How do we find a way to close an area??

Gunther, this process is like washing clothes...it is a job that is never done :-)

Yeah but we don't need to throught our selves in the dirt!!!
Just 2 months ago, what I consider as "my area" (decedents of Christian IX of Denmark) was almost clean!! But now, there is plenty to do!!
And in my opinion itsen't funny to merge the same profiles again and again!!

I'm afraid it's going to keep happening as long as people keep joining Geni.

Once every last person on earth has joined and uploaded their trees, then we're done :-)

Oh, happy day!
- Beatles

The proposal for curators, if it is ever adopted would help the situation no end.

Marsha - Yes but so far away

Terry - You mean then it will be possible

Who am I to say whether it is possible? All I can say is that the proposal was that new geni users should be added without creating new duplicates to be merged with the historic tree.

Don't you think the first problem is finding a way to definate "the big tree".
As you maybe know.
I am not part of the tree yet!!;-((

it is posible to "clean" and lock a erea.
but to do that,geni have to stop new users from filling it up with new gedcom`s.

just yesterday,one of our collaborators said that he/she would do just that.
becose of all the mess now.
get in a new gedcom,and don`t axept anything.
then the old profiles,would be all over the place,to kleen up for those left behind.

geni should have 2 options when starting.

1 : share,and become a part of it all. (payd pro)

2 : not share (get a smal sampel of geni,that they could down load to there own pc).

@Gunther, have you read the Curators proposal thread on the discussions or in the forum? In it the historic profiles are defined.
Don't worry about not being part of the big tree. I am only connected via collaborators myself.

That may be a little misleading, I may have some very distant relation by marriage that has connected me to the big tree but of little substance and not noteworthy.

Ok I realy can't find out what it realy means - I mean in the way I am able to do different things, it thought it would make many things much easier, when "coming on"!! Even thought about making a fake connect.

I'm curious about expectations for using Geni. Do you use it because it's a great tool for to you manage your genealogy or because it is a great place to collaborate? If it's some of both, then I think there will naturally be tension between the two. Anytime people work together, there can be different expectations and mis-matched expectations lead to tension and frustration. This is especially true when some take their genealogy very seriously and others are very casual. And from Geni's perspective, I would think it is going to want to welcome both.

Personally, I'm not using Geni simply as a management tool. There are plenty of those around. I'm here for the collaboration and making connections. If I'm expecting perfection, then I think I'm in the wrong place.

It does seem that there are ways that Geni can provide some processes that minimize the negative effects of those who start something and then fail to participate, essentially holding the process hostage. But to try and place lots of restrictions on newbies doesn't seem right either.

I hope Geni listens and learns well from users who are experiencing frustration because there will be good ideas that come from those users and this great service will only get better. However, if dealing with this imperfect process is a major stress-fest, you may need to slow your roll or find another way. It will never be perfect. Just my thoughts.

Kevin, this probably isn't the best discussion for this topic, but there is a third reason to use Geni: What fascinates me is the idea of creating one huge family tree, containing as many records as possible based on the written evidence. Collaboration is the means of achieving this; it involves teamwork which is positive and can be sociable but, as we know, can suffer from uncooperative "collaborators" .

As has been noted many times in these discussions, problems occur when people want to use Geni's database and GUI to store and view their own private tree. They just have to accept one request to merge one of their profiles and then the "fun" begins. Some people have proposed two "versions" of Geni - one for private trees and one for collaboration. As I say, it is the latter that interests me, and, from your comments, you as well.

Happy collaboration!

Arthur

Sorry if I hijacked the thread, Arthur. I agree with you more than myself. The big tree IS the third and most compelling aspect of Geni. And agree with everything else you said.

well all...without getting on a soap box
guther..if you are related to a royal...you are part of the big tree already.
and if everyone was always cooperative wouldnt we have world peace???
but back to the subject...yes we need to find a way to close off the historical part of the tree...so it can be viewed by all...but quit having to merge. again..i believe it is the gedcoms that are spoiling..are they not now limited to how much can be up loaded and how far back?

Looking forward....we are going to have the most fabulous, exotic and comprehensive trees in the world, methinks. I love that we can all collaborate and build this together.....despite the merge headaches, etc., what we are doing here is really making history in a sense, don't you agree? And in the end, we are doing it for posterity, rather than for ourselves....in years to come, anybody researching all our royal and noble family histories will be able to find it all in the one place....and it will be historically correct too, unlike some of the trees to be found out there. I have a lot of connections via different branches of my family to royalty and the nobility. We are so fortunate that this is the case....at least when one's ancestors and relatives are of noble descent, the information is at hand to build this amazing tree of ours with. Many people are not so lucky. And Kathleen is right, Gunther....being related to royalty makes you part of the big tree already....cousin!! :)

Günther, Arthur, Terry, Kathleen and Lynette: Weære all working towards the same goal, but unfortunately Geni are reluctant to introduce the necessary tools we need to fulfill our and their goal of a great world tree.

See my suggestions here for changes that would make it much easier, and please comment and add to it if you have more good suggestions:
http://forum.geni.com/topic.php?id=62941
(Also please disregard the rants of Judy D who is NOT in the Big tree and hopefully never will be.)

Well, I have added my two cents worth to that discussion in the forum. I'm horrified to think that people just delete profiles ad hoc! I confess that I couldn't resist reading Judy D's rants though.....how very odd!! :-/

I agree with Arthur. I'm here to collaborate. My source tree is tucked away safely. I just want to see how we are all related and to have some fun. And I am also learning new and exciting information here, that may actually be used to update my source tree. It's a pleasure to work with all of you, cousins!

Oh me too, David. It's wonderful to actually meet so many cousins we didn't realise we had! And this huge tree of ours has me thunderstruck. :))

Lynne, one of my favorite songs ;-)

Glad you like songs, David.......I've brought Sir George Martin to the tree!! :))