Team Roses has never cheated and never will--2019 CAT

+40 votes
904 views
I am posting this because we have now moved from whispered rumors to private email now accusing me of cheating by using some sort of computer magic in order to have such a high score. Besides the fact my integrity wouldn't allow such a thing, I don't even know how to do it. If it were just me, I wouldn't care, but the constant blasphemy against my hardworking team members is enough.

Team Roses was founded on the principles of hard work and integrity. That will never change. Have you looked at the contributions of the Roses Team members? Even the newbies go on to give to WikiTree in a big way.

So here is the secret to how we win:

1) Extreme team work. Everyone on the team works as hard as everyone else. We use instant messaging if we need help on a difficult profile to help each other. We give each other tips on how to navigate WT profiles. And most of all, we cheer each other on so we are highly motivated.

2) We literally work around the clock without sleeping. I got maybe 7 hours total sleep over the past three days. I never moved from my computer except to grab a bite to eat and to go the bathroom. I am paying for it today and can't move a muscle except those that are shaking. We are very competitive. Can't help it.

3) Education. Many of us spend a lot of time on WikiTree working hard on profiles so we know what to do. New people to the team--we teach them what to do so they understand how to work on profiles as well as how to navigate WikiTree features. The fact we have different team members for each thon is testament to this.

There are several people on my team, including myself, who are disabled or ill. We work beyond the pain, discomfort, and difficulty to give 200% for these three days.

I want to applaud my team members for their amazing work, not just during the thons, but all year around. Each person's dedication to improving WikiTree and honoring their ancestors is amazing. I'm proud of my team--every single person. And no one has to be a high scorer to be a part of us. We have always accepted all who ask to join and cheer everyone's contributions.
in The Tree House by Emma MacBeath G2G Astronaut (1.2m points)

2) We literally work around the clock without sleeping. I got maybe 7 hours total sleep over the past three days. I never moved from my computer except to grab a bite to eat and to go the bathroom.

.

That is INSANE! surprise

I am paying for it today and can't move a muscle except those that are shaking.  

.

I can believe that.  (I know exactly how it feels.)

There are several people on my team, including myself, who are disabled or ill. We work beyond the pain, discomfort, and difficulty . . . 

.

I know all about this, as well.  Sometimes the doing of something almost allows you to ignore the pain etc more than usual.   I tend to, although some days can be worse than others, pain-wise.

.

My congratulations to you .. and a MASSIVE "SHAME" on those name-callers and naysayers.  May their britches itch them for a week.

Let's not name call on them either.  :) Thanks!
Yes, Melanie, it is a bit insane. Okay, a lot insane. I did have a nice laugh at your "May their britches itch them for a week" though. Thank you :-)

But Eowyn, I wasn't name calling.  I was just saying "shame on" those who did it.  The difference might be subtle, but it is there. 

.

I did mean the itching britches, though. cheeky

.

@ Emma .. happy to be of service, my dear.  I did consider fleas of a thousand camels, but thought that might be going just a tad too far.  wink

Let me first say congratulations and well done. I worked on the <ref> tag suggestions the first two days and they each take long to correct before I switched to the easy suggestions and I made half of what you totalled. Your score is true, very hard work and long hours. Anybody saying otherwise is just sour grapes.
I kept looking at your totals and thinking how can these people type that fast?  But never once did I think that anyone was cheating.  When I looked at suggestions by user, I thought that you, Emma, were brilliant for choosing the empty profiles.  Of course!  I thought.  And then to read about how y'all stayed up for hours on end.  I'm so jealous.  I would love to be back to where I can function on less than 8-10 hours of sleep.  

Team Roses is amazing.  Everyone of you deserve so many handshakes and hugs for your accomplishments.  I'm sending virtually hugs to y'all -- which is probably good, since my fingers and hands are tired!

I have determined never to stay awake this long for three days in a tow ever again. It takes a HUGE toll on the body. But I've said that before every thon too. LOL. We'll see what happens in September. wink

Also, I have thousands of other errors I worked on. I started with naming errors but ran out. I would have been in top ten if I worked on those alone. And what people don't realize (unless they look at my actual contributions) is I don't just slap a copy/paste on those 802s. I also clean up naming errors, fix or expand locations, add to dates when I can, set up merges, etc. 

