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Archiver > UK-WORKHOUSE-HOSP > 2008-11 > 1225766170


From: "Mabel Harvey" <>
Subject: Re: [UK-WORKHOUSE-HOSP] Pirated Information
Date: Tue, 4 Nov 2008 13:36:10 +1100
References: <000e01c927b7$1ee396e0$8f31cb58@harry68266459d><12F0EDB2B62C4AF887FCDE7ACE9F0BE8@MaryHPDesktop><000301c927ee$123c9630$8f31cb58@harry68266459d><7A12D5E9F0B1466E8A55BAE3085358B9@MaryHPDesktop><89D8B4985C3A46A9A2C065ACA17B8CBF@FSC091212061201><000e01c93e1b$dff7d510$6701a8c0@maryPC>
In-Reply-To: <000e01c93e1b$dff7d510$6701a8c0@maryPC>


Hi Dennis and Mary

I have found the GR site great for making connections with people doing
similar family research and have made some long term connections who I
frequently email back and forth with, and whom I share family summarys as
well as BDM certificates with. I have all so had great feed back on trying
to break down Brick walls that we each have.

*However* I have all so already had some bad experiences with people on the
GR site who just want to gather all the information they can from your tree
and just copy it straight on to theirs. I have found this most disheartning.
And have had the same experience of suddenly getting a whole lot of new Hot
matches to people who had obviously subsequently copied this info straight
on to there tree as well. Much of the info they coppied had come from New
Zealand and so not as easily accesible or veriafiable by way of the net so
obviously just coppied with no attempt made to verify it. For all these
people new, they could have been coppying a lot of incorect rubbish.
Unfortunately though some of my more detailed research is in other peoples
trees who I do not even know or had no contact with and that was not my
intention.

I have only been doing my family history for just over a year however have
allready realized that unfortunately there are a substanual number of people
in the Genealogy community going for quantity rather than quality. I
personally don't see the point of blindly coppying other peoples trees
without thouroughly cheeking out the research your self.

I don't know how to use a gedcom and never use them. As I tend to just
record any info I get from any one else jot it down in my notebook I have on
each name in my tree and then use it as a helpful pointer for my own
research which includes sourcing primary resorces such as Census, BDM and
parish records to confirm what they have found; always trying to keep in
mind that they may be pointing me in the wrong direction.

What I have done on my GR tree to try and solve the problem and balance
making connections while still keeping some control over my tree as best as
able, is to just put each ancestors name only, along with year of birth and
location. That way I can make new connections however the info available is
limited unless I chose to share more. I also have the privacy setting on
which means that the more recently born people have no details present.

I also only open my tree once a couple of conversations have taken place,
a definate connection exists and I feel the person doesn't sound/of fell to
me like a potential parasite although that is not always easy to tell.

Once I have seen their tree I note that warning bells go off it they have
1000's of names listed in their. This makes me more cautious although I
realize that if a person has been doing their family tree a long time that
is quite possible and often is a well researched tree form a very genuin
researcher.

Even with all these precautions unfortunately there are still going to be
plagarism problems. I do not agree with Roberts arguement that the records
are all out there for every one as the great difficulty comes with finding,
connecting aand interpereting them correctly.

Just because we all know we all had ancestors and that their records are
hopefully out their some where it is the fact that you actually have to go
and look for them and make all the connections which in turn lead you to
further ancestors and then more records.

If someone writes an essay about say "WWII" and then some one else copies it
and uses it like there own and then says it was okay to copy iwhat the other
person had written without researching it themselves because the information
is all out there, is this really acceptable? I don't think so! It's calle
Plagarism.

Shouldn't it be the same thing with our Genealogy.

I know I am only a newby to Genealogy research but this attitude of people
blindly copping one's tree with little personal research is something that
is already bothereing me considerably and I think spoiling it for the people
who do want to do the right thing and research their ancestors both
thourougly and accurately and which does include a cooperative sharing of
information.

