Family Member - what can be seen?

+3 votes
206 views
I've read through the different membership types and have a question regarding a "Family Member."  

There are two people I've added as a family member - one is my sister and one is a man who shares cousins but is not a blood relation to me.  Neither have become volunteers.

My question is exactly what can either of them "see" of the profiles I create?  In other words, does a blood relation see the private view of blood relations, but not those unrelated?  Does the one who is not a blood relation to me see the private view of his blood relations but not mine?  How does that work exactly?  Since I'm the one logged in on my own account and doing the work, I am unable to log in as either of them, so I am not sure what they see when they log in.  

Thanks!  :-)
in WikiTree Tech by Lauren Conte G2G6 Pilot (123k points)
Thanks for asking this Lauren. I was also wondering if my family came on as a guest could they see my tree.

1 Answer

+2 votes

The two links below should help you with both what they can see/do to profiles.  Much of it depends on whether or not they are also on the Trusted List of a particular profile unless of course the profile is 'public' or 'open'.

This page shows the privacy levels and what can be seen by others. http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Privacy

 

Family Members    http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Member_Types

Family members and friends of Wiki Genealogists don't need to sign the Honor Code. They aren't expected to do any serious genealogy. They get to enjoy the fruits of the tree without really helping to grow it.

Family Members are encouraged to participate on the profiles of close family members and flesh out the details of modern family history. They can help fill in the blanks, contribute to biographies, add personal memories, upload photos, etc.

Family Members need to be on the Trusted List to edit a profile. (Wiki Genealogists can edit any Open profile.)

Family Members can upload GEDCOMs and take advantage of GEDMatches but can't create profiles by importing GEDCOMs.

You get a Family Member account in one of two ways:

  1. A current member adds you as a family member or friend. They include an e-mail address on your profile and you accept the invitation.[1]
  2. You register as a Guest Member and a Wiki Genealogist confirms you. Unless you volunteer to do wiki genealogy yourself they would only do this if they intend to help with your genealogy.

If you have a Family Member account you can become a Wiki Genealogist at any time by signing the Wiki Genealogist Honor Code.

by Chris Hoyt G2G6 Pilot (873k points)
Yes, thank you Chris, I've read that a hundred times, but still don't understand it completely as I am a full member and volunteer and do not know what it is to only be a family member.  I think the term in the above text "close family" is unclear - blood or marriage?  I consider them all close, but don't know the difference between my sister's view of things, who relates equally to me in ancestry and the other person who shares relations through marriages throughout the lineage.  Do they see the private view version of the profiles or the public view, does blood relation factor in, or is is all based on the trusted list factor overall?

I don't know if this will help make it any clearer.  It really  depends on whether or not they are on the 'Trusted List' of a profile.  If they are on the Trusted List of every profile for which you are manager - they can see everything you can, and edit as well.   If they are not on a Trusted List of a particular profile, they get the same view as described in the Privacy Levels page.

Did you add them both to the Trusted List  of all your profiles?  or just a partial list?

Example: My cousins, on my mother's side, don't necessarily have interest in my fathers' ancestors - they are interested in their own father's ancestors.  So I added them to the Trusted lists on my mom's  family line - her parents/grandparents etc, but not my Dads.  

If I add you to my Trusted List can you access every profile I can access?

No. Every profile has its own Trusted List. As a WikiTree user, you have a profile and your profile has a Trusted List.  People on this list can access your profile but they cannot automatically access other profiles you have created or edited. Those other profiles have their own Trusted Lists.

You might want your sister on all of them - but then if you are married and have a substantial set of profiles on your husband's family, going back generations - she might not have an interest there - so you wouldn't necessarily add her  to the Trusted List of those profiles.  Same with your cousin -  you can add him to those profiles with a family connection to him.

When you look at the Privacy Levels page - it tells what can be seen by others.  A few of the higher Privacy Levels indicate you must be on the Trusted List to see more. 

You might want to try this:  Do NOT log-in to WikiTree.  Just go on the site.  Find your own profile while not logged in.    On the left hand side there will be a box  under the persons details that says:    Lauren's 6482 contributions

Click on that.  It will bring up all your changes.  Now click on any name  in your contributions list - it will show what others - who are not on a Trusted List for that person will see.

Ok, that's what I was looking for - what actually controls the view of things which is apparently the trusted list.  There are explanations for privacy settings, member types and trusted list/profile manager abilities individually, but I couldn't figure out how they interacted in this particular situation.  Thank you!  :-)

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