. I'm sure they stay just the right side of actually misrepresenting the truth.

I've all but given up trying to get matches to reply. I'd be typing out these messages, all but spoon-feeding them where I think they fit into my tree and - nothing! I never try more than twice: a few people's consciences must have been pricked when I put 'I sent you a message some time ago but you never responded'  - but not many!!

I just get so frustrated when it seems like every new match I'm informed of has no tree. The air around me turns a deep shade of blue !!

Oh and the other reason they don't reply? Sheer, unadulterated ignorance!! It takes seconds to run off a reply saying thanks but no thanks.

[Craclyn]

There can be many reasons, but sometimes it is just a case of real life events taking over and genealogy being pushed further down their priority list. If they don’t respond don’t worry about it. Just figure out their tree by yourself or move on. Look on it as positive if you can establish a dialogue, but accept that nobody owes you anything. If they are not interested in contact then that is their prerogative.

[Pheno]

I assume all of us are fairly polite when making an initial enquiry and just see if there is any take up.  Anyway that's the route I go down.

But as I have said on another thread I am being driven mad by ThruLines which is insisting a Half distant cousin relationship with 10 other people where I can prove that it is not a Half cousinship but a full one, although distant, cos a lot of these people have picked on my ancestor incorrectly and moved her to Australia.

Having contacted Ancestry and discovered that actually there is nothing I can do about this other than try and influence other people I winged off an email, which whilst not impolite, got straight to the point by telling them of the incorrect info in their trees upon which Ancestry was drawing for my ThruLines and that their mistakes were causing me a problem.

Lo and behold I have had a goodly number of replies all accepting what I have said so far and being willing to change their tree.

Maybe this is the route to go down - point out inconsistencies at the start and hopefully be able to tell them what to do to get it right!

Pheno

[HughC]

Why Do People Feel The Need To Capitalize Every Word?

[kob3203]

1) Because it's a title ?

2) Following the practice of the forum names, e.g. Ancestral Family Tree DNA Testing ?

3) Typing without really thinking ?

4) Bad habits from other forums that we use ?

5) Why not ?

To be honest it's not something I ever really thought about. But looking at the topics I've started I seem to be rather inconsistent - sometimes capitalizing every word, other times just capitalizing proper names and first words of sentences.

Since this topic's subject is more an ordinary sentence than a title I do see your point. The edited title of this particular post does look better.

[HarryW]

I agree about the ethnicity element - and about the advertising. I'm sure they stay just the right side of actually misrepresenting the truth.

I've all but given up trying to get matches to reply. I'd be typing out these messages, all but spoon-feeding them where I think they fit into my tree and - nothing! I never try more than twice: a few people's consciences must have been pricked when I put 'I sent you a message some time ago but you never responded'  - but not many!!

I just get so frustrated when it seems like every new match I'm informed of has no tree. The air around me turns a deep shade of blue !!

Oh and the other reason they don't reply? Sheer, unadulterated ignorance!! It takes seconds to run off a reply saying thanks but no thanks.

I now only try once.   I've sent emails to at least four people who I appeared to be 3rd/4th cousins but whose trees have mistakes in my bloodline.  I've never had a reply and in two cases, they've now removed their trees from Ancestry.