So there I was last night, doom scrolling on Facebook (FB). I noticed several posts from people who claimed branches of their Ancestry tree are going missing, and previously attached ancestors are now showing only as potential hints in their tree. These types of posts aren't new (they're quite frequent), and they get plenty of good suggestions from forum members on how to fix the problem. Yet the original posters (OP') seem determined not to comprehend the problem - or how easy it is to fix. Over and over, they'll claim Ancestry pruned branches without their permission. I rarely take time to answer any of these posts, because by in large, the posters seem to prefer insisting it's an Ancestry intrusion and not a user mistake. You can't make people understand if they don't want to. But this time it hit me different, and I've decided to make this post.
I have a shocking announcement for these people, So long as you've not committed some egregious violation of the Terms of Service (TOS), Ancestry does NOT care about your tree. I don't care how many people you have in it, or how long you've been working on it. Ancestry does not randomly jump into trees and start making changes. Yes, if a record collection is removed entirely from the catalog, you could potentially see a few hints or previously saved records/media items disappear....but they are not randomly messing with your tree, deleting people just to screw with you. If you suddenly have a missing branch (or branches) of your tree, YOU did something you may not have noticed (or intended) at the time. And oh, by the way, this is a relatively easy fix (as most people are suggesting in the forums).
I'm going to give these folks the benefit of the doubt, and assume they've not truly worked with Ancestry long enough to realize both the absurdity of the claim, and the simplicity of the fix. Casual users may not pay any attention to how trees actually work. They may just point and click (potentially propagating incorrect information, but it's a different problem, and one for another post). Those who take time to research thoroughly, document, correct errors they may may find, and use tools to ensure accuracy are not likely to be the ones posting this type of concern. They are the ones posting the solutions.
I'm going to illustrate the problem, and the solution. Here's a snip from a small portion of one of my trees.
Now, let me show you how to magically make the branch disappear. I've gone to the Edit Relationships option on John Livesay, the first person shown in the tree. I've selected "Edit Relationships" for him. As you can see, Peter Livesay is shown as his biological father.
Now, I'm going to click the X and remove Peter Livesay, and confirm I want to remove him. I'm not the least bit worried in doing this. Changing a relationship DOES NOT delete anyone. It simply removes the relationship.
So there you have it. Ancestry does not go into your tree and make changes. Users make mistakes. It's wonderful to have a resource, like Facebook forums, to ask for help. But if you ask for assistance, be willing to hear and try the solutions. Many forums prefer users do not post links, but if you see a person with this issue, feel free to point them to my blog.
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