* WikiTree - Concerns about what I see on my personal information page

[Daulton]

I'm a new user, (version 6), but my usage is a little postponed because I suddenly was gifted a subscription to Ancestry and I am populating Wikitree also because my hard drive was lost. I did recover my old Family Tree program long enough to get the tree converted to Gedcom files. I am frantic to get my information out because I don't want it to be lost forever.

So I looked at my personal information and discovered that there is medical information about me and I don't know where it came from. This is not something I would put on a genealogical site. I also see that the description of my sister is "bitch from hell" which I also would not label her...publicly.

I looked at the Ancestry program that I used to import the information and that information or description of my sister isn't on there.

I see that there is a lot of "tree" that I did not import so I assume it is linked from others automatically (?). That is ok and I like it but, do I need to do a lot more reading about information policies? What I might look out for about information being imported?
Love the site but some of the people I saw one time now I can't find, although I've looked in different lists.

[Valkrider]

Are you saying this additional information is on WikiTree or in Family Historian?

If the former then take it up with them. If the latter then just delete it from within FH.

[Gowermick]

I assume this rogue information is on wikitree. As far as I’m aware, wikitree, like wikipedia is editable by all. Anyone can add/modify the information in the tree, making it a collaborative effort. The downside to that, is that anyone can make derogatory comments, as you have found out.

For a safer alternative site for your tree, visit http://www.tribalpages.com ( or one of my links below). Set up a free account, and upload your gedcom. Tribalpages then does the rest. This tree will then be under your total control. You can hide ‘living’ individuals, and then control who can see them. You can even allow people to contribute to your tree, and give them ‘editing’ rights if you so wish (cousins etc).

[tatewise]

Similar 'privacy' features are available from many other online trees such as Ancestry, FindMyPast, MyHeritage, FamilySearch, RootsWeb & ZoomPast and all have free modes that support online trees.

See fhugdownloads:website|> Downloads and Links ~ Website Generators for more details.

[Jane]

I have changed the title on this post as this is nothing to do with either FHUG or Family Historian and I want to ensure anyone looking at this post does not think Family Historian is responsible for this. I am also moving it to a more appropriate forum.

[Daulton]

Thank you for your reply.
I did as you suggested and just deleted the information. This information was not on Wiki Tree but it may have been from old information on one of my old back ups, so I take responsibility for info about my sister. I am new and thought this came from some other source.
I will also check the site you suggested, which I have never heard of before. Lots to learn

[tatewise]

FH will NEVER link in any information automatically.
So if it exists in the FH data that you imported, then it must exist in the data you exported from FTM/Ancestry, etc.
Where it came from before that only you can know.

Regarding protection against hard drive loss, using Wikitree, or any other online tree, is NOT the best answer.
The conventional answer is to have your own PC Backup regime to external media, such as USB memory stick, external hard drive, or cloud storage such as OneDrive, Google Drive or Dropbox, and backup regularly.
That PC Backup regime would cover not just your family history database but anything on your PC that cannot be retrieved by any other means.
See glossary:backup_and_recovery|> Backup and Recovery that is one of the topics in how_to:key_features_for_newcomers|> Key Features for Newcomers.

[Purnell]

I can be gutting to lose a hard drive like that so I sympathize, Daulton. I too need to pay a lot more attention to backing up my data.