Help:Comments
Categories: WikiTree Help | Email and Communication Help
Here are details about commenting on WikiTree profiles and photos.
Contents |
Posting and Replying
Any logged-in member with a confirmed email address can post a new comment or reply to someone else's comment on a profile or photo. Anonymous visitors cannot post comments because of spam problems. (We do hope to add back anonymous commenting at some point in the future.)
New "top-level" comments appear at the top of the comments section. Replies appear indented below the comment to which they are replying. If there are six or more levels of replies they do not indent beyond the sixth level.
Character limits
A comment must be at least 30 characters and no more than 8000 characters long.
We have a minimum because comments are permanently saved, emailed to other members, and generate history items that may appear in numerous activity feeds. These are not like comments on a forum where the only people who will see the comment are those who are interested in the discussion. Profile comments are intended to be seen by everyone who is interested in the profile. If you just want to show support or appreciation for someone else's comment, consider clicking the thank-you link.
The maximum character limit is generous, but we do need a limit because of email and database limitations. If you have a large amount of content about a person's life or genealogical research concerning them use the biography section. You could also create a free-space profile and link to it.
Rate limits
We limit the number of comments that can be posted per day. See Help:Daily Limits on Messages.
Editing Comments
You can edit any comment that you post. Other than sysops, nobody else can edit your comments.
You can edit the "email me about replies" setting in addition to editing the text of your comment.
If your comment has any replies it's best not to change the meaning of your original comment. Also, keep in mind that your original comment may have been emailed out.
If a comment has been edited we record and display when it was edited and by whom.
Deleting Comments
You can delete any comment that you post. Also, a member can delete any comment that is posted on their own account profile.
Profile Managers cannot delete other members' comments except on their account profile. Managers can archive comments, or if they are spam or vandalism, report them to Mediators by flagging them.
If a deleted comment has replies, a "comment deleted" placeholder will appear along with when the comment was deleted and by whom.
Archiving Comments
If a comment is no longer relevant it can be "archived" by the member who posted it or the Profile Manager of the profile on which it was posted. Archived comments can be un-archived in the same way.
Archived comments do not appear on the profile by default but can be viewed by anyone who clicks the "view archived comments" button.
Archived comments do not immediately disappear for the member who archives them. If you reload the page they will disappear.
If an archived comment has replies the replies will effectively be archived as well. They are visible when the top-level comment is visible.
We record and display when a comment is archived and by whom.
Comments are not automatically archived, with one exception. When we implemented the new comment system in December 2019 we automatically archived any old comments beyond the most-recent 10 comments on a profile. This corresponds to our old comments system where only the 10 most-recent comments were shown by default.
Moving to G2G
A "move to G2G" link appears below comments. This is a way to move the conversation to our G2G (Genealogist-to-Genealogist) discussion forum.
Moving a discussion to G2G is a way to bring it to the attention of a wider audience of active WikiTree community members. If the discussion topic is narrowly focused on the content of the profile it is better to keep it on the profile itself. This gives the discussion a narrower audience but a longer "shelf life."
Flagging Comments
Spam, vandalism, and egregiously offensive comments should be reported to the WikiTree Team with the "flag" link that appears below all comments.
If a comment is mean, frustrating or annoying start at Help:Problems with Members instead.
When a comment is flagged a notation appears that includes when it was flagged and by whom.
Flagged comments do not automatically disappear. You can archive it if you are the Profile Manager.
Flagged comments can be un-flagged or deleted, at the discretion of the WikiTree Team. You can email info@wikitree.com if you have concerns but we cannot promise an explanation. See Category:Conflict Help.
Email Alerts
You can opt to receive email when:
- a comment is posted on a profile you manage or a photo you uploaded, and
- someone replies to one of your comments.
You do not receive email alerts about your own comments, even if they are on a profile you manage or in reply to a comment you yourself posted.
You do not receive alerts about replies to replies to your comments. For example, A will receive an alert if B replies to A's comment, but A will not receive an alert if C replies to B's reply.
You can turn off email alerts or adjust your settings on your settings page. See Help:E-Mail_from_WikiTree for related information.
When you post or edit a comment there is a checkbox for whether or not you want to receive email alerts about replies to that comment. Comments posted before our new system was implemented in December 2019 do not have the setting. You can edit any comment at any time to change the setting, or override them all on your settings page.
Activity Feed Tracking
We record an activity feed history item every time a comment is posted or deleted. Editing, archiving and flagging a comment does not generate a history item.
Profile activity is emailed out once a week to members on the Trusted List as described. The feed includes items about comments with one exception. If comments are posted on the account profile of an active member only the member themselves will be alerted to them, not everyone on their Trusted List. This exception is intended only to reduce the volume.
Photo Comments
Comments on photos work the same as comments on person profiles and free-space profiles.
The member who uploaded a photo will be alerted to new comments via email (by default). We do not alert members who manage profiles connected to a photo because their number is highly variable. Moreover, history items about photos do not appear in the activity feeds of every member on every profile connected to a photo. This means that comments on photos may be less visible than comments on profiles. Important discussions should happen on profiles or in G2G.
Comments on Merged Profiles
When two profiles are merged, comments from the merged-away profile are integrated with the comments on the merged-into profile.
We record and display the WikiTree ID of the original profile on which a comment was posted. For example, if a comment on Franklin-1 was originally posted on Franklin-2 prior to a merge, we say "Posted on Franklin-2 by ...".
Comment Privacy
Comments are always public, or could be made public.
Even comments on Private profiles are visible to everyone. Comments on Unlisted profiles or private photos are generally not displayed, but they could be, and will be if the privacy level changes.
This page was last modified 07:53, 18 October 2023. This page has been accessed 9,239 times.