Firstly, I think the concept of WikiTree is awesome! I’ve put in a lot of time and effort on WikiTree adding not only my family tree and that of my husband plus extended family but also in assisting with data improvements through Data Doctors and Soucerers activities. From my profile you will see I have a working background in data and information management. Hence my questions.
1. What disaster planning has been done for this website/wiki? I’m assuming that the website host has full backup recovery in place. But what about the leadership of WikiTree? Aleš Trtnik is not just a wonderful WikiTreerer but a vital part of the team. Is there someone who could fill his shoes in an emergency? His efforts are outstanding! What other leaders need to have succession planning in place?
2. I’m not sure how the website is supported financially but what happens if the funds run out to host it? Thousands of WikiTree-ers have spent thousands of hours effort building this tree and cleaning profiles. I would hate to see those effects wasted if for some reason the tree no longer exists.
3. We are busy building Free Spaces for various topics but often these are duplicates of information on Wikipedia. Are we duplicating effort? Should we be updating Wikipedia instead with links back to WikiTree profiles? Should we make sure that when creating a freespace that we add a link to it from Wikipedia so Wikipedia users can find it too. I know Google searches find WikiTree Free spaces but this would be another way to ensure our research efforts can be seen by more people.
Food for thought.
