Is there a limit on number of profiles a member can manage?

Question

Hi,

I know there is a limit on the number of profiles in gedcom and the number of profiles a project can manage, which I believe is 5000, but is there a limit on the number of profiles a Profile Manager can manage?  Is that also 5000?

A question/comment came up the other day about this so an answer would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Sheryl

Comments

I suspect there are two answers to this - an official one and realistic one.

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Nice comment, Martin.  Thank you!  If you replied instead of commented, I would mark this as best answer!

Answer 1

Sheryl, Everything Ros said is true but I would elaborate a bit. After you exceed the 5000 profile "limit" you would no longer be able to search for orphan profiles using the find Orphaned Profiles tools. I have exceeded the 5000 limit myself and had no problems but I am reducing the size of my watchlist because managing that many profiles takes a lot of time and work to do it right. I am currently under 3700 on my watchlist and feel that I should go even lower so that I can do better quality work on the one's that remain, after all a large number of profiles are "Open" so that means I will be able to edit them if I find good information to add to them even if I am not on the trusted list for them.

Comments

HI, Dale

Thank you, that is a marvelous answer.

The question came up when I was working with another industrious member who said there was a limit  of 5000 so she was "orphaning" some of the completed profiles to keep her numbers down.

This may be a separate question, but I would like to hear your response as to this practice; it doesn't seem you should abandon profiles you created to keep your numbers down.  Would it be better to do as you say, reduce the number on your Watchlist?

Thank you so much.

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Sheryl, If you can remove the profile from your watchlist it will be "Open" and who created it does not matter any member with the genealogist badge can edit it, even if it is still on your watchlist. Any profile that you are manager for or you are on the trusted list for will be on your watchlist. I have created many profiles that I later removed from myself from the trusted list and unless someone else later adopts the profile and is able to change the privacy level, born less than 150 years ago or died less than 100 years ago, I will still be able to edit the profile so there is really no advantage to keeping myself on the trusted list. By reducing my watchlist it reduces the number of emails I get and should respond to and if the profile is well sourced there should be very little chance of a bad merge being done. That means I have more time to work on improving and creating other profiles.

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Well said, Dale. My WL is under 2000, not including free spaces, and I often trim it.

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Great, thank you.  If you are off the Trusted List, does that "orphan" the profile?

Your points are well taken, and I will refer the member to this post.

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There are two levels of 'removing yourself':

1) You remove yourself as profile manager, but stay on the trusted list; this keeps the profile on your watchlist

2) You remove yourself entirely (as PM and no longer on the TL); this removes the profile from your watchlist

If you remove yourself as PM, yes, it will 'orphan' the profile.  Even if there are a dozen people on the Trusted List, if there is no PM, it is an Orphan.

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Thank you, Ros.  I got it.

Answer 2

Well, there is a suggested limit of 5000 for your watch list, after which some of WT's processes are likely to slow down for you.

Comments

Thank you, Ros; I understand and appreciate your response.

Can you also manage profiles above the 5000 not on a watchlist?

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No, because managing them would put them on your watch list.

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Got it; thank you.

Answer 3

My answer would be - no limit, as it is the goal of Wikitree that this is one big family tree, and eventually you would run into a situation where you would have to merge with another Profile Manager.

Comments

There is a limit, and it's 5000.  Over that, and some of the processes of WikiTree will slow down for you.

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Ros, please explain to me.  I have no intention at this moment of having 5,000 profiles, but say that I, over time add that many people to the family tree.  If they are all sourced, does that still mean that I am at my limit?  Thank you.

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Have a read of this:

https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/457092/5000-profile-limit

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Thanks!