> From: Eric S Johnson > Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 5:08 AM > To: autosomal-dna@rootsweb.com > Subject: Re: [AUTOSOMAL-DNA] AUTOSOMAL-DNA Digest, Vol 3, Issue 174 > <snip> > Does anyone ever use this method to share information with > newly-discovered relatives who have their own tree? "Hey, can you export > that branch to a GEDCOM and e-mail it to me so I can 'merge' it into my > .ftm?" Yes, it is common for people to share GEDCOMs. That is, in fact, the purpose of the GEDCOM format: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GEDCOM But for me, accepting someone's GEDCOM doesn't mean I import it into my database, it just means I have it available for reference. The problem with importing someone else's GEDCOM is that you may find you've imported a lot of "garbage," not just lots of people you're not related to, but a lot of bad connections. I got burned, once, early on, and I will never import a GEDCOM, again. If someone is worth adding to my database, it's worth my time to keyboard them in, so I can examine the entry carefully in the process. Diana