SNP panel released without haplogroup project approval

[wkauffman]

A SNP panel for the Z18 region was released today without the knowledge or consent of the R-U106 project admins. The panel and the associated haplogroup hierarchy utilizes SNP names that are not representative of what is being used within the U106 project to name and characterize haplogroup levels. Some of these names may not become part of the ISOGG offical tree. The names utilized within by the panel for defining some of the haplogroups are not even listed within YBROWSE.

There has been a long established agreement with FTDNA management that there are no other independent haplogroup projects under U106 other than the U198 project. How was this SNP panel developed, tree updated, and released without the knowledge of the R1b-U106 admins? I personally would like to review with FTDNA the reason for why each SNP was part of the submission and have a discussion around the appropriates of the selected SNP for the panel technology and other sequencing technologies.

Please contact the U106 project admins for a more appropriate list of SNP names and to get directions on how the SNP panel is to be presented to individuals within the U106 project. Right now it is missing >50% of the targeted audience.

The wording on the announcement of the panel is also misleading and misrepresents what the results will bring to the tested individual. The panel does NOT test "ALL" of the SNPs downstream of Z18. It does not provide a test of all of the known novel lineage specific novel SNPs under Z18.

FTDNA should withdraw the product and remove the changes to the Z18 region of the haplotree until a discussion with the U106 project admins has occurred.

[lgmayka]

Where do you see the SNP Pack? A project member is listed by FTDNA as confirmed R-Z14, but I don't see any SNP Pack offering in his account.

EDIT: OK, I do see the SNP Pack offering in the account of a project member who is precisely R-Z18. But FTDNA believes that Z18 and Z14 are phylogenetically equivalent, so why isn't the Pack offered to the R-Z14 guy?

[lgmayka]

There has been a long established agreement with FTDNA management that there are no other independent haplogroup projects under U106 other than the U198 project.

Here is the R-Z18 Project.

[David Guetta]

The Z18 project has been around for a long time and its website is a well-established resource for Z18 information. I find it hard to believe its existence was unknown to U106 admins until now.

[wkauffman]

The Z18 project has been around for a long time and its website is a well-established resource for Z18 information. I find it hard to believe its existence was unknown to U106 admins until now.

I will be very specific. FTDNA created the Z18 project without the knowledge of the U106 admins. No new haplogroup projects were to be created under U106. We know it exists. It should not be considered a haplogroup project rather it is a collection of individuals who fall into that region for the research interest of the individual who got FTDNA to create the project. Z18 HAPLOGROUP activities remain under the domain of the U106 project.

FTDNA has created a data management problem for themselves when U106 updates the ISOGG tree for the Z18 area. Some clades will have different names. FTDNA will need to, at some time in the future, correct the information that they placed into their tree and what they have provided back to the testers as part of this test.

[RDickinson]

New Z18 panel not appearing for all Z18+ members

According to my haplotree tree page, I am recognized by FTDNA as Z18+, and yet the panel is not appearing on my dashboard. It would seem I'm not the only Z18+ who can't find it either.

It might be that FTDNA is screening out those with arrived or pending Big Y results--in my case, that's good, since I know I'm Z372-, and most of the SNPs in the panel would not be applicable--the panel is apparently mostly focused on those downstream of Z372.

Or perhaps the panel's absence on our dashboards is just another FTDNA glitch.