Profile protection?
My understanding is that there is no way to protect a profile here. As Aine repeatedly says, the tree is totally open edit by design. But, totally open edit, like a wiki, is incompatible with good genealogy. Profiles that have been built by good researchers can be modified by anyone who copies low quality, even outdated data from other sites.
I understand someone will suggest collaboration with lower quality posters to try and resolve our differences. But in my experience, that doesn't work most of the time. I'm not the best person at negotiating peacefully or "politely" with someone who messes up my ancestor's data. That isn't even a factor though if they don't respond, which is what I see routinely. They post or link without valid sources and those who care are stuck trying to detach, remove, edit, etc. which becomes the main focus rather than adding more data or finding new ancestors.
It seems like to have a high quality tree there has to be some way of controlling profiles. I would be willing to discuss approaches if there were any chance of getting something put in place. I know that's probably not likely though. So, I'm stuck either fighting the battles or giving up on the concept of a public tree. (Most of the old threads I read here on similar topics were locked.)
Answers
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I believe that you can setup a Family Group tree, free of input from anyone you don't invite.
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@pauli133, Edits to a Family Group Tree are limited to group members only for living profiles; all other profiles for deceased persons are the same profiles in the main FamilySearch Family Tree, and thus can be edited by anyone.
@CMichael7 , if you want a tree that can be edited only by you, eventually you will be able to create a User Tree. That is a capability that is being rolled out gradually. Then you will have a tree which no one else can edit, unless you specifically invite them to contribute to that tree. Until that feature is rolled out to you, you'll need to be patient. And please consider continuing to contribute to the main FamilySearch Family Tree. Yes, it has its challenges because anyone can contribute to it, but you can also benefit from the contributions of many other users, precisely because anyone can contribute to it.
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Pauli 133,
I have that ability, but it is not yet available to every FamilySearch User yet. I feel that the FamilySearch team is working on its improvement still. Maybe in February 2027, they may release it to everyone. We shall see.
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C Michael 7,
I believe in having good sourcing and research. I am learning and hopefully improving mine with time. If someone "messes with" or "messes up" something in the worldwide tree, from my perspective, then I kindly message with them or fix it again and add more evidence (as much as I can). I feel that it is not YOUR tree, but the WORLDWIDE SHARED TREE. Since now, private trees in FamilySearch aren't publicly available, we can hope to teach many people how to have a private tree in Ancestry.
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C Michael 7,
You also need to learn how to use Chat in an effective way as I have done, effectively stopping certain individuals I know of from making a mess again.
And the well known profiles are locked.
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As frustrating as it may be; this would not work at all if profiles or information could be locked. And how do you know that everything you have added are complete and/or accurate? When are you certain that everything you have written are correct? Even Church records have errors, so just studying the sources is not always enough.
I sometimes have to contact people who "mess up" through the chat, and hopefully that will be enough.
But people should be thorough with adding their sources, and should read them carefully.
And another thing is the frustration about transcriptions, indexed information and other information added by people that are not familiar with the language of the people or sources. That's a real challenge!
A little humility in working with these things will go a long way. But locking will not fit the bill or purpose here.
To be honest, I am way more concerned about how MyHeritage are being integrated more to FamilySearch, as I left MyHeritage because of all the faults and errors spreading like a fire there! The way MyHeritage works is truly built for spreading errors – fast.7 -
Oui bien sur
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Sirikjolberg
It is easy to ignore MyHeritage Trees, just pay attention to the records MyHeritage have. I got hints from there and was able to dismiss the ones that are from their trees and pay attention to their records. One hint - if their source is from indexes located inside FamilySearch, just dismiss the ones coming from MyHeritage.
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When chatting in FamilySearch, please just try to chat as Jesus would. Think of songs like "I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus." Also, remember that in your own past, you were an inexperienced "newbie" and a beginner. Over time, you learned, little by little. Give the other users of FamilySearch, FindMyPast, MyHeritage, and Ancestry GRACE. Forgive them, be kind and understanding, and pray for help to know how to help them to learn, but with kindness like the kindness Jesus would give them.
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Actually those "private trees" within FamilySearch Tree can be seen by anyone. I know because when you use Search feature to find a name, these trees will show up when you use "FamilySearch Trees" on right side below "Search Records" in Profiles. Those Trees are not editable by anyone else except the owners and their invitees.
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I must say I think SIRIKJOLBERG's comments above are really spot on.
I follow a few hundred ancestors and cousins. If I see someone add something or change some item that is clearly wrong. I just fix it. Sometimes I have caught myself "fixing" items that upon further investigation may have come from a newer data/source that I was unaware of. So it pays to evaluate changes carefully.
I find that most of these changes or additions that are made are generally (well in the profiles I follow anyway) ones that are close to the origins of Europeans in North America. Most of the time I add notes or more sources or memories or all of these to clarify why I am fixing items. Sometimes I find others fixing clearly wrong items and then I don't need to. I think it is possible to put in place a complicated editing hierarchy like Wikipedia uses but what is in place currently works pretty well IMO.
The place I see the most "nonsense" is in ancestors from Europe before 1620. I just ignore that area entirely as I find it mostly fantasy.
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https://community.familysearch.org/en/profile/John%20L.%20Howes
That's your loss, considering those who came to other areas before 1620.
Plus dismissing those ones born before 1620 in other places that are documented already.
I don't just ignore them, I check to very or disprove the generations. So far I can attest more than 80 percent before 1620 are proven. It's the other 20 percents added without proof as well as assumed without checking the sources. (I had to unlink several times one certain set of parents repeatedly. Those parents were and still are fictional).
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Family Search does not currently provide a way to lock or protect an individual profile from editing by others. @Alan E. Brown The "User Trees" capability is slowly being rolled out and tested, but until it is ready and somewhat reliable, we will have to be patient. I found the best way to discourage incorrect changes is to thoroughly document your conclusions. Consider:
- Attaching reliable sources that support the information.
- Writing clear reason statements when making changes.
- Using notes, life sketches, and discussions to explain the evidence and research.
- Watching profiles that are important to you so you can be notified of changes. Choosing "Following," found under the Family Tree tab on the landing page, is a great way to closely watch profiles.
Well-documented conclusions are less likely to be altered because other contributors can easily see the evidence behind them. If careless, unsupported changes are made, contributors can often discuss them or correct them using the profile's change history.
This acknowledges the reality of the shared tree while focusing on practical steps users can take to protect the quality of their research.
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