Fake name
Hello, how do we report someone on here using a fake name and adding information to our family tree?
Answers
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The FamilySearch Family Tree is open-edit; there is truly no "my" or "our" tree.
Is the information incorrect? You can contact the person making edits by clicking on the display name showing in the change log. That will take you to the Chat option where you can collaborate with other contributors.
If the changes rise to the level of abuse, you can use the "Report Abuse" option in the Tools box. The bar is quite high for Support to take action.
Regarding a fake name, many contributors use a code name or one assigned by the system when registering. There is no requirement that we use the name we were given at birth.
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Hi Users on Family Search are allowed to use whatever they want for their contact ID. The contact ID is what you see attached to the changes they are making. You can try to chat with them by clicking on the contact ID. You can also see your relationship or request to see your relationship with them. The other option is to report abuse using the link at the lower right of many pages of Family Search. However, the criterion for abuse has to clearly be abusive. Just adding information is not usually abusive. The other thing to remember that this is a public tree where we all share the same people. In your case, the person making these changes may well be related. Here is a link to report abuse. You can review these instructions for what constitutes abuse and what to do.
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It seems to be true, as you suggest:
"… Users on Family Search are allowed to use whatever they want for their contact ID"
though I assume this would not include profanities! A while back, I suggested an audit should be undertaken to ensure no contact names were allowed that could give the false impression they represented FamilySearch itself, or an officially approved project. I never heard back on that, so (from looking at some of the names users have adopted) I believe there is still that opportunity to confuse / mislead other users.
Personally, I would like to see contact names that include words, prefixes or suffixes such as "tree", "project" and "volunteer" being disallowed: unless they genuinely do relate to individuals / groups officially authorised by FamilySearch management to carry out specific work within Family Tree.
Another issue is allowing individual users to hold multiple accounts, which can give the impression work is being carried out by multiple users instead of just one individual.
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Also, I just noticed the post at
How to deal with recurring vandalism? — FamilySearch Community
Maybe the OP is raising an issue along those lines?
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