I hope you have made it to the end of this message but I needed to have my
say as well. although I am not sure this was the best forum just the one tha
it was bought up on.

Good luck with your research Dennis and keep your chin up. Keep up the
research as I'm sure you will have some ancestors of your own who even if
they don't now, will surely thouroughly enjoy reading your research and
finding out about their extended family and where they are from. And also it
has obviously given you much enjoyment and satisfaction thus far.

Regards Mabel



On Tue, Nov 4, 2008 at 12:22 PM, hamilton <> wrote:

> Dear Dennis
>
> I do know how you feel. I let someone look at my tree and the next thing I
> was getting matches back from genesreunited.
>
> I think Genesreunited is a good site to connect with people and further
> research. I too learned the hard way I no longer give access to my tree
> unless I can see theirs first to see if they have actually done some work.
>
> Perhaps you could ask the person to tick the box that allows those living
> not to be shown, I do not show living people, in some way it is an invasion
> of their privacy.
>
> I wonder if Genesreunited would ask him to take the information off.
>
> My thoughts are with you, it is very unfair what has happened and show the
> integrity of the person concerned.
>
> regards
>
> Mary
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "DennisAllen05" <>
> To: <>
> Sent: Tuesday, November 04, 2008 11:17 AM
> Subject: [UK-WORKHOUSE-HOSP] Pirated Information
>
>
> >
> > WARNING; Pick your friends very carefully.
> >
> >
> >
> > I have been collecting information tiny piece by tiny piece for many
> years
> > and was very proud to have assembled a fairly complex tree to pass on to
> > my
> > descendants. Perhaps I have been naive in thinking I had done well. After
> > speaking with a fellow genealogist in Suffolk a few days ago, she asked
> if
> > I
> > used GenesReunited, my reply was no but I decided to try it anyhow just
> to
> > see what it was about.
> >
> >
> >
> > I was amazed to see my entire family tree including all my notes were
> > already there entered by a distant relative who I had PRIVATELY exchanged
> > information with. When I exchange information I always ask that nothing
> is
> > passed on without my permission, which in this case was not given. I
> > usually
> > welcome questions from other genealogists and don't mind filling in a few
> > blanks for them but this experience has made me sick to my stomach and I
> > feel like giving up altogether. I know this will not really happen but I
> > don't
> > think I will be passing anything on ever again. To hell with them and let
> > them do it the hard way.
> >
> >
> >
> > After asking why my tree had been put on GenesReunited including many
> > living
> > relatives including my children and grandchildren also including all my
> > personal notes, he sent the following reply.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >
> >
> > Hello, Dennis,
> >
> > Is my great age having a big effect? Are you not the Dennis Allen
> > () who sent me much of this material?
> >
> > But perhaps not, as I see your GR tree has only two children of Wilfred
> > Allen and Marjotie Ogle instead of nine.
> >
> > (Also, I see, you are infected by the dreaded "living relation" virus,
> the
> > antithesis of what GR is suppose to be about, and a refusal to fave the
> > reality that these details have already been revealed in birth notices,
> > parish registers, IGI detail amd so on.)
> >
> > KR
> >
> > Robert Rodrigo ()
> >
> >
> >
> > Hello, Dennis,
> >
> > Thanks for your GR message. Why are you surprised?
> >
> > RK
> >
> > Robert
> >
> >
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >
> > Be very careful who you share with, there are parasites out there waiting
> > to
> > feed from your hard won information.
> >
> >
> > Dennis Allen
> > Scarborough
> >
> > Totally Pissed Off
> >
> >
> > -------------------------------
> > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to
> > with the word 'unsubscribe'
> without
> > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
> Internal Virus Database is out of date.
> Checked by AVG.
> Version: 8.0.100 / Virus Database: 270.8.4/1749 - Release Date: 10/27/2008
> 7:57 AM
>
>
> -------------------------------
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