Categories:WikiTree Help |Conflict Help |Courtesy and Community Rules |Email and Communication Help |Profile Management Help |Project Leader Help

Has someone on WikiTree angered or annoyed you? Is someone causing problems or doing damage to our shared tree? This page is astarting point for all types of problems with members.

"I wish that the world we live in was more like the WikiTree community. I have never been involved in a more fair system in my entire life. There are conflicts but that is because there are more than two people in the community!"—Cindy Lesure
member since 2014

Members and non-members alike should use this to report problems.Mentors,Rangers,Project Leaders, andTeam Members should start here too. It is required for referrals, mentoring, mediation, and otherescalation.

Following the Q&Ain order should direct you to the proper action. Go in order even if there have been repeated problems with the same member.

If you don't know whether or not what someone is doing is a problem, or if you're having trouble applying this method to your current situation, ask inG2G using the tagsmentors andproject_leaders. Please explain the situation without mentioning any names or personal details. See also:Problems with Policies.

Question #1: Is this person a spammer or vandal?

1A.) Yes

If you've caught someone posting spam or childish vandalism go toEmergency Blocks.

1B.) No

If the person isn't a spammer or juvenile delinquent proceed to question #2.

Question #2: Has this person violated your personal privacy or that of a child?

2A.) Yes

If this problem concerns information about you or a child being made public seePrivacy Conflicts.

2B.) No

If this isn't about privacy proceed to question #3.

If this is about family privacy but aPrivacy Take-Down Request isn't appropriate because the information isn't about you or a minor child skip to question #4.

Question #3: Is this an emergency?

3A.) ➤ Is it happening right now?

If the person doesn't appear to be online right now and actively doing damage, and you don't have good reason to think they'll be online later today doing damage, it's not an emergency.

3A.1.) ➤ ➤ Will it be hard to fix later?

Even if they're doing damage right now, but their damage could be reversed fairly easily later, it's not an emergency.

These are hard to fix:

• bad merges (even just a few)
• large numbers of improper changes to Last Names at Birth (more than a few)
• very large numbers of obvious duplicates (dozens)
• public posting of very sensitive private material (any at all, see question #2).

Most everything else is relatively easy to fix by reverting the edits, deleting the bad comments, merging the duplicates, adding sources that were left out, etc.

Experienced WikiTreers know that there are a lot of mistakes being made here every day. We all make them. Making mistakes and correcting them is part of how WikiTree works.

3A.1.a.) Yes

If the person is doing a lot of damage right now — intentionally or unintentionally —and it will be very hard for them or others to fix their mistakes later seeEmergency Blocks.

3B.) No

If this is not an emergency because the member is not doing damage right nowor their damage could be fixed later proceed to question #4.

Question #4: Has this person's behavior upset you?

4A.) Yes

If you're feeling any negative emotions because of what this person has said or done — even significant annoyance or frustration —stop and drop the problem for now.

Come back and start here at question #4 again later.

If you feel that the added delay will make this an emergency file aMentor Intervention Request (MIR) and select option 4A.

4A.1.) ➤ After returning has it upset you again?

After relaxing and returning, has thinking about what they have said or done made you angry or frustrated again? If so you shouldn't be dealing with this alone. File aMentor Intervention Request (MIR) and select option 4A.1.

Unless you're completely calm you're not the best member to be talking to this person about what they have done. Even if you are a Mentor, Ranger, Project Leader, or Team Member, let someone else take over by filing an MIR.

If this person is making you angry they may be making others angry as well. Mentors andMediators may find that MIRs form a pattern where certain members — even if they're good genealogists with good intentions — are incapable of participating on WikiTree without making others angry. This may eventuallyescalate to account termination.Courtesy is not optional on WikiTree. It's in ourHonor Code.

Sometimes we see an inverse pattern. Some members are repeatedly made angry by others. It takes a special kind of person to participate on WikiTree at a high level without getting angry. We have an emotional attachment to the subject matter andcollaboration isn't easy, especially since it's not face-to-face. Many good genealogists don't have the patience for wiki genealogy and need toscale back their participation.

4B.) No

If you're feeling relaxed proceed to question #5.

Question #5: Can you assume this person has good intentions?

OurHonor Code says: "We assume that mistakes are unintentional when others make them and ask for the same understanding."

Is there any doubt in your mind about whether or not this person isintentionally causing problems? If so, can you give them the benefit of the doubt while you proceed?

5A.) Yes

If you can assume good intentions proceed to question #6.

5B.) No

If you cannot assume good intentions — if you're convinced that this person is knowingly violating theHonor Code that they have signed, doesn't agree with the community'smission yet is still participating in the community, or is otherwise ignoring community rules that they fully understand — it's time toescalate with aMentor Intervention Request. Select option 5B.

Question #6: Have you contacted the person about the problem?

6A.) Yes

6A.1.) ➤ Did they reply to you?

If you have sent a message to the person about the problem (see the "No" answer below if you haven't yet), did you get a response?

If the person has not responded and does not appear to be active on WikiTree at all seeUnresponsive Profile Managers.

If the person has not responded and is continuing with problematic behavior it's possible they didn't get your message. You could try another method, e.g. direct email instead of a private message or posting a profile comment, if that's possible. Or you could file aMentor Intervention Request and select option 6A.1. Someone else may be able to get a message through to them.

6A.1.a.) ➤ ➤ Did they reply in anger?

If they replied in a hostile manner someone needs to tell themDon't WikiTree While Angry. It should not be you. You're already the focus of their anger. File aMentor Intervention Request and select option 6A.1.a.

Keep in mind that it's very common for a person's tone to be misinterpreted if they're not good at communicating in writing or if they write messages too quickly. Be sure to read their message multiple times and consider any possible way to interpret their words. Give them every possible benefit of the doubt.

6A.1.b.) ➤ ➤ Did they reply in disagreement?

If they don't agree that what they're doing is incorrect:

1. Find a WikiTreehelp page,style page, orG2G question that explains it. Copy theURL.
   • If you cannot find a page that clearly explains the exact issue ask a new question inG2G. Wait for the answer and then continue. SeeFinding the Question in a Conflict if you're having trouble.
2. If you can do it patiently and calmly (question #4) and assuming good intentions (question #5), contact them again and include the URL. If you can't do it yourself, file aMentor Intervention Request and select option 6A.1.b.

6B.) No

If you've gotten this far,

• you care about the problem,
• it's not an emergency,
• you're not angry about it, and
• you assume the person has good intentions.

You are the perfect person to contact them. :-)

6B.1.) ➤ Can you correct their mistakes delicately?

Talking to someone about their mistakes is a delicate business. We all make mistakes but nobody likes having them pointed out.

It's especially delicate because you're doing this in writing. The other person can't see your smiling face and hear your friendly tone of voice.

SeeResolving a Disagreement andCourtesy for tips. You can also ask for advice from the community inG2G. We have all dealt with similar problems.

If you don't have time to choose your words carefully wait until you do.

If waiting would make this an emergency file aMentor Intervention Request and select option 6B.1.

If you find yourself consistently unable or uninterested in writing delicately-worded messages considerscaling back your participation on WikiTree.