FamilyTreeDNA Forums

[Rolf]

hello FTDNA staff
i would dearly like to see links to the FTDNA Forum & your FTDNA Facebook page located on each person's Dashboard____ located say under the 'Badges' or, at least on one of the drop-down menus so it is easily found, & that new testing members are aware that they even exist !!! it's a plus for FTDNA, as I don't think any other DNA company has a forum for members to post questions & read other people's & so learn from them.
i think several years ago the forum used to be located on the dashboard.

cheerio Carola
(manager of my late father, Rolf's account)

[ewd76]

Every time they make a change it makes the forums harder to find. I doubt it's accidental.

[Rolf]

i can't figure out their management thoughts, it's big PLUS for FTDNA to have a forum, & a good selling point to potential new customers on their front page in all what they offer.
maybe they're too short-sighted, or just plain stupid to realise it.

[benowicz]

The link may be a good idea. But I think most people find forums kind of old fashioned, now that everyone has a FB page or Twitter account. Of course, FTDNA's customer base probably skews a little old anyhow. But if FTNDA has to have a FB page as an advertising vehicle, active forum moderation on top of it seems like a lot of excess effort.

[KATM]

The link may be a good idea. But I think most people find forums kind of old fashioned, now that everyone has a FB page or Twitter account. Of course, FTDNA's customer base probably skews a little old anyhow. But if FTNDA has to have a FB page as an advertising vehicle, active forum moderation on top of it seems like a lot of excess effort.

The last forum moderator that I was aware of was Darren, but I don't think he has posted here for well over a year, almost two years. He used to post general updates at times, in addition to his moderating duties. If he or anyone else is still moderating the FTDNA forums, we have no way of knowing. It is a daunting job, but perhaps FTDNA is not moderating in an active manner now. Instead, they may be doing it passively by waiting for complaints from forum users when there are problems, whether for complaints about forum interface problems, or about forum members who violate the forum guidelines.

The software FTDNA uses for their forum is shown at the bottom right of these pages; it is vBulletin, which now seems to have a one-time cost. I recall that FTDNA has upgraded vBulletin at least once.

I do not think that "everyone" has a Facebook or Twitter account, but I do take your point that many do.

There is a link to "Forums" at the bottom of the FTDNA home page, under "Community." I have a dim memory, perhaps incorrect, that at one time "Forums" was listed under one of the menus at the top of a user's account home page/Dashboard, but it certainly isn't now. Rolf's suggestion is a good one. We can submit suggestions like his using the Customer Support link at the top right of these forum pages, and filling out and submitting the form there.

[Jim Barrett]

As KATM pointed out, not all of us use social media. Personally I think it has had a very BIG part in the riots we have seen the last few years because it is so easy to spread information.

As for finding the FORUM I have the link stored in my Favorites list. Maybe some of the devices people use today don't have Favorites list. I don't know, I use a laptop.

[Biblioteque]

Like Jim, my access to the Forum is a one-click on my home page under Top Sites which are laid out in "plaques," I remember Darren left FTDNA some time ago; and have no idea where I got that info.

[benowicz]

As KATM pointed out, not all of us use social media. Personally I think it has had a very BIG part in the riots we have seen the last few years because it is so easy to spread information. . .

Pardon me, but was that provocative statement REALLY necessary? It has some very troubling fascist overtones regarding the control of information and a lack of faith in the democratic process.

I don't understand why you would even want to introduce this topic here. There is not even a tangential relationship to genetic genealogy. Maybe you just want to delete that part of your post, as a gesture towards NOT contributing to any pointless furore that you ostensibly find so problematic.

Everyone has political opinions. But unless there is a direct connection to genetic genealogy, I think the place for them is social media like FB or Twitter.

[KATM]

Whether or not a statement should be deleted, the fact is that after a certain amount of time it cannot be done in this forum. There is no option for the poster to delete or edit a post beyond a short period after it was first written. In the past, a message asking a moderator to delete or move a post might get the job done, but otherwise (as far as I know) we have no recourse. Perhaps reporting problem posts by using the Customer Support form might do the trick.

In this instance, now that everyone has said his/her piece, let's just leave it be. I, for one, have had enough politics recently to last me several lifetimes. I don't come here to add more stress to my system!

