genealogists around the world, and something that is of no interest to
anyone not
interested in genealogy. It is information that is freely available in

I get that it's not a common occurance and doesn't happen to everyone. But, you've seen those security questions on bank sites.. "What is your paternal grandfather's first name?" or whatever. More people might be interested than you think :).


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On 21 Jan 2026, phigan said the following...

It's funny. When I got on there for testing last summer (2025), they all told me I was wrong about my family tree. They force you to upload documents and all that, which I refused. I understand it is unlike other wiki sites where you can just post whatever you want, but I still browse it from time to time. I use other sites.

I also did the DNA two summers ago and that was strange. I had no idea about my father's side of the tree and only had limited knowledge. He and my mom split when I was under 4 years old.

I felt the same as you, and my buddy was all freaked out about giving my DNA away. I told him that since he has been to the hospital more times in one year than I have my entire life, his 'DNA' is all over the place. (He has Cerebral Palsy and I served over 21 years in the military).

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You're saying get on some website owned by who knows who and give them
as much information about you as possible :). So, what happens when

I certainly have similar qualms, though after reading through their various pages about themselves, wikitree.com does seem like their heart is in the right place, as far as the data goes.

I'm not sure if that's enough to put my worries at ease, but it's at least something that's less profit-centric than many of the other genealogy websites.

On a similar note, has anyone tried out Gramps Web (gramsweb.org)?

Evidently it's a self-hosted genealogy thing. Though probably more for showing your personal tree, rather than compiling a family tree for all humanity.

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On a similar note, has anyone tried out Gramps Web (gramsweb.org)?

Err, grampsweb.org, if that wasn't obvious with my typo.

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I get that it's not a common occurance and doesn't happen to everyone. But, you've seen those security questions on bank sites.. "What is your paternal grandfather's first name?" or whatever. More people might be interested than you think :).

We learned years ago that depending on the site you are using .. LIE ..
What if your Pat. GmA's name: George
What was your first pet's name: George
What was the make of your first car: George

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On 1/22/2026 3:31 PM, Phigan wrote to Mike Dippel:
29d8

@DBID: 895807

genealogists around the world, and something that is of no interest to anyone not
interested in genealogy. It is information that is freely available in

I get that it's not a common occurance and doesn't happen to everyone. But, you've seen those security questions on bank sites.. "What is your paternal grandfather's first name?" or whatever. More people might be interested than you think :).

The best thing about this site is that because it is totally free, there is no credit card
information on file for someone to steal, and there are no security questions asked of
you.

But, in the end, I guess I will never know how you and I are related :)

Mike Dippel

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On 1/22/2026 4:45 PM, Adept wrote to Phigan:

You're saying get on some website owned by who knows who and give them as much information about you as possible :). So, what happens when

I certainly have similar qualms, though after reading through their various pages about themselves, wikitree.com does seem like their heart is in the right
place, as far as the data goes.

I'm not sure if that's enough to put my worries at ease, but it's at least something that's less profit-centric than many of the other genealogy websites.

On a similar note, has anyone tried out Gramps Web (gramsweb.org)?

Evidently it's a self-hosted genealogy thing. Though probably more for showing
your personal tree, rather than compiling a family tree for all humanity.

Thank you for the info on Gramps Web. I will check it out. Currently, I am hosting my
history here:
https://dippel-hollar.name/tree/

It uses a program made specifically to host your ancestry.

Mike Dippel

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phigan wrote to Mike Dippel <=-

I get that it's not a common occurance and doesn't happen to everyone. But, you've seen those security questions on bank sites.. "What is your paternal grandfather's first name?" or whatever. More people might be interested than you think :).

I have a list of fake security questions; I had someone I knew use my
personal information to reset a password on a financial account.



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SirRonmit wrote to phigan <=-

I also did the DNA two summers ago and that was strange. I had no idea about my father's side of the tree and only had limited knowledge. He
and my mom split when I was under 4 years old.

My sister did the DNA thing - she took all of the exposure, I'm
genetically the same mix as her, so I get the results. :)



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My sister did the DNA thing - she took all of the exposure, I'm genetically the same mix as her, so I get the results. :)

LOL!!!!

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Indeed. Unfortunately, those jerks added "your answers can't all be the same!" filters/requirements now, too. Gotta write em down, I guess :D.

Cr@p .. guess I'll have to update mine LOL!!

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phigan wrote to SirRonmit <=-

We learned years ago that depending on the site you are using .. LIE ..

Indeed. Unfortunately, those jerks added "your answers can't all be the same!" filters/requirements now, too. Gotta write em down, I guess :D.

I either keep them in Keepass along with the password entry or I use
"standard" fake answers.

Keepass has become my app of choice nowadays. There are plug-ins that
allow you to store files on cloud storage, auto-launch plug-ins that
will open other keepass files automatically and a plug-in that lets you automatically RDP or SSH with a right click.



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Thank you for the info on Gramps Web. I will check it out. Currently, I am hosting my
history here:
https://dippel-hollar.name/tree/

It uses a program made specifically to host your ancestry.

Interesting!

And, since you have experience with Webtrees (which I know nothing about, as well), you're probably one of the better people to be able to see the positives in negatives in that compared with Gramps Web.

Or theoretically some other open source product I'm still unaware of.

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