It is important to realize that DNA testers with predominantly US ancestry come from an endogamous background, compared with the rest of the world. That is, there is a degree of inbreeding in the USA, compared with the rest of the world. This may not be apparent to local researchers, as most of the statistics are calculated from USA data, where endogamy has been ASSUMED to be zero. It is small indeed when compared to Ashkenazi or French-Canadian populations, but it is larger than in mixed populations generally. One of the side-effects of this is that, although USA DNA testers get relationships predicted at roughly the right level, outsiders who share ancestral, but not modern, populations with USA testers, tend to get more US cousins than they would expect, and these cousins are predicted to be closer relatives than they really are. This occurs because the degrees of relationship are calibrated from USA data, so that testers from other areas, or from mixed populations, get misleadingly close predictions. This remark was prompted by Tim Janzen's remark earlier today that " My mom fortunately doesn't come from an endogamous ancestral background, which is helpful when working with her triangulated groups. Endogamy definitely complicates things." I have an enormous regard for Tim's knowledge and acumen when it comes to DNA matters, but this statement needs qualification. It can be regarded as correct in an American context. It is NOT appropriate for testers whose ancestors never lived in the USA, who but share older populations with them, such as Australians, Britishers, Irish, Germans, Poles, etc.