The ethics of criticism
Being nice versus being right The genealogical community is a small one, as communities go. And, as with any small pond, something that makes waves is going to attract a lot more attention in our community than, say, even the largest-ever-built ocean liner would make...Suggestion: opt out now
For privacy, this site’s not a good idea There’s a genealogy website out there called FamilyTreeNow that sounds really great. Its homepage says it has “one of the largest collections of genealogy records anywhere, and they’re all 100% free to...The opt-in default
The default for living people It’s that time of year again, and The Legal Genealogist smiles to see all the family historians scurrying around trying to finish up research projects so they can publish family books as presents in this holiday season. Except that...Before you gift
Think DNA ethics ‘Tis the season to be jolly… and to give gifts to family members and friends. For those who, like The Legal Genealogist, are fans of genetic genealogy, that may mean thinking about buying and giving DNA test kits to kith and kin this...For genealogy bloggers too
A reminder about the FTC rules Yesterday, The Legal Genealogist set out in a footnote a point that really needs to be given a whole lot more emphasis than a single footnote can provide. That’s the fact that “the Federal Trade Commission requires a ‘clear and...Buy this book!
DNA Sunday a day early No, it isn’t Sunday. You really didn’t sleep through an extra overnight and lose a day. But around these parts, The Legal Genealogist only ever talks about one thing each year on the anniversary of a particular event, and...Blurring the lines
Protecting matches’ privacy So The Legal Genealogist is in Toronto, Canada, for the 2016 Ontario Genealogical Society Conference, and wow… more than 700 registered and very enthusiastic attendees have made this a truly wonderful conference. My own...For the pros… and their clients
Free APG webinar tonight: professional ethics There’s one thing professional genealogists — and their clients — both need to understand and understand thoroughly: there are codes of ethics that govern the way a genealogy business is to be run. As...The rules of DNA.Land
The new kid on the block There’s a new place to play with our DNA results right now. It’s called DNA.Land, it’s at https://dna.land/ — and that’s a complete address, no dot com or dot org involved, and it’s not a testing company but...Subscribe by Email
