ATTENTION Curators, please assist

I cleaned up some merges 'above' Isabel, 4th Countess, as well ...

We have a couple of newbies trying to add onto the Marshal line - they didn't realize they should Search first and attach from an unlocked point.

They'll learn, eventually....

Private User, those newbies may not have Pro accounts and thus the expanded search would be essentially useless. Even with a Pro account I have found the search to be quite useless since July due to the new privacy policies. I can forget about finding long lost relatives and expanding my tree now.

ott here. can we get it back. I agree the privacy is a slight hidnerance but that discussion is here http://www.geni.com/discussions/136757?msg=963638

rvk all fixed now

Erica Howton

http://www.geni.com/discussions/80793?msg=964663

"Anyone care to explain why Geni shows my relationship path to Alexander Stubb as 24th cousin but shows my wife as his 10th cousin?"

I linked the profile and clearly described the issue, what more do you want/need?

I assumed that anyone could follow the link to Alexander Stubb's public profile and pin the relationship path to him, then go to my profile and see path, then use the link on my profile to go to my wife's profile and then check her path to Alexander Stubb.

Alex - that's not what I do as a curator. I believe you when you say the path is weird. :)

What a manager would need to do is inspect the line (recommending use of HistoryLink for this) and identify any possible tree errors. Then puts the link "to that specific profile" for curator action.

The algorithm is generated by the computer, so if you postulate a computer error you first need to rule out human error that can be fixed.

I walk my "own" tree paths to look for & correct the Geni tree.

I disagree.

Your suggestion (to walk the path) is based on an assumption that there is an error in the genealogy.

IF there is an error in the genealogy why does it not have an equal effect on mine and my wife's path to X?
It must be a software issue that is driving the algorithm to go thru 38 more profiles for me rather than just one extra to connect thru my wife.

Explain THIS!

Thomas Hunt, III is, quite properly, my 7th great-grandfather.

But HIS father, Captain Thomas Hunt - "Captain Thomas Hunt is your third cousin 8 times removed's wife's aunt's husband's second cousin's husband's father. "

The path to HIM goes completely wrong-ways-round, up through my grandFATHER, not grandMOTHER, up through Anne Arundel, MD (not Northampton Co, VA), back to England, THEN DOWN into Northampton Co and then zigzags BACK again. Completely, totally crazy!

This has happened BEFORE,and took forever to "fix" (and now I am not certain that it ever did).

Here's what the path SHOULD be:

Me > Father > GrandMOTHER > John Richard Hanby (her father) > Joakim W Hanby (his father) > Susan Sukey Hanby (Hunt) (his mother) > Thomas Hunt (her father) > Azariah Hunt, II (his father) > Thomas Hunt
(his father) > Thomas Hunt (his father) > Captain Thomas Hunt

Could the problem possibly be that I've got two or three lines diverging and converging within at most seven generations, and the algorithm is too stupid to follow more than one at a time? (And if it has to try, it totally goes insane?)

And no, "walking the path" DOES NOT fix it.

It never did before, either.

There are no obvious problems - no Pending Merges, no Tree Conflicts, no nothing. There are a couple of serial marriages (A to B and then to C), but the algorithm should (theoretically) be able to come with something sl simple.

Yep, I think that's it. The algorithm is much too stupid to cope with a tree full of second-cousin marriages.

Maven, I'm sorry you're having this problem. It happens. This is probably the single most frequently asked question on Geni. I get three or four messages a week about it, and it's not uncommon to see it brought up in public threads. I've suggested that the curator experts write a clear explanation, but no luck so far on that one ;)

The standard advice is to check for pending merges, check for tree conflicts, and walk the path.

Anyone who has been on Geni for any length of time can tell you those things don't always work. Usually it will solve itself over time. Not always.

When the suggested solutions don't work, there is nothing you can do about it and there is nothing curators can do to help you.

Private User

http://www.geni.com/path/Maven-B-Helms+is+related+to+Captain-Thomas...

http://www.geni.com/discussions/80793?msg=964663

Alex Moes

I am getting a path both ways for you tp Alexander and Alexander to you

Are you saying you would rather see the shorter path i.e you to your wife to him, rather than you through your ancestors to his ancestors to him...just curious

http://www.geni.com/path/Alexander-Stubb+is+related+to+Alex-Moes?fr...

http://www.geni.com/path/Alex-Moes+is+related+to+Alexander-Stubb?fr...

Thanks. There are several other trouble spots.

Anne Hunt should be my 8th great-grandmother.

Their daughter Frances Benthall and her husband Daniel Benthall should be 7th great-granparents instead of 8th great aunt & uncle - her granddaughter Frances Hunt married her brother's grandson Azariah Hunt, II

and there's a lot of that kind of stuff between c. 1650 and c. 1800 - very small gene pool.