[Jim Barrett]

Pardon me, but was that provocative statement REALLY necessary? It has some very troubling fascist overtones regarding the control of information and a lack of faith in the democratic process.

I don't understand why you would even want to introduce this topic here. There is not even a tangential relationship to genetic genealogy. Maybe you just want to delete that part of your post, as a gesture towards NOT contributing to any pointless furore that you ostensibly find so problematic.

Everyone has political opinions. But unless there is a direct connection to genetic genealogy, I think the place for them is social media like FB or Twitter.

I didn't introduce the topic of FaceBook here! You are the one who saw this as a political comment. I only expressed one of the many reasons I don't like nor use FaceBook.

[benowicz]

As KATM pointed out, not all of us use social media. Personally I think it has had a very BIG part in the riots we have seen the last few years because it is so easy to spread information. ..

Don't be dishonest. Your comment was completely political and has nothing at all to do with genetic genealogy. This is not a simple expression of dissatisfaction with social media. You could have simply written:

"Personally, I do not like social media."

Instead, you wrote about political riots, implying that fascist measures to control public access to information were necessary.

As KATM pointed out, not all of us use social media. Personally I think it has had a very BIG part in the riots we have seen the last few years because it is so easy to spread information. ..

You went completely out of your way to insert a hot button political issue with no relevance whatsoever to this forum. I said absolutely nothing about riots.

Don't insult the public's intelligence by lying to say that it was I who did this. It was you. Take responsibility for your own statements. It was you. Only you.

As KATM pointed out, not all of us use social media. Personally I think it has had a very BIG part in the riots we have seen the last few years because it is so easy to spread information. ..

[ewd76]

As KATM pointed out, not all of us use social media. Personally I think it has had a very BIG part in the riots we have seen the last few years because it is so easy to spread information.

That's pretty much the way I see it. I stopped using Facebook in January of 2017 and only went back on once in 2019 to disable it. It was of no use to me and did nothing but make me upset. I have never had a Twitter account and have no intention of starting one. They talk about breaking up the social media for antitrust reasons. If the social media companies disappeared tomorrow we'd all better for it. More social cohesion if nothing else.

[Jim Barrett]

Instead, you wrote about political riots, implying that fascist measures to control public access to information were necessary.

Thank you for quoting what I said several times. Everyone can see I never mention politics, but you did repeatedly.

[KATM]

Again, for the benefit of the original poster (Carola, for Rolf's account), we can submit suggestions, questions, or complaints by using the form on the Customer Support page. I hope Carola will think about submitting the suggestion to make the Forum more obvious. Also, Carola, you can make a new forum user account under your own name, if you wish.

Since we've strayed away from Carola's original post:
To follow up on the moderation topic I commented on in my first post above, I only want to add that I have since contacted FTDNA using the Customer Support form, to ask if there was any moderator for the forums, and if not, how to report any problems. I received a reply today from a person who is taking over moderation as of today, and I was advised to use this process:

If there is an issue or concern with any topic, post, or message in the forums, please report it using the Flag link in the lower right-hand corner of the post or topic in question. I will be notified immediately via email and will be able to take further action if necessary.

For the most part we try to allow customers to discuss questions and concerns freely as we do not want to be too heavy-handed in our moderation approach, but will take action for any violations of our Terms of Service, posts that veer too far off-topic, or spam posts when reported.

I do feel embarrassed for forgetting about this, as I have indeed used the Flag link in the past myself, to report spam posts.

Also regarding moderation, as I linked in my first post above in this thread, there is a guideline for Communication in the FTDNA Forums. That page outlines what forum users' responsibilities are, and has a list of what forum members "shall not do." It can be found by clicking on the FAQ link at the top left on these pages, and from there clicking on "Communication" under the section "Family Tree DNA Forums Guidelines (v. 1.003 25 Feb 2014)." Under the same section, more guidance can be found for "Dealing with Difficult Users" (including an "Ignore" list for users), and "Moderation and Banning."

I believe that the "Flag link," which was mentioned in the email reply I received, is equivalent to the "Report" link mentioned in the "Difficult Users" section.

[Biblioteque]

KATM: Thank you for your continued Voice of Reason and generosity of time in helping educate us in many areas. You are greatly appreciated.