MyHeritage -- Snaps Up Geni.com

I am a non pro. From what I can tell, I can only merge when someone asks me to merge. I cannot look at a match or initiate a merge. I can, and am very happy that I can, add profiles.

Karen Lynne Raffanelli You are correct that you cannot initiate a merge as a basic user.unless Geni has made more changes.You can ask for help from Pro users by posting here http://www.geni.com/discussions/99133 or ask curators for help by posting here http://www.geni.com/discussions/80793

Eldon, we have indeed made such changes. Tree matches are still a Pro feature but all users can initiate and complete merges.

Thank you, Eldon. Yes I have my lovely curators and collaborators help me all the time. I was replying to Gerhard above and clarifying to him that we free users don't have the ability to wreck anybody's tree. Every merge request I receive, I look at. For about 18 months, we were unable to do anything but watch our tree grow. Since the beginning of November, we were given back the ability to add profiles. Also, we are not the scorn, anymore, of many requestors who thought we were ignoring them. We can now answer the requests. I am happy to add what I can to my branch of the big tree. So happy I can add again and that Geni granted that privilege. Not only would I never destroy anyone's work, I can't destroy anyone's work.

Mike, I do get notifications of matches, but I cannot do anything with them since I am not a Pro. You say I can initiate merges. I am not sure why you think that because one way to initiate a merge is to look at matches, which I cannot do. Another way to initiate a merge is to do a search. I have found people with similar names of ancestors of mine. I have clicked on them and the purchase Pro screen comes on. No access to the profile at all. So, I cannot initiate a merge that way. I did a search and noticed a similar name in a tree made, luckily, by one of my collaborators. I could 'view tree' of this person and open the profile, but could not initiate the merge. I copied and pasted the profile along with the person's profile in my tree I felt was the same, into a PM and my collaborator/curator did the merge. By what method can I merge because I am unaware?

My last sentence/question should read: "By what method can I INITIATE a merge because I am unaware?"

Yes, you can initiate a merge. Right now, for us basic users, the only difference is that Geni won't show you the matches - as you say, you will hit the 'Go Pro' screen. Therefore, don't use Geni to show the matches - use Google.

If the tree box has a magnifying glass attached showing 2 matches for Susan White (say), enter 'site:geni.com susan white' into Google. Select the entry and display the tree. Use the MORE tab, then the MOVE THIS PERSON entry. The sidebar box will appear, ready for the merge.

Now use 'site:geni.com susan white' a second time, and select the second entry in Geni. Display the tree. The sidebar will have remained from the first display, so slide the sidebar entry over Susan White in the tree.

This is the same as a regular move/merge, except that you're using Google to display the entries on the tree, not Geni.

This explanation looks clumsy - if someone can make it cleaner, please do so.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBmyPwcpB4g

Thank you Ken Tregear. I was wondering how, if we now have gotten the power back to make matches, we could use it since you cannot see the matches!

For those who don't feel comfortable working in tree mode, Go to each profile you want to merge. This will put them in your recent list. Then on one go to Actions and Merge profile. This will bring up a box to enter the name of the profile to merge with.

The Search function is a common way to find potential matches. Just be very careful to not be fooled by similarly-named people (including siblings) who are NOT actually the same person!

In any case, the trick to effective merging in Tree Mode is to first be proficient in something called "Tabbed Browsing".

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Tabbed-browsing-fr...

I use "search" mostly by choice - and I work with a window open to an outside source. In fact I put that "link" in the overview as a reference for myself or anyone else. No one can count on the tech doing it all for you, and by adding the source data BEFORE looking for matches, I can better endure all family matches, add missing nodes, etc.

Once again... that's my concern. Giving the merge ability to those who pay nothing for the service. In essence giving something away for free but not lowering the Pro membership. Something just isn't right in this scenario. Hopefully it will get noticed.

@ Charles Edmonds. I can not find your answer to this question from David Widerberg Howden.

As I have understood it:

Lifetimers will as a compensation get.

1. Full refund of the Lifetime membership.
2. 5-year free subscription to Geni.
3. 5-year free subscription to MyHeritage.

Is this correct?

Finn Østergaard

If you contacted customer service for a refund you will get a full refund along with a 5-year free Pro subscription to Geni and a 5 year Myheritage Data subscription

Beth, no matter which way Geni configures it some users will be unhappy. It was like this originally, they changed it, and now they changed it back.

My strongly held opinion is that as a PRO user I benefit from having more people be able to do merges. The tree is just too big for merges to be restricted to an elite group. The merges that benefit me would probably never happen if we had to wait for me to find them.

Private User, what is the amount of time you should expect to wait after submitting your refund request to Customer Service for them to get back with you?

David Lee Kaleita To get back to you or to receive the refund? We try to respond to all Pro tickets within 48 hours not counting the weekend when we are closed. If you contact us from a email address not associated with your Pro account it may take longer.