But all that's beside the point. Every single person who contributed made WikiTree a better place. Yay to all the members of the challenge!

When I saw how many profiles Team Roses was doing my first thought was not they’re cheating; but, instead what are they doing right? I opened a sampling of what they were working on and learned a lot just from reviewing what improvements they were focusing on and what comments were made.

Anyone who took the time to look at what they did, would realize that this was a dedicated, organized, and sleepless group of people.

Bravo Team Roses!

You are an inspiration.
Thank you for noticing Jennifer :-)
I participated in two CATs so far first time I was on team Scandinavia a wonderful team but two years ago we were all in it for the fun of it. Roses are very different in that way, we had a couple of members who are obviously very competitive, in a good way. There was still time for a chat, time to help a member but besides that it was full speed ahead at all times. We have a very active team leader always on top of everything, every question every issue that arises, not to speak of the amount of cheering she and other members did both for the team and other CAT participants.

The competition was on from the get go and not only against other teams but I sensed a certain level of friendly competition between the Roses. I didn’t think I would be able to contribute anything close to the top “players” with babies at home and this been-sleep-training-baby-for-12-months-tired-parent-brain of mine but got sucked into it anyways and finished somewhere on 5th place, don’t remember exactly got crazy towards the end. I did that even though I started out by researching some random family from Indiana, correcting their FS profiles, attaching sources and importing the info to Wikitree. Not a huge amount of fixed errors that first day but never once did I feel like I was letting the team down, they know as we all do that every improvement is worth gold. Second day I stumbled across the prophet Mohammed’s giant family tree spanning hundreds of years back due to the no birth but data on relatives profiles error. Tried to sort some of that mess out, probably didn’t get far and burned some daylight doing that. I picked up crazy speed once I was smarter with my choices in errors and reminded myself to stick to it once it got a bit repetitive and not go down random rabbit holes and then I was having some real fun.

I will admit that when I worked on empty profiles and was setting estimated births to them based on relatives that a few times it happened that I marked two errors as finished instead of one if I remembered which one I would go back and fix the related issue as well, if I could not then once it’s recorded you can’t take it back. But on the other hand I always tried to set statuses for people when I came across errors that was already fixed during the competition and they had missed to record it. Then I would forget to switch back to my own ID thus giving a few fixes away to other people/teams. That happened way more than me recording a fix as done if it wasn’t which was purely accidental and I would be surprised to hear that did not happen to other people.

I will say South Africa really gave us a run for our money.. good on you!
So you are the Antonia that breezed by me sending me to 6th place!  LOL!  Great job!

Yeah I was surprised about that too! Got lucky on coming by a fast-fix-error, the kids was sound asleep for a while and I had a husband next to me wondering if it was time to go to bed for about an hour, it was the perfect storm for me to go into speed mode and get me a head devil

Next time I will force my husband to sit beside me looking at me sternly for 3 days straight, "just a few more hun, just a few more.." laugh

My fella knows to leave me alone when a challenge weekend occurs.  He even cooked a few meals for us (even though it was my turn to cook).  Rewarding him today by taking him to see the Avengers's Endgame!

18 Answers

+32 votes
 
Best answer
Emma, just so you know, I haven’t even heard a whisper of a rumor about this. All I know is that you and your dedicated team did a marvelous job, and our Shared Tree is all that much the better for your efforts. My hat’s off to Team Roses!
by Pip Sheppard G2G Astronaut (2.7m points)
selected by Cheryl Hess
what Pip said! Congratulations to Team Roses, you, and everyone who worked on database errors this past weekend!

Ditto on what Pip said! 

"CONGRATULATIONS TEAM ROSES,
THANK YOU FOR MAKING "OUR TREE" BETTER!!!

+25 votes
Amen! I didn’t compete in this year’s CAT but I know everyone works their butts off. No cheating needed. We just are very competitive. :-)
by Charlotte Shockey G2G6 Pilot (979k points)
+34 votes
Also, just to clarify, it is not okay to email someone and insinuate (or straight out state) that you assume they are cheating.

We try to always assume the best, not the worst.