Maven,
If you don't like it, just ignore it.

Maybe it takes a Curator running the algoritm! :-D

Well Lloyd, since this problem frags my chances of tracing relationships to ancestors higher up the tree, "ignore it" is anything but helpful. :-p

Private User

http://www.geni.com/path/Maven-B-Helms+is+related+to+Anne-Hunt?from...

Curators have a manual recalc of the path sometimes it changes it some times not...it looks as in both your cases it did

Unknown Profile

Why ignore it?

Maven you said "Well Lloyd, since this problem frags my chances of tracing relationships to ancestors higher up the tree, "ignore it" is anything but helpful. :-p"

I am in full agreement with you..

The algorithm apparently has a male chauvinist bias built in - FIRST it traces relationships on the male side, and if there's also a direct relationship on the female side, so sorry, you won't get it. :-P

THAT'S why it keeps trying to go through my grandFATHER when all the second-cousin marriages and remarriages on my grandMOTHER's side keep frying its pea-sized brain. :-P

"Thomas Benthall, Jr. is your 8th great uncle's grandfather" - but also my 9th great-grandfather. The algorithm is prioritizing the male line over the female and IGNORING the distaff-side Hunt/Benthall/Hunt line.

Along with members of my Family Group and my Collaborators, I co-manage some profiles related to my first cousin's ex-husband.

Several of the profiles in the tree of his father, David Pollard, are duplicated by "abandonista" public profiles entered by Private User who has not been active on Geni since 2008.

I reported her as "Abandoned Tree". Geni was not able to find a replacement manager. I know that Rebecca's abandoned profiles are not connected to the WFT, yet they are public and do contain accurate lineage that we would like to clean up.

Several of us, including me, tried merging our good profiles with Rebecca's abandoned ones, and Geni should have made the merge, but instead Geni responds "You approved a merge on XXX". Nothing happens. One such dialogue, for David Pollard's merge, is here: http://www.geni.com/merge/compare/6000000025207990414?fsession_id=1...

I would like to request management of all of Rebecca Elisabeth Pollard's abandoned public profiles. Thank you.

Maven and Angus,
May I submit for your enlightenment a post from earlier today?
http://www.geni.com/discussions/136101?msg=965051

That was on a different subject, Lloyd - fictional, legendary and mythical ancestors.

This is a problem with relationships to REAL, RECENT ancestors.

Private User: Make your request as a "Help Ticket" -- Curators can't do anything about that particular issue. Sorry :-(

Dan Cornett: Help Ticket entered and received by Geni. Dealing with the baggage created by "abandonistas" has been my number one annoyance since joining Geni. Thank you.

Maven:
"The algorithm apparently has a male chauvinist bias built in ..."

I realise you are joking but it's simply not true, it can't follow my direct paternal line back to my 8th ggf due to the same style of marriages you describe.

Angus Wood-Salomon :
"Are you saying you would rather see the shorter path..."
Not stating a preference for either just trying to understand the cause of the difference.
In a perfect world i guess i would like an option, Shortest Path and "Bluest" Path as both paths hold interest in different situations.

Re http://www.geni.com/projects/Working-with-Relationships/17570

This is the project page Justin referred to.

I have a request now.

My expectation in monitoring this discussion is that there will be clear cut ways I can assist the community.

If I can't help I hold off. Perhaps another curator can / and / or has a better suggestion or solution.

If there is a suggestion made, and followed, and it doesn't solve the problem, then the next step is to open a ticket for Geni technical support so they can investigate.

For myself on relationship paths - I am satisfied that tree density presents alternatives path ways. If I'm not crazy about how the computer is selecting what it displays to me, then I can ask Geni to work more on what "I" expect.

https://www.geni.com/sso/zendesk/login?return_to=http%3A%2F%2Fhelp....

Help footer at the bottom of every page. Pros can open tickets for expedited support. Anyone can open a suggestion.

My thanks.

I would suggest, that GENI create options, as Alex has suggested... possibly a drop down menu, much like the actions button or the search box. Also, here, referencing Maven´s female line plea, as well.

"Patriarchal relation", "Matriarchal relation", "Closest Relation", "Legal Relation", "Farthest Relation" "ALL RELATIONS".

I would expound, on this idea to adding a "favorites" tab, where one can really SAVE the paths, for future reference... (not like the share link... relationship, which always change, with the algorithm), as I´ve noticed... some truly peach relationships, have gone wayside (never come up again...) due to interference from other seemingly preferred branches... that seem to always come up... (my 5th great grandfathers 2nd wife´s 2nd cousin four time removed´s great nephew.).

xoxoxoxRenée