WikiTree Community Blog

Hi WikiTreers,

This week, on the advice of my wife Megan, I’m experimenting with a different tagline: The Encyclopedia of You.

Huh? What? Why?

Hear me out on this.

I’ve got a problem. I’m having a heck of a time describing WikiTree to people, even in person.

The thing is, it’s not just a family tree tool. The collaborative free wiki space is structured, yes, and it’s optimized for family history. But to me family history isn’t all pedigrees and bloodlines. (Actually, I find those terms really distasteful. Maybe it’s the mental association with dog breeding. Anyway …)

Family history is personal history; it’s anything of significance to you and your loved ones.

Collaborating on personal history means pages about your family members, definitely. Maybe also about the house you grew up in. Or the dog your father adored. Or the pipe your grandfather smoked. Or the business your sister started.

All sorts of things can be meaningful to you and should be recorded and shared. I can’t say in advance what those things will be, but I know they’ll go beyond family trees. I want WikiTree to be a tool for all your personal history, not just your “bloodline”.

This is why Megan thinks the “Encyclopedia of You” line makes sense.

What do you think? E-mail me or post here.

Chris

WikiTreers,

This site is all about encouraging interaction in order to grow family history. This means walking a fine line between privacy and public access. Too many restrictions inhibit collaboration. Too few compromise essential privacy. Our unique private-public balance is what makes WikiTree special.

After much input and consideration, I’m moving a smidge of weight from the private side to the public side of the scales.

Until now Bulletin Boards on person profiles have been “half” public. Anyone could post a message, but only those on the Trusted List could see the messages. Starting next week they will be fully public. Anyone can post and anyone can view.

The Memories section of person profiles will still be fully private. Only those on the Trusted List can post and view memories about protected people.

Public Bulletin Boards will enable more unplanned, fortuitous interactions. It will be easier for total strangers and distant relatives to connect and communicate without compromising the privacy of the entire profile.

As always keep giving me feedback.

Onward and upward,

Chris