If you do have a concern in any of these marathons and you think there is something amiss, the correct course of action is to contact the WikiTree staff and let us know your concerns so we can look into it.
by Eowyn Walker G2G Astronaut (2.4m points)
Aren't we usually told we should take the matter up privately with the person concerned before going through channels?
Rj, taking it up with the Other person privately doesn’t mean being nasty. If you can’t do it nicely then email wikitree staff.

Just because someone does a lot of work and racks up a large score doesn’t mean cheating. I didn’t enter but admire the work that all who participated did, whether 1 suggestion or thousands.
I don't know anything about the Thon or the email.  I was only surprised by Eowyn's "correct course of action", which apparently applies in all cases, not only "if you can't do it nicely".
RJ,

I believe she was specifically addressing the issue of suspected cheating in one of the thons, not issues between individual members which should be handled privately whenever possible.

In other words, if you suspect someone is somehow gaining an unfair advantage during a challenge then ask the WikiTree staff to look into it, don't send nasty emails accusing your fellow WikiTreers of cheating.
But if there are different procedures for different cases, it's hard to know what applies when.

To me, cheating would be claiming points for work not done.

But if somebody accused me of finding a way to get more done, I'd think it was only a joke to call it cheating and I'd cheerfully admit to it.  We all like to cheat in a good way sometimes.

I can see where people might be cheesed off about competition that gives normal players no chance.  But that wouldn't be a complaint to take to the Team.
Well said Eowyn!!
+28 votes

This is discouraging and surprising that people in the community would resort to accusing fellow Wikitreers of cheating. Every change one makes is time stamped, so anyone else can look back at the contributions made and verify for themselves the work ethic of another member. I was only able to contribute a couple hours of my time this weekend, and I still managed to rack up 300+ points. If some one worked at it for 12 hours a day for three days, then yes, a score like yours is completely possible. 

Well done on your high score. Don’t let those who doubt get you down. wink

by Alex Stronach G2G6 Pilot (363k points)
Thank you Alex! You rocked. I personally worked close to 21 hours a day for 3 days. :-)

Emma and Team Roses are the BEST! Speaking as one of the Co-Captains of the Super Sweepers, we know the dedication this team has. Working together as a team is imperative, it truly makes a huge difference. I personally applaud Emma and Team Roses for their integrity, dedication and willingness to help make WikiTree Healthier. 

And I second the motion, "SHAME ON THOSE" for spreading such vile rumors.

Super Sweepers enjoys the competition of Team Roses. It's nice to have a Team that pushes another team to do better. I would suggest the "Ones" who are spreading these Vile Rumors take a look at their own game plan and strategy before making such accusations

Instead of accusing maybe "They" should be "THANKING TEAM ROSES" for a job well done!

It takes a lot of hard work to achieve what Tean Roses and Emma accomplished. 

THANK YOU!!!!!

Thank you Loretta. You're the best! smiley

+28 votes
Emma,

I'm gobsmacked.

Be proud of your achievement
by David Urquhart G2G6 Pilot (166k points)

thank you, David. I'm proud of all the contributors who just improved WikiTree in such a big way smiley

+26 votes
Congratulations to Team Roses on your well-deserved win!  This was my first CAT, and I must've made about 100 corrections total.  Will try to beat that next year-thank you to EVERYONE that helped clean up!
by K. Anonymous G2G6 Pilot (145k points)
Thank you K! It gets easier with more experience. 100 is a great number! Imagine if every WT member got that much done? It would be amazing
Thanks!
Kay, you have the right attitude and have pointed out one of the best points for Team Roses. Most of the time, we each compete against ourselves with all the others cheering us on.  I think I did about 200 in my first Thon and the team celebrated that achievement as much as the top scorer. The the time before and after the Thon, they taught me a lot about how to improve profiles efficiently.  Then next Thon, a set a goal to double my score and again I was supported and cheered like the top scorers and I learned more.  Soon I joined the 1000 club. I’ll never be up there with Emma and Deb and Misty because I need more sleep and take breaks for Church, grocery runs, laundry and the like and because my talents head more toward research than typing. But I feel like a winner every time I pass one of my self set goals.  And I feel like everyone who fixes even one profile has contributed to the team’s success. That’s what keeps me coming back Thon after Thon.

