Susan Thank you for the clarification. I think we are talking at cross purposes. I thought you were implying that Guild members would have the ability to opt out of MyGroups altogether whereas in fact you are referring to opting out of specific features of the new MyGroups system. The ability to opt out of the activity feed and to switch off the member list was activated on Friday. I checked the settings before posting to the list and I can confirm that both these features now work. If members are having trouble making the necessary changes then of course it would be a good idea if they could write to you for help. These changes can be very confusing and you offer a wonderful support service to our members. We've found that the most effective way to get a response from FTDNA is to collaborate and submit consolidated feedback rather than having individuals bombarding them with the same suggestions and that's the reason why the Google Docs file was started. The consolidated approach worked in this case and FTDNA responded within 24 hours to make the necessary fixes. I agree about the default settings and I've now updated the feedback document to include the following two high priority items. 1) Allow individuals to opt out of having their name displayed in project member lists. At the moment members who do not wish to have their name revealed to other project members have to withdraw from the project if the admin has chosen to make the member list available to the group. This should be an opt in feature and not an opt out feature. 2) Restrict the member list to project administrators by default. Making project members' names available to other project members is a major change to the previous privacy settings and should not be implemented without individual consent. As you say, MyGroups is continually evolving and I'm sure many new features will be added in the months to come, and that our feedback will be taken into account. Best wishes Debbie

Debbie, Thank you for adding the default items to the Google docs list. I agree. I think the cross-talk issue arises from me not providing the history of the situation. Therefore, below is the history of the situation to help everyone put what transpired in perspective, and to also understand my approach to this situation. I was involved in the initial beta of about 50 customers. It immediately became evident that there were two aspects, as documented in my initial email, that would be detrimental to Guild projects and their ability to recruit. I was faced with two choices: 1. Lobby to make these 2 items optional for everyone 2. Lobby to provide an option to exempt Guild members from these 2 items I looked at the situation, and calculated the odds. By far, the best odds was choice 2, exempt the Guild. I felt that I had a 99% probability of achieving that objective. So that it was I did, in pursuit of my number 1 priority, of ensuring that Guild members have the optional environment for success, and success is based on the ability to recruit. Then the beta was released to the customer base, and many people had the same concerns as I did. As you mentioned, a group list was put together. Luckily, Family Tree DNA is acting on many of the issues raised. It is very important to keep in mind that there was NO GUARANTEE that Family Tree DNA would take this action.. It would have been derelict of my responsibilities to have gone merrily along, thinking that once the beta hit the customer base, the issues would have been resolved. I don't think this approach is what Guild members want me to do. There are still details to work out to ensure that all privacy issues are addressed and the defaults are set correctly, In addition, this adds to the already complex Project Administration system, to get everything set correctly, for each Guild member, especially those starting out. It is a positive that the customer reaction has motivated action by Family Tree DNA. It is important to keep in mind that there was **never** any guarantee, where by my choice of providing an opt out option gave Guild members a **guarantee**. I wanted to notify members sooner, since I made the deal on January 20th, but I was, unfortunately, too ill to write a coherent posting. I will notify the opt-out list as to the status of all the issues once we are close to April 16th, or if the issues have all been resolved sooner. Susan -------------------------------------------- On Tue, 2/24/15, Debbie Kennett <debbiekennett@gmail.com> wrote: Subject: RE: [G] News for those with a DNA Project To: "'S.C. Meates'" <scm@bellsouth.net>, goons@rootsweb.com Date: Tuesday, February 24, 2015, 8:41 AM Susan Thank you for the clarification. I think we are talking at cross purposes. I thought you were implying that Guild members would have the ability to opt out of MyGroups altogether whereas in fact you are referring to opting out of specific features of the new MyGroups system. The ability to opt out of the activity feed and to switch off the member list was activated on Friday. I checked the settings before posting to the list and I can confirm that both these features now work. If members are having trouble making the necessary changes then of course it would be a good idea if they could write to you for help. These changes can be very confusing and you offer a wonderful support service to our members. We've found that the most effective way to get a response from FTDNA is to collaborate and submit consolidated feedback rather than having individuals bombarding them with the same suggestions and that's the reason why the Google Docs file was started. The consolidated approach worked in this case and FTDNA responded within 24 hours to make the necessary fixes. I agree about the default settings and I've now updated the feedback document to include the following two high priority items. 1) Allow individuals to opt out of having their name displayed in project member lists. At the moment members who do not wish to have their name revealed to other project members have to withdraw from the project if the admin has chosen to make the member list available to the group. This should be an opt in feature and not an opt out feature. 2) Restrict the member list to project administrators by default. Making project members' names available to other project members is a major change to the previous privacy settings and should not be implemented without individual consent. As you say, MyGroups is continually evolving and I'm sure many new features will be added in the months to come, and that our feedback will be taken into account. Best wishes Debbie