Retiring Member Connections from Ancestry.com
As we continue to offer better ways for you to find members who share your research interests, our job is to make sure that the tools we provide on Ancestry.com are useful and easy. One feature that we’ve looked at closely in this regard is an older feature called “Member Connections” (not to be confused with Member Connect which was released last year). This feature let you enter the name of an ancestor and we would return a list of Ancestry.com members who are also researching that ancestor.
Over time the distinctions between Member Connections, the Member Directory, and Member Connect became confusing. Member Connections has been used less by members and we also found that the search results have become nearly identical to what you find when searching Public Member Trees. So to clean this up and allow us to focus on improving existing features and building new tools to help you in your family history, we recently retired the Member Connections feature.
If this is a feature that you valued, we suggest that you search our Public Member Trees to find the other members who are researching your ancestor. This will bring you a very similar list of members to what you would have found before with Member Connections. If you haven’t tried looking for other members doing similar research this way, we suggest you give it a try.
We welcome your feedback as we make adjustments in order to focus on the things that will help you most in your family history research on Ancestry.com. We continue to improve ways to help you connect with other members through features like Member Connect and the Member Directory. In fact, stay tuned for some improvements we’re launching in the coming weeks!
This feature “Member Connections” looks good….
I’m new at this but i’ve spend quite awhile trying to find info on certain people in my family, and just found several good connections only to find this tool has been retired. These connections did not come up on other sites. I’m disappointed.
When “member connect” was first introduced I thought it was just another feature to mess up my home page, but I have to say, I’ve really enjoyed checking out who’s adding info to trees that have common ancestors.
I have used the Member Connections often and would not like to see it retired.
I just rejoined your organization and chose a new password and user name. Now I’m getting a message that my user name or password is incorrect. I just got it via your email so what gives? I don’t want to jump through hoops in order use the service I paid for. Thanks in advance for your timely response.
Dear Ancestry,
What are you doing?
Used to be easy to search Google+ancestry message boards+ Name of interest.
Used to be fun to read message boards.
Then there was connect.
What happend to the boards? A great
learning and connect tool are boards.
Now you are retiring member connect???
What is this?
Previous ploy to gather information from members who have accomplished and shared research..just to make a buck?
I would like refund for dollars spent while the site is down. I am certain I have enriched your pockets for some years now……
And have included my own research to make it easier for others in the future.
It bugs me that your website gives a message….
Sorry…we are updating our site…check back at in the future..
Umm… I want a refund.
Are you just fi
Its different to hear that there is such type of tool to find the ancestor names.I think its just to connect the names and it won’t provide any result of the ancestors name.
I like the fact that you did not have to look up anything if someone was searching for or adding a family member to their tree. It was always on the first page. Does this apply to every person in your tree. Any time someone looks for or adds a family member you will be notified?
JoAnne Oncidi Horton
David,
I am more interested in searching your data verses connections made by others members. I am having problems as of today searching for information without having to search through 78,000 people names. This is almost an impossible task. Is there a way around this. Until today, I could search without having to view so many names. What has happened? Viewing others work is a nicety, but doing ones own work is a necessity. Other’s data may be wrong and that would only carry on incorrect information. I have been a member for a long time now and I guess I’m having a problem with the change, but I don’t care that much about other members data. I would like to search and see the data and prove my own information. It seems to me your goal is for everone to use each others information. It looks as if I will need to discontinue my subscription with Ancestry, though it was nice while it lasted.
What ever happend to the ability to contact a live person to talk to about issues? A human voice would go a long way at solving some of these problems.
Thank you for the follow-up and the information. What I really read from what you have not said is that one can not simply go on-line at your site and research. I have to research all the “Message Boards,” Public Information Boards; The Directories and Public Message Profile, etc all the extraneous boards”, just to locate a death certificate from North CArolina on a specific person. NO I AM NOT A happy person right now with your site. Thanks for the Telephone number as I will try to use it and talk with a person who will help me figure out how to locate information I need, or will I get a bunch of recordings?
Gloria Re: #14
One can research on Ancestry without ever using the message boards or any other of the social options for contact among members.
Just use the search form- or the Card Catalog.
One thing to remember is that everything isn’t online and what you are looking for may not be available online from anyone.
I have always loved researching my family history but, do to personal responsibilities, I have just recently found the time to continue my research. I am amazed and excited about discovering “Ancestry”. I have found more information on my family in a few weeks, then I had found in years of research.
I know that for some people change is difficult, but I am quite literally shocked at all the whining I read about “Ancestry”. Not just on this forum but on many others.
The biggest problem I have seen since I’ve been using the site is not from the developers but from the users. Despite all the whiners and the incredible amount of people that choose to confuse honest research by mindlessly combining misinformation, this site is still one of the best tools I have found for family history research.
My thanks to all that have put so much work into this amazing resource.
Seems like a sensible decision.
I have found the new Member Connect to be VERY helpful. Scanning the records that come up under suggested connections under a specific person in my trees help me quickly eliminate the “mindlessly” compiled trees. I use Member Connect now instead of the other Ancestry Trees you “leaf” as “hints” on my trees.
AND, I have these suggestions:
1. provide an option on the homepage to NOT have Ancestry Trees show as hints. I am looking for historical records and sourced facts, not for the mishmash that comes up from combining good and bad trees.
2. On a members profile include whether or not the user has a current subscription so I can tell whether or not to contact that person and expect an answer. Alternatively, if I post a message to a person without a current subscription, inform me that the person is not a current user.
(David Graham: your blogs are excellent. Please do more.)
I have loved this site for many years now I have been trying to consolidate all of the different trees that I have put on here and unfortunatly I end up with so many duplications….I have come to the conclusion that just one main tree with all the branches going off it would have been the best way to go. Your new 2010 if fantastic and it is getting better all the time. Thanks for the great job. I am looking forward to cleaning up my work so it is all consolidated and easier to work with.
I know the email address of a friend who uploaded a family tree. How do I search for it via email address? It is a public tree.
Linda Re: #20
As far as I know you can’t-at least not on Ancestry. If she’s posted on any Rootsweb Mailing list you might find her posts there but it will have nothing to do with her Ancestry trees.
You might also try a search of the public trees for one of her grandparents if any are deceased as she may have included them in the tree.
I congratulate Ancestry on the evolving changes. When you started I was one who complained vigorously. Most of my complaints have since been resolved and I am enjoying Ancestry more than ever. About Member Connect: way too many connections. I would suggest eliminating those without genuine sources. Family data records are
not sources that can be verified, nor are One World Tree, Public Member Trees, etc., or no source at all. If a Member Connect is pertinent to my tree I look for sources that I can independently verify. As for looking through the Member’s Family Tree list, it is cumbersome, time consuming, and usually leads to a Private tree. I don’t waste my time on that. I have too little time left.
I hate the change. I used the old member member connections daily. The new method is just too time consuming and hard to use. This will probably tip me into not renewing after many years of using your site.
Sincerely,
Jack Schutz
looks like there is a lot of people that dont like what your doing,with you member connections. this may stop me from using you
I also am not happy with the elimination of “others researching the same name” option which I used nearly every day or so. Perhaps it is possible to rethink this based upon all the negative feedback. It would have been nice to have had a choice.
I am unabe to send a reply to a message I have received,
I press send,a hand appears and just stays there. What am I doing wrong, I have sent messages before to this person.
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I have been a long time member of Ancestry.com and I have posted things using the Member Connection feature. Will those posting be move over to the Member Connect or are they just lost? Should I start a new post on Member Connect? Thanks.