Not a Geni Curator but I'm on here enough to answer this question.
The Master Profile (MP) designation signifies the standard, most comprehensive and accurate profile for a given person.
You're work is still recorded in the revisions tab as to not take away your contributions and work.
There are many reasons to have MP profiles.
The best reason is to show that this profile is well researched and is reasonably complete. Considered the most accurate information to date anywhere online, though mistake could still be included once better sources are available.
This is the World Family Tree and most all data Public and up for Public discussion. I know it can sometimes feel intrusive the closer the relationships are to you. Not all our Ancestors are "ours". Private trees are great for personal research but Geni is a Public Tree. To resolve issues you could kindly initiate a conversation with said person and work out issues or escalation with Geni per their Policy. Here are the main reasons MP exists.
https://www.geni.com/projects/Geni-Master-Profile-best-practices/28084
That was a very nice post, Amber. Thank you.
To add a couple things...
1) When we make a profile a Master Profile, we do not become the only people "controlling" it. The managers are still the managers, and other users can still work on the profile. The only exception is locked profiles, and those are extremely rare.
2) Sometimes users are upset when we lock fields, but we only do that in cases where there is consistent confusion or inaccurate edits, or where we are absolutely certain that the fields are correct and cannot be improved upon. (I personally lock cited, complete fields on profiles I curate.) But if a field is locked with inaccurate or incomplete info, you can (and should!) contact the curator and let us know so we can update the fields.
3) Curators are imperfect, and sometimes we do make mistakes or wrong decisions. We're generally happy to fix those situations, but if you think a curator has done something inappropriate and isn't responsive to your feedback, you can always write to misconduct@geni.com for assistance. That's a much, much more effective approach than a discussion thread, especially since Geni management don't usually follow these public threads.
I see a lot of demagogy based on opinions. You could write a book justifying what you do, but that doesn't change the fact that you take over the full control of a profile that you didn't create. John, tapping other curators backs is not a topic of this discussion, feel free to create your own curator of the month discussion.
Hi Branko, I am a little surprised, given the length of time you have been a Geni user that you have only just discovered and MP on your area of the tree. I would point you to read the message above from Amber Lynn Collins who is NOT a curator but knows her stuff it seems..
I simiply emphasise that an active user does not lose control when a profile is made MP unless the fields have been locked. In these circumstances please do contact the Curator in question with your information.
We're a friendly, helpful bunch of people.
Wishing you luck researching your family tree.
Terry (in Oxfordshire)
I am sorry that you are disappointed by the MP feature, and I know that we won't change your mind about its value. I respect that you have your own opinion.
But we need to stick to facts, and for the benefit of others reading, I want to stress that it's simply not true that an MP means that curators "take over the full control of a profile that you didn't create." As stated above, managers and even non-managers can still work on an MP the same way they would any other profile. It's literally not possible for us to remove managers from MPs outside our Family Groups. The managers lose no rights when an MP is made. The only exception to that is locked profiles, which are a miniscule percentage of MPs.
It sounds like perhaps there's a fully locked MP that you'd like to work on and can't. If the curator is not responsive to you, I again encourage you to write to the e-mail address above for assistance.
It harms me by disrespecting users and their research. It sends a message: hey, you are not capable taking care of the profile that you created, we will do it for you... because we know better than you. Terry made an comment here based on an assumption that that "I have only now discovered and MP...which is not only incorrect, but it is also disrespectful, implying that I am ignorant. " I didn't keep record of all profiles of mine that were made MP, but I will find an example.