People who are not in our family are adding people to my tree. I don't know who is managing them - the names. I have not allowed them to merge with my tree. I don't know where they've gotten their information (confirmation, etc). How do I stop it?
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Jeff, Geni Curator What part of the tree? I can take a look. If it is close to your family group, in the private area, then they should be closely related. You can request management of any profile, which the user can add you, but if it's in your family group, you should already have edit rights to it and you're not losing anything. For the most part, this is a collaborative family tree website. If your tree connects into the world family tree, then ya, you're going to get other descendants of that family contributing to the tree and ultimately source the data. The idea is not to have hundreds of duplicate trees, but a single tree that we collaborate on, so we don't waste time duplicating other peoples work - we can efficiently source, fix, and update a more complete tree. There is no stopping it - that's how it is designed. If you want an isolated tree where only you work on it, then I suggest MyHeritage.com.
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Virginia Vail Kivlighan It starts with Jacob Showalter. My cousin added some of the Wise family members (a Wise married a Koiner). I don't if since he's "managing" those profiles that he accepted a merge..? But that has also happened in the Vails as well. I'm not sure that everyone understands "sourcing the data." In research of the Vail family, for example, there is conflicting information out there. SO - the only way to really track it down is through baptism records, marriage records, census, or tombstones, etc. I'm not sure everyone is as thorough as others. I think true genealogists, which I am not claiming to be, are nervous about that. I think the design of one giant tree is a bit of a privacy issue. (Some of profile I am not able to make private - the option is not available in the "edit profile" step.) I know this is a great way to brand yourselves/geni.com but the DNA thing, I think is a bit much - and I sold this to my family members as a free site that was private and protects their information - with only members of our family tree having access - and where they can see the family tree without me having to print it out, etc. I know you've been sold so maybe you've changed your policies. I have never "merged" with anyone because I don't know what information they'll have access to - will they be able to see the private profiles?
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Jeff, Geni Curator Privacy is important to Geni and they have increased it recently. Here is chart that describes who can see what. http://www.geni.com/company/privacy
In short, it's your family group, which is usually defined as 3rd cousins and closer, but you can define it yourself in your account settings (http://www.geni.com/account_settings/family).
When you merge trees, these privacy barriers still apply. Often deceased profiles become public after a certain time, living profiles can't be public (unless master profiles defined by a curator - such as celebrities). Public profiles, while visible, still have a level of editing control via the manager, but these are often the profiles that get merged as the further up you go, the more likely other descendents have that common family member - as profiles merge, managers share control.
As for sourcing, Geni is similar to the Wikipedia model. Early critics of Wikipedia stated the same thing, but the evidence shows that while errors can be introduced, the correct information eventually gets sourced and made permanent, resulting in a more accurate record. Experts in particular areas or branches end up correcting what is widely published misinformation in online trees. No one wants bad data, but with so many online trees repeating the same mistakes, it takes a single platform, with discussion and collaboration to sort it out, so that we all benefit. No one is an expert in every part of their tree, but together, we can make the most accurate and complete tree available, which is what I think Geni is doing. I'm in the middle of correcting a part of the tree that is widely inaccurate in online trees (http://www.geni.com/discussions/119697). We're sourcing everything we can with proper records and I'm making them master profiles. In this case, the majority of online trees are wrong, but we're getting it right and all the descendents on Geni of these profiles will gain, not just me.
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Virginia Vail Kivlighan But you have to have a paid membership to have access to "other trees." And I'm guessing there is no copyright/research ownership for the manager - if you all are compiling information like Wikipedia - I don't recall giving you permission to do that. When I joined in 2009, it was a free site on which I could share my information with my family.
An aside - I'm a TV producer - with a news background, you kind of lost me with the Wikipedia reference. I don't think Wikipedia helps with the sharing of information. I think it has diluted the importance of sources and the way that people look at online information. Just because something is "trending" doesn't mean it's totally true.
Also - when I put my living father on my tree, there was no private option and he came up on a google search - with all of his info: birthdate, mother's maiden name, etc.
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Jeff, Geni Curator You don't need a paid membership to access other trees. You can be invited into other trees and higher portions of most trees are public. Regarding the copyright of content, please see the Geni terms of service section VI (http://www.geni.com/company/terms_of_use). There is no private option on living profiles because all living profiles are private. However, the name is index by Google. What you're seeing is what you as a family member and user of Geni sees. If you actually look at the Google cache, it only has your fathers name - no relationships, birthdate, mother's maiden name, etc. You click the link and see what you see as a Geni user. Log out and see what you get. Also, your father's profile is claimed - he joined Geni, at which point his security / privacy settings were under his control. He can remove his name from the Google search under the permissions by unchecking "Let the public search for me (profile privacy settings apply)" (http://www.geni.com/account_settings/permissions). He can also restrict was is visible in the privacy (http://www.geni.com/account_settings/profile_privacy).
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Jeff, Geni Curator As for Wikipedia, I'm not sure what trending has to do with accuracy and completeness. Wikipedia has been shown to be as accurate as the Encyclopedia Britannica. http://news.cnet.com/2100-1038_3-5997332.html Millions of people working together can create something great.
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Paula Frances Cohn Dear Jeff ,
I am researching my family tree on Geni & wonder if it might be at all possible to speak to you or anyone who might be able to help me , in real time . If that might be at all possible it would help me a great deal as I have hit some frustrating complications . I have been doing this for 4 yrs . & have finally gone back to my families roots in Moldova to the 1700’s .
Many Thanks ,
Paula Honigberg Cohn
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Jeff, Geni Curator Hey Paula, if your looking for technical help, then you'll probably be able to get speedy replies from this forum. https://www.geni.com/discussions/172007
If you're looking for research assistance, then I'd suggest taking a look at this project and sending messages to the curators that specialize in the area you need assistance in. https://www.geni.com/projects/Geni-Curators/9960 Curators are not free researchers, but they will can often assist, particular if you're dealing with common errors in the tree.
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