I suspect that the following opinion will
aggravate many people, but it is an issue that we all eventually confront, and
address as we each see fit. The objections of a few people to having family
information made public has been a problem in genealogy for as long as records
have been kept. The complaints against putting information on the Internet are
the same as those expressed 50 years ago by people who found personal family
information in published books and articles. It is simply a matter of degree.
As any good information security advisor will
tell you, if you have knowledge of something that you do not want made
public, don't tell anyone! This is not just for genealogical information,
but anything you wish to keep secret. Especially in today's world, never,
never, NEVER put such information in writing or in any electronic format,
and that includes email. The minute that the information is passed
electronically, for all practical purposes, it is now public information
whether you intended it or not! The recipient of email information is very
likely to pass that information to others who have an interest, and each of
those people are likely to repeat the process. With the amazing growth of the
internet, it is almost certain that within about three or four
"generations" of communication, someone will publicly post that
information having no clue that you intended it to be a secret when you
divulged it to someone else! Thus, my advice to
people who do not want information about themselves and their families made
public, don't give that information out, to me or anyone else!
That this is a divisive issue at this point
in time is mostly due to how quickly information can multiply in this new
"knowledge age". For genealogists, this has been a boon that we
didn't even begin to foresee only a decade ago. It is possible to find somebody
on the internet who is tracing virtually any family of European roots, and this
is quickly moving into less well documented nationalities at a very fast rate.
The downside, for some, is that it is suddenly possible for virtually anyone to
find references to themselves and their families on the Internet if they know
where to look. In another decade, if information trends continue at the current
rate, and I believe they will, the presence of such information, no matter how
much that disturbs individuals living today, will be taken for granted by
virtually everyone.
Specifically for genealogists, I have a
question. If genealogy is not for sharing information with others, why do we
do it? What is the purpose? There are some who do it for medical reasons,
but that is a very small minority. There is no prize given for collecting the
most cousins or ancestors. Our biggest thrill is getting or providing the
information that enables us or a cousin to solve their little "detective
story" and/or to make other contacts with previously unknown cousins and
genealogists also tracing the same lines. Genealogy, in my opinion, is for
sharing, and without sharing, it has no purpose.
Some people suggest that information about
any living people not be shared with anyone. I strongly disagree with this. Over nearly a half century of genealogical
involvement, including the publishing of several major family books, a far
larger number of people have complained that they and their families were left
out of a genealogy than have complained that they were included. Even today,
among those who contact me, only fewer than 1 person in every 100 is unhappy
that they were included, compared with the other 99 who seek to correct or add
information, even down to making certain that their newborn child or grandchild
is documented. By automatically excluding living people by assuming they do not
wish to be listed, genealogists anger far more people than they satisfy. And
often, those who get angry at being listed will only be satisfied if they have
a say over several generations of relatives, cousins, and siblings, some of
which may well disagree with being excluded.
Another suggestion I have heard is not to
publish or share any information for which you do not have expressed
permission. That is utter nonsense. Understand that most hobby genealogists
take the vast majority of their information from public sources, printed
materials, and now, the Internet. It is very likely that the average genealogist
has personally been in contact with far fewer than 1% of the individuals they
have documented. In most cases, they haven't a clue where to find them.
My bottom line is a
warning to anyone who wishes to exchange information with me. If
you send me information, it will be shared with anyone who wishes it, and no
attempt will be made to hide it. If you do not feel comfortable with this
attitude or want to hide family secrets, do not share them with me! I don't
want to know, frankly, and I have no way to select out individual people or
facts other than not including them in the first place. Keep your secrets to yourself, please.