World Family Tree How-To: Frequently Asked Questions

• Is Genealogy.com planning to link any trees together?
• How does Genealogy.com verify the information in the World Family Tree?
• How does Genealogy.com protect the privacy of living individuals in the World Family Tree?
• How is this different from what the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is doing?
• Why should I give you my family tree when you're planning to sell it?

Is Genealogy.com planning to link any trees together?

Of course the names within each contributed tree are linked, but we are not making connections between the contributed family trees. Our aim is to keep as much information as possible unchanged from when it was contributed to us. When more time is available to develop the complex computer algorithms to find accurate links between trees, we may offer a feature which gives suggested links between trees.

You can find possible links by hand by using the Family Finder and comparing the contents of different trees. If you find an individual who appears in two different trees and also belongs in your own Family File, you can merge those trees into your Family File.

How does Genealogy.com verify the information in the World Family Tree?

The quality of the information in the World Family Tree is very important to us. We put all of the files we receive through an extensive error-checking process to keep the quality of the information in the World Family Tree as high as possible. But we don't change any information (except remove information about potentially living individuals) because even information that contains errors may provide clues to help you trace your family tree.

Unfortunately, it would be next to impossible for us to verify all of the information in the thousands of family trees we receive. Because we can't guarantee the accuracy of any of the information contained in the World Family Tree, please realize that it is meant to be a research tool, not a source of completely error-free material. The genealogical information in the World Family Tree should be a starting point from which you continue your research. Please take the necessary steps to verify all information before permanently adding it to your own collection of family information.

There are several ways that we hope to maintain the quality of the World Family Tree at the highest possible level:

• We encourage all contributors to avoid contributing inaccurate or misleading information. However, we all must realize that even the most careful of researcher is bound to have errors in his or her file.
• We will periodically send letters to our contributors to request updates to the family trees already in the World Family Tree. This way, if contributors have made additions or changes to their family information, it will be included in a future World Family Tree.
• We encourage contributors to cite the sources of their information. By citing sources (such as census records, birth certificates, family Bibles, etc.), others can verify the information in a tree, making it much more valuable. For more information about documentation of sources, click here.
• We also encourage contributors to prepare their files before contributing. For example, by following certain name standards, contributors can make it easier for distant relatives to find their ancestors in the World Family Tree.

How does Genealogy.com protect the privacy of living individuals in the World Family Tree?

Genealogy.com is committed to protecting the privacy of living individuals, while preserving our contributors' family history and providing useful genealogical information to other family history researchers.

There are three main ways by which we hope to protect your family members:

• Contributors should remove any information that could defame, embarrass, harm, or threaten the privacy of any individual in their family tree.
• Only the names, genders, and family links of living individuals will be published. All other information about living individuals will not be included in the World Family Tree.

How is this different from what the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is doing?

The LDS Church (Mormon Church) also collects family trees for inclusion in its "Ancestral File." This file can be accessed at the Family History Centers of the LDS Church and also online.

The World Family Tree differs from the Ancestral File in the following key ways:

• Access from home — You can access the World Family Tree from your own computer.
• More information on living individuals — In the World Family Tree, the names, genders, and family links of living individuals will be published. In the Ancestral File, only information about living individuals who are members of the LDS Church can be accessed. The names of non-LDS living individuals are replaced with the word "Living," and no one can access any information about these individuals.

Why should I give you my family tree when you're planning to sell it?

The genealogy community is based on sharing — the more that people share their family information with each other, the better the results for everyone involved. The goal of the World Family Tree is to collect family trees and make it easier for people with common family lines to find each other and share their valuable family information.

So, even though you aren't compensated monetarily, as a World Family Tree contributor you reap many benefits: the chance that you will help others — your distant relatives — trace their family trees, the possibility that you'll meet these distant relatives through the Contributor Contact Information Service, the preservation of your family information on CD-ROM for future generations, and much more. For a complete list of the benefits of contributing to the World Family Tree Project, see our Top Ten Reasons to Contribute to the World Family Tree.

Many people who are unfamiliar with software development don't fully understand how much effort and money goes into the production of the World Family Tree. The work includes the following:

• Using sophisticated and expensive computer equipment to process the thousands of trees we receive in all of the different formats
• Using complex computer algorithms to fill in estimated dates when the contributor didn't provide a date of birth, death, or marriage
• Maintaining a database to provide the names and addresses of World Family Tree contributors to those who find a connection
• Writing and sending mailings to collect as many family trees as possible in order to make the World Family Tree more valuable
• Dealing with contribution errors (GEDCOM inconsistencies, incomplete contributor information, and so on)

The price you pay to access the World Family Tree helps us to cover these development costs and gives us a fair return on our investment. This enables us to continue to produce products that make it faster and easier for you to trace your family tree.

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