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Tree matches without Pro

Started by Private User on Saturday, July 20, 2024
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I have had a free Geni account for a while now, where I have been building a decent family tree. I haven't been on in a couple of months, and now I have come back it seems as though have to have a Pro subscription just to view and confirm tree matches! This is meant to be the fundamental part of Geni, that you can combine family trees and join the world tree, and now I don't even seem to be able to do that. Am I doing something wrong, or has this greedy maze of paywalls really stooped this low?

There is no need to become a Pro user to merge profiles and expand the tree.
As a basic user you can only use the Geni search to find profiles you or your collaborators manage (so it is very useful to have collaborators that work in the same part of the tree)
Public profiles managed by others can be found using an external search engine like Google (for Google add site:geni.com to your search)
Finding possible duplicates indicated by Geni is a bit more complicated. Geni will indicate a possible match when both profiles overlap in the period when they where living when last names are similar enough and at least one given name matches, so very often the possible match indicated by Geni will be a brother or sister with one equal given name (so a false match)
Pro users may help by merging real duplicates they see, so collaborating with a Pro user can be a big help (but even non collaborators will do merges for you)
When profiles are merged in most cases there will be a data conflict, so it really helps when you source your profiles. Data conflicts can be seen using the Actions menu for a profile that has them or you can use your merge center to view them.

https://www.geni.com/family-tree/index/6000000203121656831

I see that many of your profiles on your pedigree view are showing as PRIVATE which may be why you are having so many issues with not being able to see duplicates to verify they are the same.

It MIGHT be helpful to make a few public especially for the ones that you are getting notifications regarding.

Good luck!
It is worth the time and trouble, in my opinion

It also helps to add at least an estimated birth year so Geni can determine if a profile can be made public by default.

As there are almost 200 million profiles on the Geni World Tree there are many profiles with the same names, so it will also help to distinguish between those.

Cynthia Curtis, A183502, US7875087 I had thought that deceased profiles are automatically public? These are the only ones with which I am seeing tree matches anyway.

Job Waterreus I am finding that, whenever I press on a suggested tree match, it is completely behind a paywall, with no way to view the actual match. If I try googling the name of the person, there are so many results that it is impossible to work out which it is. This has definitely changed since I was last on here, and I genuinely just don't see how it is feasible to keep going at this point.

If one's not going to get a "Pro" subscription, one needs to do one's own research. There's a lot of free genealogical infro. on the internet, and once you have an extensive family tree here on Geni it's easier to find places to merge with other family trees. I tell my brothers that I've made our family tree big enough that we're related to everybody, but most of the links to profiles to merge that this website email me are not viable - I often wonder where they came up with these merge suggestions when nothing in these profiles match - Only 2 of their merge suggestions did I actually merge. (Why I'm not a "pro" member here.)

It is a bit more complicated as a basic user. When there are multiple given names it becomes almost impossible to find the possible matches Geni found, but as they are mostly false just ignore them. If there is a valid match there is a good change another user will find it and merge them or make a merge request.
For searching with Google put the names from each field between quotation marks (")
So if you want to search for a duplicate profile for your grandfather search on Google for: "Geoffrey" "Crabtree" "Atkinson" site:geni.com
If that would give too many results add years: "Geoffrey Crabtree" "Atkinson" 1939 2020 site:geni.com

Google does not index all public profiles and it may take some time before a record is indexed so it could be some records are not found that way.

Another way to search is using 2 Geni sessions, where on one session you log on and the other you do not. Searching on the not logged on session will give you a link to the profile and that link you can use in the other session.

The easiest way is to become a Pro user or use a public access point (see https://help.geni.com/hc/en-us/articles/229706687-What-is-Geni-Publ...)

If Geni indicates a possible match that will be visible on the search page, so if you search for your record and you see other records there that indicate Geni found a possible match, that are records to look at.

Private User no, the profiles are not always public when marked deceased, unlike Ancestry public trees and any profile at FamilySearch
Duplicates do indeed go behind the paywall for you but others can see them if they are PRO users.
Also, curators can see private profiles...
It is very good advice to seek to collaborate with others but you will want to make sure you have your profiles completely filled in as much as you possibly can with dates and locations and sources. When someone asks to collaborate with me, this is what I look for--- how much has someone added to their branch of the tree here and what do they need help with. That sort of thing.
PRO status makes it much easier to work on building and proving a tree but it can be expensive yes. However, I see many Geni users who have the Basic account successfully maneuver this platform. Eventually, I hope to be able to spend less and less time on genealogy period but for me this has been the best site for my needs and I highly recommend getting the PRO account at least in the beginning of adding your tree.

It is possible to try Pro for a limited period for free, but it really helps to get to know Geni a bit before trying that, so you can use to free period to the utmost.

Also keep in mind that Geni offers discounts from time to time so it can be helpful to wait till you can get a discount (like around Black Friday or Christmas). Also if you can afford it it may be useful to get a combination offer that includes some offers from MyHeritage (that owns Geni)

Geni Suggested Matches behind a Paywall is Not New.
However, I think there is an exception for the first matching to a Profile in the World Tree and possibly also to Matches Geni sees as in your Max Family and/or managed by you.
So although it has been the case for many, many years, maybe you did not bump into it before.

As a Basic Member you can still do merges. This gives various ways to do merges https://help.geni.com/hc/en-us/articles/229705547-How-do-I-merge-du...
With the exception of the last one, Tree Matches, all work just as well for Pro and Basic users. Tree Matches is the only one not available to you as a Basic Member.
Tho I read recently Geni has started sometimes sending notices to Basic Users with a Tree Match that they can actually access. So if you get an email from Geni with a Tree Match/Suggested Match, check it out.

Whether the Profile you Manage is Public or Private should have no affect whatsoever on this.
But - yes, Geni did change the default on deceased Profiles, so making a Profile Deceased does not always make it Public. So if you care which it is, always check.

Also, if you are seeing a Tree Match on a Profile that is Public, any Pro User can look and give you a link to the suggested Match, which you can then check out and merge using "Merge This Profile" in Profile View or Drag and Drop in Tree View (use links in link I gave for illustrated directions how to do it).
If it is Private, most Pros will not be able to help you if the Profile is Private.
(If you have a Pro in your Family Group, they can)

If you have a library near you which supplies internet to members, they should look at https://help.geni.com/hc/en-us/articles/229706687-What-is-Geni-Publ... They could then offer Geni Pro to their members for free.

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