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Frequently Asked Questions/ HELP
So you've started your GENi tree & now you have some questions.
What is so special about GENi?
Geni is different because we work together to build one tree, the 'World Family Tree' (WFT). We do this by collaborating with each other and merging our identical profiles to ensure our tree is the biggest, most accurate family tree in the world today (See the live counter here)
Is my family tree data safe on GENi?
Before you get used to the collaborative process most new users are concerned that their data will be changed by other users. Yes it does happen, but there is a record kept, and every change is reversible. (You may also ask a curator to lock fields that are sourced.) By crowd sourcing information your tree will grow quicker and have richer data than you could ever achieve working on your own.
Why does GENi have different fields to most other genealogy software and why should I follow the Conventions?
GENi has more fields because we need to be extra sure the profiles we merge together to remove duplicates, are the same person. In essence it helps us ensure the person is uniquely identified (which is the task of the genealogist in any case).
The Conventions help us work together for the "good of all." If everyone had a unique way of working there would be endless "edit wars" and 'Data Conflicts' to resolve when profiles using different conventions are merged.
What is the purpose of Curators?
The Curators are unpaid volunteers there to assist you, they have some extra powers that can be useful in certain instances, for example Un-merging incorrect merges.. Curators are users who are active and well regarded by the community. They are volunteers and are not Geni staff
Where can I learn more?
There are loads of Projects that will assist you through the steep learning process. Some are listed here:
- A not so brief WELKOM SA CUZZINS brief.
- Connecting to the World Family Tree
- Working With The Big Tree
- Working sensibly - The ABC of merging
- Locked profiles
- How to Add Sources to Profiles
- How Can I export my GEDCOM from Geni?
Getting Help
Helpful discussions
- SA Curators please assist
- Should my profile be a Master Profile?
- I want to copy my tree from MyHeritage or FamilySearch to GENi
- Get help to complete your merge requests
Helpful projects
- Geni Curators
- South Africa - Profile Guidelines
- South African Genealogical Reference Centre
- Geni research volunteers
- Geni Discussion Best Practices
- Random Acts of GENI Kindness - South Africa
- South Africa Brickwall Club
- Geni project guidelines
- South Africa – Research Log