You are a hero in my eyes Maryheart

+17 votes
I am insulted that someone or anyone would even think that we would cheat. That is totally uncool.
by Jennifer Robins G2G6 Pilot (248k points)
+20 votes
Your team is amazing. I certainly can't work at a Thon as long as you guys did. Your team doesn't deserve the insinuation.
by Elizabeth x G2G6 Mach 4 (47.7k points)
+21 votes
Sorry to hear about this. Always seem to be those in every group that have to bring others down.

Thanks for all your dedication and hard work Team Roses.
by Azure Robinson G2G6 Pilot (539k points)

Hello Azure. I ran across many many of the profiles you worked on and I wondered, who is this person with the wonderful name? Thank you for all of your hard work! smiley

P.S. I just checked to see if we're related since I seem to be related to most of WikiTree. And we are 11th cousins through Henry Loker

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Loker-4

+24 votes

There are always people who dislike others who do better than them. Just because they may not do as much on here or they feel people are collecting "Edit Points". 

Every little edit makes wikitree better and that is the only thing that matters. Making Wikitree Better.

There is enough to do on Wikitree to cater for those that wish to take their time and those that do a lot at once. 

I didn't do as much this year compared to last year cause there was times I felt like like my head was exploding. I still did over a 1000 and saw your figures and was glad someone was making a major improvements to Wikitree. 

by Darren Kellett G2G6 Pilot (412k points)
Absolutely, Darren. I did quite a lot on my iPad, which for some reason didn’t count. Although I’m a bit sad that I let down my team in terms of scoring points, in the big picture I spent time fixing up two or three profiles which involved sorting out correct names, parents and deaths. That took time. That is infinitely more important for the validity and health of the tree than some of the other quite trivial errors that could be corrected quickly. Quality over quantity every time!
Oh no, Fiona! I'm so sorry it wasn't working on your ipad. And yes, every single person in the challenge (some people didn't sign up, but still contributed too) made profiles better than they found them. This makes me happy!
+18 votes

I have not heard the "rumours", but I can vouch for Emma.  She is our fearless leader and always goes over and above on these challenges despite pain, disability and lack of sleep.  

I am very competitive too but don't come near reaching her heights.  I put in 10 hours on Friday, but less on Saturday and Sunday due to family commitments, but still did over 1200 myself.  I have been doing these challenges for several years so I have learned ways to work quickly.

Our team works hard each and every challenge. And as already mentioned, our members often contribute regularly every month all month long to the tree. I myself strive to get that 1000 contribution badge every month.  If I counted every contribution I made (instead of several before hitting save), I'd have 4 or 5 times what my scores state.  

Unfortunately there will always be people who are poor sports and will try to besmirch those doing better than them.  Don't let them get to you, Emma!

Go Roses!!!!

by Carolyn Martin G2G6 Pilot (281k points)
edited by Carolyn Martin

You are awesome Carolyn and I love seeing your name on DD challenges because I know how hard you work and the amazing work you do! heart

Right back atcha, Emma!heart

+18 votes
Emma, I was watching those scores and never once considered anyone to be cheating.  I looked at the suggestions you were working on to see how you were doing it.  The almost empty profile is an easy and fast fix.  I've done a lot of those too in the past and you can copy/paste the right lines in pretty fast.  I figured ALL corrections were available to fix, even the fast and easy ones.  I did some of my fast ones, too.
by Cindy Cooper G2G6 Pilot (323k points)

Thank you Cindy. Pretty much everyone was doing the empty profiles by the end because we all ran out of what we started out with (I started with 700 naming errors). But I also did a whole lot of 835s in between which take a lot of time. But what people don't realize (unless they look at my actual contributions) is I don't just slap a copy/paste on those 802s. I also clean up naming errors, fix or expand locations, add to dates when I can, set up merges, etc.

