[RASEY-DNA] Warning -- do not upload to Ancestry.com

[Diana Gale Matthiesen]

Hello List, 

As you know, Ancestry.com has partnered with Relative Genetics to offer DNA
testing.  They are also placing the RG database online, to be accessible to the
public.  Individuals tested at other laboratories are welcome to upload to their
database.  I don't necessarily view any of this as a bad thing.  However, they
are making it easy for FamilyTreeDNA customers to do the upload, just by giving
them your password and Kit#, and I consider that a very unwise thing to do.

Please be aware that giving *anyone* your Kit# and password makes *all* of the
information associated with your account, including your complete contact
information, available to them.  It also gives them the power to do modify your
contact information and preferences -- all the things that you have power to do
at your member page -- even order tests, though it's hard to imagine them doing
that.  I do *not* recommend doing this upload, at least not this way.  I
certainly do not intend to do it for my own testing or the testing of my family
members, and I certainly will not do it to any of my members.

If you want your results to be in a publicly accessible database, I recommend
uploading to Ysearch, where you are in control of the account, can maintain your
anonymity, and can remove yourself at any time.

Personally, I don't mind revealing my test results.  What I mind is giving
MyFamily.com, Inc. (parent company of Ancestry.com) access to my FTDNA account
and, thereby, license to use *all* the information it contains however they see
fit, and this company has a history of turning around and marketing data
submitted to them.

FamilyTreeDNA is not a party to this action, as stated in this message from
company Vice-President, Max Blankfeld:

"Family Tree DNA is absolutely not on board with this, and we are in agreement
with all the comments in this list [GENEALOGY-DNA] about not giving kit number
and password to anyone, as it gives away your personal information, including
the ability to see and modify your personal contact information."

This "news" has just broken and is being hashed out on the GENEALOGY-DNA mailing
list.  It may turn out to be OK to *manually* upload your results.  I'll let you
know...

Diana