Why doesn't my tree get filled out automatically?

+6 votes
468 views
I like the connection finder and it made me wonder why you can't automatically tie into the tree.  If the information is there why not just once an individual gets to the single tree autofill it?  Wouldn't that be a better way to keep bad data from being entered?
in The Tree House by Dave Nelson G2G4 (4.1k points)
You have to establish the connection first, that means providing sources that prove the connection to a profile that is already on WT.

Once you have made that connection, then you will be 'tied into the tree'.

In many situations you have connections to various parts of the tree.

Through a maternal or paternal connection, or through a spousal connection.

Note that through a family member that is also a relationship, while through an in law it will be a connection.

4 Answers

+6 votes
Hi Dave

I don't think I understand the idea you are envisioning. Can you explain a bit more?
by Matthew Sullivan G2G6 Pilot (183k points)
Let's say I want to add my Great Great Great Grandfather and someone has already added them the system tries to keep duplicates from being created, and that's a good thing.

So, when I ran the connection finder on John Quincy Adams WikiTree obviously knows connections to my tree which I haven't yet entered.  So my question is why must I enter each ancestor in my tree?  Why can't I "accept" and add the tree which has already been vetted?  If I see something which isn't correct let me go through the process to correct it, and to add anything which is missing.
As Kathie said below, once you connect one of your ancestors (say profile X) to an already existing profile (say profile Y), you will then become connected to all other profiles connected to profile Y. To that extent, your tree does "fill in automatically".

The only ancestors of yours that need to be added to WikiTree are the ones that currently don't have profiles.   They will need to have their profiles added, either by you or someone else.
The Connections Finder is based purely on relationships already reflected in our shared tree (each relationship in the chain is either a parent-child, sibling, or spousal relationship). Wikitree doesn't know what it doesn't know.

More broadly, I would add that Wikitree is not "vetted" per se... we want people to look at what's there and challenge whether it's correct or not based on the sources. So the general philosophy is to not make it easy to do mass-additions. It's slow by design to encourage accuracy.
Until profiles are developed and saved, they are not obvious to WikiTree. There are countless Notables who are not represented by a profile. New sources are added and corrections are made daily to improve accuracy of the tree.
Dave, your connection to John Quincy Adams goes through Andrew Durkee - https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Durkee-594 - who is a great-great-grand-something of yours; a profile created by someone else, and to whom you have connected yourself by connecting a son (your ancestor) to him. Which is exactly how it is supposed to work.

The rest of your connection path to John Quincy Adams goes "sideways" through marriages and siblings of spouses, so apparently WikiTree does not claim that there is a blood relationship between you and him.

If you haven't tried it already, I recommend the Alternative View: Generational Path. I always like to take a peek at it, to see the proportions between horizontal and vertical connections.
+8 votes
Once you connect a profile to your tree by joining an existing parent, spouse, sibling etc to an unconnected profile of yours, all of the profiles connected to that profile will appear in your tree automatically.
by Kathie Forbes G2G6 Pilot (997k points)
+5 votes
If I read this correctly, since the info exist it should be automatically generated or available (formatted) in an orderly fashion? Think of it in terms of a natural resource. Gold, oil and lithium exist yet needs to be mined and refined before it can be used. Out of the billions of people who have existed, and countless billions of records documenting their existence, only about 30 million profiles exist on WikiTree. Less than 10 percent of the current population of the "United" States. WikiTree's mission is to connect everyone, although not automatically, one profile at a time.
by K Smith G2G6 Pilot (455k points)
Yes, but ...

When we talk about connection paths and trees going back from a profile, we're comparing apples and oranges.  

The tree does fill out automatically showing the paths to all BLOOD relatives.  The connection finder also fills out automatically, but it goes across marriages to make its connection paths.

This is why many "relatives", as shown on connection paths are not truly relatives in the blood sense and are, therefore, not seen on a tree view.
+7 votes
Connection Finder only shows existing connections between profiles that are already present on WikiTree. You don't have to add the profiles that are part of the connection; they are already there. Conversely, Connection Finder does not "know" any connections that are not already present on WikiTree.

Also, please note that the connections that show up in Connection Finder have not been "vetted" or approved; they are only as good as the research that has gone into the individual links in the connection. Many connections shown by Connection Finder are incorrect because one or more of the connecting relationships is incorrect.
by Chase Ashley G2G6 Pilot (335k points)

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