Feature Request: I would like to be able to "subscribe" to a profile

+13 votes
318 views
There are many people in "my family tree" who are not on my watchlist because I am not the profile manager of those profiles.  However, they are relatives whom I am connected with. I would like notifications of when my fellow cousin genealogists come along and do some work on one of their profiles because (1) it might be interesting (2) it might give me some clues to some mystery I have been working on.

I understand that right now the "watchlist" is only for profiles that I am PM on.  Maybe this could be an "interest list" or maybe you could call it "subscribing" to that profile or something. It doesn't have to be the same list as the "watchlist" it could be a different list.  (For that matter I might like to "subscribe" to other profiles I am not related to just because they are interesting!)
in WikiTree Tech by Crispin Reedy G2G6 Mach 4 (45.8k points)
retagged by Ellen Smith

5 Answers

+4 votes
 
Best answer
There have been similar requests in the past. It is on the improvement to-do list.
by Jamie Nelson G2G6 Pilot (612k points)
selected by Crispin Reedy
Jamie, I don't see this as something we're likely to do.

You don't have to manage a profile to have it on your Watchlist. You just need to be on the Trusted List.

It is true that there are some cases where you don't need or want to be on the Trusted List to watch a profile, but adding another mechanism for watching profiles would add quite a bit of technical complication to our systems and it would be more confusing for users. WikiTree is complicated enough as it is. :-)
+7 votes
The Watchlist is not only for profiles where you are PM.  It is also for profiles where you are on the Trusted List for that profile.
by Ros Haywood G2G Astronaut (1.9m points)
+13 votes
Unfortunately, WikiTree isn't set up to let people simply subscribe to a profile in order to add it to the watchlist.

If you want to add a profile to your watchlist, submit a Trusted List request for that profile.

And if you want to add a line of relatives and ancestors that are managed by another specific member, in your request you can mention the other profiles you are interested in, so they can add you to a bunch of a profiles at the same time. If you are bulk-added to a bunch of profiles, do check your watchlist to see if you were added to "too many" profiles (sometimes a person will generously add you to all profiles they manage, which likely includes many people you aren't interested in). There used to be a mechanism for seeing recent additions to our watchlists, but I can't find it any more...
by Ellen Smith G2G Astronaut (1.5m points)

You can find recent additions to your watchlist by clicking on the 'Watchlist Changes' button at the top right of your watchlist, then clicking on the 'click here' at the end of this statement in the middle of the page: If you'd like to remove yourself from Trusted Lists that you've been added to just recently, e.g. if someone else has bloated your Watchlist, click here.

+10 votes
From all of the notifications I receive, I think using the tag "XXXX" (family names you are following) on your profile will get you notice when any profile with that last name is changed or added to.
by Beulah Cramer G2G6 Pilot (565k points)
Crispin, I am on Beulah's train on this one. The tag feature would seem to be a viable option.Have you communicated with you "fellow cousins"?
The tag feature is too broad. It follows everyone with that name. It would be more helpful to follow only specific list of profiles/relations without having to join the trusted list (which often results in no response).
good point Dennis
I agree that Smith, Jones and Brown overwhelm the system but I only get three or four notes a week.  I think I caused a lot more for people when I was sourcing a family GEDCOM and did forty to fifty changes a day sometimes.  I'm not sure how many people got the notices but I'm done now.
+4 votes
This would be a really helpful feature, I totally agree.
by E. Compton G2G6 Pilot (193k points)

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