Private User, I just sent you a private message on this.

yes I got it and I relied to your ticket

Hi Justin Durand Yes, I know.. I've been here since early 2009. And, for what it's worth, I agree with you. It's VERY difficult to make everyone happy. I'm not suggesting that having folks do merging is a bad thing BUT it did devalue my Pro membership. I think we should have gained some benefit here. This along with the MUCH decreased ability to download a meaningful GEDCOM file (now based on how many profiles one enters, not at all about the quality of the work you have done) gives me pause for thought. All in all, I don't think free memberships make any sense, but I'm sure that would be an unpopular position to take ;)

[6000000002957428112] I´m pretty sure that the benefit of being a PRO will come shortly. As Geni and MyHeritage advertised already there will be these database matches integrated and that could be the benefit for PRO members. Right now it seems that a new base is formed and PRO members of before are made equal with free members. That way users dont feel discriminated. I know...you say now that what did i pay for being a PRO, but for a long period you had the benefit. For now you could cancel the PRO membership, but i think you will have the benefits shortly that free members don´t have.

Jaak - to tag someone manually or create a link, use double brackets at each end, not single: [[ ]]

Beth - there are still definitely benefits that PRO's have that Basic do not. These include --
1) when a Pro does a Geni-Search and then clicks on the profile, you go to that profile, regardless -- Basic Members get an Ad for Pro unless the Profile is in his/her Max Extended Family or managed by someone who is in his/her Max Extended Family (and for the latter, not sure if that is restricted to the Private ones or also includes the Public Profiles their family manages). Similarly, if the Basic Member, after searching, clicks on Contact Manager - he will get Ad for Pro (possibly unless manager in his Max Extended Family). Believe me, this puts a major block in the way of Basic Members contacting folks, as well as checking out profiles (to see Public Profiles not in their family, they can use google to get there, but not geni's search function)!
2) Clicking on Geni's suggested Matches just gets an Ad for Pro when done by a Basic Member. A Pro sees the suggested match.
3) Basic Members cannot submit a Help Ticket.
4) A Pro can upload unlimited amounts of photos and documents - Basic can upload 1 GB of Media.
Basic Members being able to add and merge is possibly as much a benefit to us Pros as it is to Basic Members - now we have a better chance of our merges being accepted, rather than sitting forever as Pending Merges because the Basic Member cannot accept (and cannot contact us); now they are more likely to build their trees out to where they connect with us.

And I agree with Jaak - there may well be additional differences coming down the pike. Tho personally, given that they just killed my Lifetime Subscription, I would rather have Basic be sufficient. I have no desire to keep paying thru the nose, and am not clear why you want to.

Private User Jaak Tulp
Thanks for your responses but I clearly understand the benefits of a Pro membership or else I wouldn't be paying for it still. And, I know my options. As I said before, as unpopular as this opinion might be, free memberships don't make sense to me. I don't need the extra My Heritage benefits, I already have full Ancestry membership that serves me well in this regard. Geni is a wholly different bird - but I'm not so sure that the nest is going to stay feathered very long.

Beth - not sure if by "free memberships don't make sense to me" you mean a) a Basic Membership, ie the free membership, does not make sense as your choice for you (certainly a personal choice each of us makes)
OR b) you do not think Geni should have ANY free membership category.

I knew that, Private User! I just made the dumb typo. Thanx for explaining the differences. It wasn´t clear for me also. I think the option b in last post is no option and would be more unacceptable than cutting off lifetime memberships, but i guess it had to be done. If there is no free membership then it would hit more painfully lots of possible new users who are interested, but are scared off by the membership fee.

To be a cynic - the "deal" currently on the table for lifetime members isn't so much compensation, but a way to limit liability since as soon as you accept a refund, you no longer have a claim that Geni breached its contract because you voluntarily ended it. If it was compensation, then every lifetime pro would automatically get a refund.
I still believe that Geni has an obligation to honour the lifetime membership. The fact that MyHeritage would rather not honour it, is understandable from a business perspective, but not persuasive. They can find a way to live up to their obligations, and I still expect them to figure that out.

Most of us aren't rich enough to pay for a "lifetime membership" so this whole recent discussion strikes me as weird. If those who paid for it get their money back AND, as I understand, get a 5-year paid PRO membership on top of it, they have no reason to complain.

I hope nobody else thinks like Beth Marie Beeman. Free membership is the only reason I would stay with Geni. After the trial period, I gave up Ancestry.com - though they keep peppering me with e-mail to try to get me to come back. I cannot see why anyone, other than a professional genealogist, would PAY for something like this.

Bruce

Because server space is not free. It costs money. Facebook is free because it sells your name (fun!) and has an aggressive and sophisticated advertising system. Wikipedia is funded by donations. Geni / MH is far less expensive than Ancestry - in Ancestry you pay a lot for access to the databases they bought.