What to do about active deceased genealogists?

Question

I recently went to check on a completed merge and was surprised to find that the profile manager and genealogist who completed it was marked deceased. From their contributions it looks like they marked themselves deceased some years ago but have remained active.

It's haven't determined for sure if a family member or other person is editing using that account (there are messages posted that purport to be from that profile), or if the deceased status and date is in error.

How should this be properly and tactfully handled? Ask them directly, or pass this on directly to the admins to clear it up? Presumably they need to change themselves to living if it's a mistake, or create their own account and close that one if it's not.

Comments

You can't just message him / her and ask 

"Are you dead, or not? You're listed as '(his / her name), deceased' and also there's activity from you if that's you after your supposed death. "

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That's what I ended up doing.

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Just came searching G2G because I found the same. Nathan wondering if you have an update on the deceased yet active genealogist you found back in 2019?

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I got a confused and confusing reply from the elderly gentleman. It wasn't clear if the person getting the email was the same person as who was doing the editing or if they wanted to keep the account open but they were very much alive, and I think I chalked up the incorrect deceased marker to an error in a merge. Anyway I passed the email on to the admins and checking back now their profile is still active, now marked living, and has made a few edits since.

Answer 1

There seem to be a few options here, depending on the severity of the situation. 

Option 1. Tactfully return the living dead to their graves.

Suitable for low-grade zombie infestation, when attempting to minimize panic. As an Alberta Premier once advised, "Shoot, Shovel, and Shut-up."

Option 2. Contact the Centers for Disease Control.

Suitable for medium sized and fast-growing zombie infestations.

Contact info is here: https://www.cdc.gov/contact/index.htm

I would also recommend that you refer to their Zombie Preparedness guide: https://www.cdc.gov/cpr/zombie/index.htm

Option 3. Practice your cardio.

Suitable for widespread zombie infestations. Trust me, it will be very important.

Comments

is there a Hall of Fame for G2G answers???

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There OUGHT to be one, a Hall of Fame (or Infamy, I can think of a few) ... or both.

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Hahahahaha hahahahaha!!!!!!!!

Answer 2

I ran across a profile recently (and I've already forgotten which one), where it looked like he accidentally (?) turned his own active profile into that of his deceased sister.

Comments

I think I do not want to know how you convert your own profile to a deceased sibling's profile.  eeww

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Its easy... the LNAB is the same, so you just change all the other fields -- obviously thinking you're creating a new profile.

I was a bit surprised when I got a "thank you" from a dead person.

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Thanx for the laugh, "a thank you from a dead person" ... 

"Watson," said Holmes, "there's more to this than meets your eye." 

Of course, I replied, but I don't see it.