NEW-ZEALAND-L Archives

Archiver > NEW-ZEALAND > 2011-08 > 1314162166


From: PD & LE Strong <>
Subject: Re: [nz] Family trees online - the other side
Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2011 15:02:46 +1000


Perhaps this discussion should differentiate between a family history
website devised by a website developer and a "Family Trees" on
AncestryCom, etc.

In my case the family history website has involved much reading
about HTML code and website development, paying for webhosting,
domain name etc.... as well as over 10 years research on my family
history to provide the data which is then formatted on the webpages.
All up, a slow an patient process... no immediate gratification here!

"Family Trees" on AncestryCom arise from the big sell: "you don't
have to know what you are looking for... just look!" As soon as you
subscribe to AncestryCom you are prompted to start your "Family
Tree". Where does your data come from after your immediate family
details? A shaking leaf then prompts you to use data from either
public records or other people's family trees. At this stage, I would
like to think that people are conscientious and use their own
researched data or acknowledge other people's data if it is used.
However, I fear that at this stage many people seek immediate
gratification.

Is there a general difference in the methodologies and motivations
and attitudes used by many of the authors of the family history
website and "Family Trees" on AncestryCom? There is certainly
general difference in content which reflects the broader scope of
family history compared with the mere BDM inference of family tree.

What kind of material can be plagiarised by "Family Trees" from a
family history website and what recourse is there? Before
AncestryCom will take action on breach of copyright you have to prove
ownership of the information and provide affidavits. This is
relatively easy with photos and blocks of text. However, the
material which is typically taken and not acknowledged is BDM data
and the researched links between the people in a group of data. This
last plagiarism is difficult to link to proven breach of copyright.

How do you know that someone has plagiarised? You need a marker.
One which you have deliberately introduced, or very detailed wording
of data which only you could have known. I have had long years of
marking student assignments. Students often thought you were
superhuman to work out where they got the information... but it was
all in the markers... information which was peculiar to this or that
reference.

As a retired teacher, I tend to blame how the profession has handled
the presentation of student assignments. We should have been more
rigorous in ensuring that students did their own work. Too much
"copy and paste" from the internet, too much intervention from
parents in doing their children's homework etc. We could go on!

Philip Strong
--
**Philip Strong**Email:**Blue Mountains, Australia**
Interest:STRONG(E)s of Drumbo,Knocknagoney,Belfast Ireland early 1800's
then New Zealand and Australia after 1875.
See web site "STRONGs of Ulster,Ireland"
http://www.strong-family.org/strongs/

This thread: