Trust Lists, perks and trees. What grinds my gears.

Question

I'm copying this rant of mine from the Facebook Wikitree page. Someone had posted about their being a direct descendant of a Mayflower Passenger by x number generations. I was curious to see how many it was until I got to my Mayflower ancestors, and I was reminded of this way that wikitree works that bugs me.
 

"You know what grinds my gears? The way trusted lists work for ancient people. So, if I work all the way back to a line that's been worked on, then I have to join the trusted list for every single person in that line for the perks of wikitree to work? Grindworthy.

As Wikitree grows, this will create massive problems. Can you imagine HOW many people have John Alden as an ancestor in this country? (and what the approval process would be for everyone to get involved) But, if you connect into the line at a more recent level, then go to do the relationship finder - nada. You gotta go and ask to be on the trusted list for hundred years worth of people.
Now, I'm not an expert on Mayflower Passengers, so I don't ACTUALLY feel the need for editorial rights, but it would be nice for him to show on my tree, and for the fun stuff to work.
It is my heartfelt opinion that there should be an intermediate "trust" level that opens access to the pages that is applied automatically when one connects to a line."
 

I find this especially troubling at the point that I have brought family members in to manage their own pages so they can see all the cool stuff I've done. What can they see on their trees? Can they do a "Relationship Finder" without being on the trusted lists? I can use the bulk tool to add them to all of the stuff that I am on the trusted list for, but it stops where I've stopped.
As a relatively low-level genealogist hobbiest, I take a minimalist editing approach to the work that other people have done. I don't want to edit something someone's worked hard on (and that I can't add to with sources), and so, I don't feel encouraged to ask five people to be on the trusted list just so I can see it on my tree or do a "relationship finder" etc. What will it be like when there's 25 people to ask and wait for a response? I know for the work that I do, whenever someone wants to be added to a trusted list, my heart skips a beat. I'm excited to share and nervous about losing that on which I've spent my (precious) free time. Shouldn't there be some automatic intermediate level, where the tree is connected, the stuff works and you can see all the info, but you're fine with not being an editor for now?

Comments

I've never used the relationship finder but based on your experience, I concur that it should not be tied to the Trusted list.  Chris W., what was the thinking behind that decision?

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That's odd; I'd never realised it was tied to the trusted list. But I just checked on my mom's account, and clicked the relationship on one of her direct ancestors, Armitage-332. The message I got was "Sorry, Armitage-332's family tree is not public and you are not on their Trusted List.", which is strange since Armitage-332 is an open profile. Chris, is it supposed to do that?

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Removing the Trusted List requirement on the Relationship Finder for those with "Private with a Public Family Tree" is pending.

We're also making some efficiency improvements, and will hopefully expand it to check 15 generations instead of 10.

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Awesome! I really appreciate how truly invested you are in this site. It's one thing to make something, and another entirely to be so responsive to the users once it's out there.

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Oh, and is there something in the works to add to the family trees the profiles connected by lineage but are not on the trusted list? That way, we could help keep the deep genealogy in the hands of people versed in those specialties (if we wished) while simultaneously enjoying watching the process and evolution in action?

For example, a hobbiest could keep track of his Mayflower ancestors without scaring the Mayflower enthusiasts with his novice-ness.

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Hi Rob. The trees aren't affected by Trusted List status. Maybe you're thinking of watching a profile? If you want updates when a profile is changed, you do need to be on the TL. If you just want it in your tree, it's not necessary.

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I put a flag on Chris's reply since there are two good ideas in it and it will great to see them implemented.

I am slightly amazed that the two pros who replied above weren't regular users of the Relationship tab, which is a creative tool for confirming the count of generations and very helpful in finding out if cousins married one day long ago.

So my vote is to keep the Relationship tab and in fact keep adding other useful tools for views into the data.

Rob's original post was helpful to surface issues.

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Sandy, I don't think anyone was suggesting removing the Relationship tab; my understanding of this post is that it's being requested that the Relationship function not require one to be on the Trusted List of a profile in order to see their relationship to that profile.

Answer 1

I agree, the relationship finder is useless if you're not on the Trusted List.

For example, I have put a lot of work into Col Richard Henry I Lee-318 and his wife, Anne Constable-37. I do not want to be on the 'Trusted List' but it would be nice to show my grandsons the relationship to their ancestors.