Besides the point that you might be connected through another branch you forget that you might not be connected at all. The chances are pretty good obviously if you find a common ancestor in a tree but it might still be an IBS segment and/or a NPE along the way. That's what I hate about Ancestry, not giving us proper tools as this could easily be sorted out with a triangulation tool. As they have more trees per match then anyone else it would give them the edge over their competition. Andreas On 2 Dec 2015, at 07:46, Eric S Johnson via <genealogy-dna@rootsweb.com> wrote: >> I've not and wont test at ancestry. > > > > I’ve found AncestryDNA testing rewarding for a particular reason: Ancestry’s ability to automatically compare trees between me and someone with whom I share DNA. Then, even if my “DNA cousin” doesn’t respond, still I can go into my tree and add in the path from our (alleged) common ancestor down to the DNA cousin … and because I did that, Ancestry’s auto-comparison between me and thousands of “DNA cousins” finds another tree with which I share a common ancestor … etc. > > > > Of course there’s no guarantee the person who’s in both our trees is the source of our shared DNA. But it’s a way to expand my tree “out” toward people with whom there’s at least a circumstantial connection. With enough of this, patterns become visible—basically, “cross-platform DNA circles” (via triangulation). > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to GENEALOGY-DNA-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message