How come I am able to change the privacy settings on some of the profiles I manage and not others?

+2 votes
210 views
Why can I change privacy settings on some of the profiles I manage and not others? The profiles that I created and cannot change the privacy level on, are non-living individual.
WikiTree profile: George Hall
in WikiTree Tech by T. Beaudoin G2G5 (5.5k points)

2 Answers

+7 votes
 
Best answer

As per WikiTree privacy policy, if the individual was born more than 150 years ago or died more than 100 years ago, his/her profile is required to be open:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Help:Privacy#Open

by Lindy Jones G2G6 Pilot (253k points)
selected by T. Beaudoin
Thank you for answering. This is frustrating to not be able to set some settings, on profiles you are working on, to public but only those on a trusted list can edit. More than once, I have been working on a profile only to have someone come in, right after I build the profile, and plaster copied references from Ancestry.com without even checking whether they are the right person or if the resources are correct. I like to add verified references for accuracy. Ok, rant over! lol
On the other hand, if the individual has or may have living children their privacy level cannot be open.
Thanks Tom, for the added information!
+6 votes
Wikitree is one large, public, shared tree that can be edited by any of it's members. Making profiles of people born more than 100 years ago private would really not be in the interests of that aim.
by Gillian Causier G2G6 Pilot (289k points)
I do not necessarily want to make them private as much as I want to have some say as to who can edit the profiles. When you put a lot of time in creating quality profiles with verified resources and someone comes in and pastes copied information (over the top of already verified information) from a public ancestry generic search without checking or verifying the information, is rather frustrating. It makes me question whether it is worth spending my time doing so. I think the reason someone would do this is they are participating in a challenge and that is the fastest way to rack up points. It would be nice if the challenges had some rules as to the quality of information rather than quantity. These are just some of my thoughts!

On the other hand, I appreciate others who have spent time creating quality profiles and sharing information, they have researched. It is common curtesy to contact the managers of a profile with intent. When I create a profile and want to take some time to develop it properly, I do not expect someone within a couple hours to start plastering it with unverified information.

I am really just venting. I love what this site stands for and accomplishes. There are many advantages to collaborative trees and I do it in more than one place. This site has a very active lively group with great intentions. I love how it is growing and how its members help each other. It is an awesome place to hang out!
I feel your pain, as someone who is diligent and who has had th same kind of experience. There is always the opportunity to roll back the profile under the changes tab, if someone removed good information and replaced it with something less good. You could always copy anything they added that was ok, and add it back in after removing the chaff.

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