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Archiver > GENEALOGY-DNA > 2008-04 > 1208980245


From: Thomas Krahn <>
Subject: Re: [DNA] Transparency (was R1b1c test for S3, S10, S13, S17)
Date: Wed, 23 Apr 2008 21:50:45 +0200
References: <941019.84426.qm@web413.biz.mail.mud.yahoo.com><A28BDBEA-0B51-4DB1-B864-5339DB356D07@vizachero.com><C4C2B4C0-8537-4D5B-A0F1-223096F31520@vizachero.com><jzsbw6.yiwcj6@webmail.variomedia.de><D44900C1-F1A2-4C98-8C24-DC83257933ED@vizachero.com>
In-Reply-To: <D44900C1-F1A2-4C98-8C24-DC83257933ED@vizachero.com>


Vince,

I think we're sitting in the same boat again. I also hope that EA will change
their mind soon for the benefit of all genealogists. You certainly know that I
am the most enthusiastic person to push the a la carte testing forward, but
don't forget that we need to completely re-organize structures that are
currently processing several thousands of tests per week. Our IT manager
compared this to changing the wings of a Jumbo during full speed flight. The
development phase of rs34276300 showed that things are getting definitely
quicker. Consider that after we have decided to offer this marker on Saturday
I received the primers on Tuesday morning and had the first results on the
evening of the same day. Then we started to process customer samples. The
first 300 orders were processed before Friday then I left for a trip to
Europe. While I was out of town we had a major IT problem because the
rs34276300 confused the display of all U series results. This couldn't be
fixed until I was back in town so it unfortunately took a couple of days to
get the results to our customers. However, this Error will (hopefully) not
happen again at the next rs marker. Of course we are able to test for P297 for
a while in our lab already. It's just a matter of a little bit more
preparation on the organization and IT side to offer every terminal marker of
any European haplogroup on the newest SNP tree. Our lab in Houston is ready to
go.

Offering every SNP additionally as a single "a la carte" marker contradicts a
little bit the traditional thinking of business rules. My opinion is that this
is the most honest way to do it, but unfortunately it is not the most cost
efficient strategy. This way I must always bring good arguments to expand our
"a la carte" offerings. Still you can bet on me that I try my best to push
this forward.

Thomas

Vincent Vizachero <> schrieb:

> Would I prefer that Jim Wilson have published the primers for these
> four markers?
> (...) The "cacophony" of demand for the U Series tests arose in
> part because of people like me (and other project administrators)
> telling folks not to order S21 and S28 from EA but to wait for FTDNA
> to offer the markers. That they were (eventually) coming.
>
> If I were you, I'd tell the "business oriented head" of your company
> that the problem, if there is one, is not your policy of transparency
> but rather that it has historically taken FTDNA too frakkin long to
> get new products introduced. The wait for the U Series was
> interminable and two years after the a la carte STR order process was
> introduced we still don't have a la carte SNP testing at FTDNA.
> Except for rs34276300, of course. And where is P297 for my R1b1*
> folks? Or the 18 R1b-assigned SNPS from Hinds et al.?
>


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