{I didn't say the above for your benefit, but for anyone reading this}

But the bottom line is what you said. All errors were meant to be fixed and if we don't fix them who will? There are now thousands of profiles with the unsourced template on them thanks to myself and all the others like you who worked on those sad sad profiles. I was shaking my head all weekend at why anyone would create a completely empty profile.smiley

+17 votes
I absolutely support you and the Roses, Emma. I know how much you all put into these thons and the fantastic contributions you are making to the health of the global tree. I wouldn't for a minute think you would cheat and I know that you are simply really good at this and sacrifice a lot to be that good. Thank you for everything you and the Roses have done for WikiTree.

Susie
by Susie MacLeod G2G6 Pilot (298k points)
+14 votes
It's pretty sad to be accused of something like that when you are working on a volunteer basis on a free website with no valuable prizes involved...lol

Working fast with good team strategy is not cheating and you and your team did an amazing job! And most importantly you helped the Tree significantly and that's all that matters.

There will always be naysayers but pay them no mind - you guys absolutely NAILED it and we appreciate all you've done :)

Fran
by Frances Weidman G2G6 Mach 5 (53.3k points)
+10 votes
Emma,
So sorry to hear that you've had to deal with this.
I got my share of accusations of cheating, and nasty emails too, in previous Thons. I found they were much more frequent during the CAT than the SAT, one of the reasons that I chose not to "compete" this year.

At one point in the last CAT I got one so horrible that I temporarily resigned from the competition until my husband reminded me that I'm not a quitter, and convinced me to keep going!
Poor Ros, the GB-Gen Team Leader, must have been very confused to wake up to a 2am email saying I quit, and then an 8am email saying ...actually I don't.

Anyway, I know it's not much consolation, but hopefully it helps at least a little to know that you aren't alone.
Team Roses do so much great stuff on Wikitree, and I hope nobody gets put off continuing their good work because of this.

Enjoy your victory, and try not to let the unkindness of strangers sour it for you!
by Lucy Lavelle G2G6 Mach 5 (51.8k points)

I was savoring the fact I could get first place this year because you weren't competing full on this year wink

But seriously, I never thought anything about your amazing abilities in the thons except jealousy because I know you have some super amazing computer skills (being in a computer profession) which means you know how to navigate everything easier. 

How sad people can be when they get jealous. I'm sorry you had to put up with it too. You are so totally awesome!

Not to mention I know you never slept during the thons! That makes for some major points. This was the first year I was able to keep up with the same sleep schedule you had.
+8 votes

I'm so sorry Emma that you and your amazing Team Roses have had to deal with these complaints/attitudes that are beyond the pale.  I don't know if it's a matter of sour grapes or something deeper, but your Team's many and continuous contributions are evident to all of us who use WT with any regularity.   GO ROSES, leave 'em in the dust!

by Bonnie Saunders G2G6 Mach 1 (15.4k points)
LOL. Thank you Bonnie!
+8 votes

I didn't participate this year, and I want to say Congratulations! Roses are the best!

by
+7 votes
Hun,

People are gonna be stupid. I was raised by a family that has always trash talked before and during any event that we can, Heck even life sometimes just needs a good "I can do that better than you". I carry that with me and find I have taught my kids to "trash talk" with the best of them. I know there are alot who are like me and it is just for the fun during the situarton. Most of us do not mean any of it and that is how it should be.

That being said, I do not understand why anyone would stress on it so much as to say those horrible things to you. Why take the fun out of our thons because they did not come in first. We come together to beautify the tree and make it stronger while having fun. In my team, we do not worry about how many people do, if you have done one thing, it has helped the tree and that is the only important thing. 1 or 10,000, you are making it better, stronger, healthier and happier.

You work until your eyes are blurry, hands hurt and more and then you and your team work some more!!! We as wikitree family are blessed to have you and your team here with us. This tree would not be as amazing if you were not here.

I know it is hard but PLEASE try to ignore those who obviously do not get it. Just know that it is a very small few who are that way and the MAJORITY of us love you all and are thankful you are here. We know you do not cheat, you just get in there and rock it!!!

Hugs
by Lisa Murphy G2G6 Pilot (328k points)
Thank you LIsa! I completely agree about ignoring it which I have done since the first thon our team participated in 2017. But I got tired of all the innuendo and rumors so decided to bring it out publicly. This is sometimes the best way to silence things.

Appreciate the hugs :-)

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