Help:Ownership and Control

Categories: WikiTree Help | Courtesy and Community Rules | Profile Management Help

We have a saying at WikiTree: Privacy controls are for privacy, not control. Privacy Levels and Trusted Lists enable you to collaborate while preserving necessary family privacy. They're not intended to enable certain family members to own and control the family history.

No Ownership of Profiles

WikiTree profiles are not owned by Profile Managers.

Photos may be copyrighted. And specific text in biographies may be copyrighted, if so noted. However, the general profile web page is shared by the community and is not owned by any single community member.

WikiTree is not trying to own your genealogy. We are trying to make genealogy free and accessible for everyone. See the mission and Honor Code.

Management of Modern Profiles

Sharing on WikiTree is personal and private when it comes to modern family history and living people. The family members have full control over the privacy settings.

Even here, the Profile Manager should not think of themselves as the owner of a profile. They're more like a steward or curator. They lead the family collaboration. They have a responsibility to share the profile with other family members. If they don't want this responsibility, they should let another family member be the Profile Manager.

If a Profile Manager refuses to remove sensitive information about you or a child under 13, see Privacy Conflicts.

Management of Distant Ancestors

As you go further back in time, ancestors have more and more descendants. Since all descendants share the same ancestor profiles these profiles cannot be tightly controlled.

The role of a Profile Manager is very different here. Privacy is not a concern.

Misunderstandings and disagreements are common with profiles from hundreds of years ago. Collaboration isn't easy when you have thousands of people trying to agree on the same facts. Please be patient and assume that all WikiTreers have good intentions. When there's a problem start at Problems with Members.

Projects are designed to facilitate broad-based collaboration. The members of the project act as the manager of some profiles. Any Wiki Genealogist can join these projects and participate.

This page was last modified 07:48, 18 October 2023. This page has been accessed 17,511 times.