It’s free but it requires work and time 17 September 2019 Reviewer: Ellen1212 from New Jersey
73 of 140 people found this review helpful
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For each ancestor you enter on your personal tree you write a profile including a biography. You are told you must provide sources for all information, which is good. Many members don’t do this, probably because they don’t have access to sources. There are hundreds of unsourced profiles that the rest of the members are encouraged to work on.
My biggest complaint is that anyone can alter a profile that you have spent literally hours researching and writing. Unless what is added is blatantly false, you must accept the alteration. The reasoning is that you don’t own your ancestors’ profiles, they are a communal endeavor. As a writer, I have a problem when I write a good narrative biography for a direct descendant, only to have it changed by someone who thinks they know better.
These do- gooders are encouraged by competitions for data correction, sourcing and so forth. In these competitions points are awarded, so many corrections are made.
Plus side— there are some very knowledgeable people there who give of their time and experience. They will help you with tough questions or foreign sources. Also, you use the free software to build your personal tree of your direct ancestors.
In addition there is encouragement to get DNA testing to verify your tree. DNA testing is explained and several members are very experienced with this.
In my experience, to find good sources you will probably need to have an Ancestry.com account. So, if you have access to sources and can accept others changing your work, you may like it. I recommend it with reservations.
In summary, I would recommend Wiki Tree to a friend.
