Great job Cheri. Should be clear to all now. 😊 Sam (Camas, WA)
From: Cheri Mello Sent: Friday, June 23, 2017 9:15 AM To: Azores Genealogy; [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: [AZORES-Genealogy] DNA Testing Companies: An analogy (Cross posted to Azores, Madeira, and IslandRoutes lists) Here are some department stores in America. Some may be in Canada too: Let's say you find a pair of Levi's (jeans) on sale at Sears. You have a question, but you see no available clerk at Sears. So you set the jeans down and go to Macy's to ask the clerk there about the sale on the Levi's jeans at Sears. The above scenario is ridiculous and you know that a clerk in one store cannot answer a question about a sale at another store, even if they all sell Levi's jeans. Now, let's say you have walked into a thrift store. They sell donated clothes that others have purchased from many department stores such as Sears, J.C. Penney's and Macy's. You spot your favorite shirt that you ruined 5 years ago. It's just like the one you bought at J.C. Penney's. But you have a question. Since you recognize the brand as one that is sold exclusively at Penney's, you drive over to Penney's to ask the clerk a question about your favorite shirt that you bought 5 years ago and ruined. And you all know that's completely ridiculous too. The example above is fairly easy to understand since they involve actual brick-and-mortar stores that have familiarity to at least the American list readers. Now let's switch gears. We have DNA testing companies (who have an Internet presence). The main 3 players currently are: These three companies, Family Tree DNA (FTDNA), AncestryDNA, and 23 and Me, all sell DNA tests, just like Sears, Penney's, and Macy's sell Levi's jeans. Out of the 3 DNA testing companies, one has many "store clerks" and the other 2 stores you can't find a clerk in sight. FTDNA has many "store clerks" called administrators (or admins, for short). They are there to answer questions about the DNA tests you purchased at FTDNA. If you purchased a DNA test at AncestryDNA, don't ask your FTDNA admin a question about it. Or about 23 and Me. That's like seeing the Levi's in Sears but going over to Macy's to ask the clerk a question. Also, you can take your DNA to the thrift shop. This is a web site called GedMatch. You can download your raw data from any of the big 3 testing companies and put it on GedMatch. Just like you can purchase clothes from Sears, Penney's or Macy's and donate them to a thrift store. But you are not going to find something at the thrift store and drive back to Macy's to ask a question. So if you upload at GedMatch, don't expect your FTDNA admin to help you with GedMatch questions and problems. The Azores, Madeira (and other Portuguese based projects) were founded 12 years ago on Family Tree DNA. I'm a Family Tree DNA admin. I'm a volunteer. I spend anywhere from 10 to maybe 20 hours a week helping people. You don't publicly see this, as I am helping one individual at a time with their own personal results. That individual tested with FTDNA. So if you want to test with another testing company, that's fine. Don't expect the FTDNA admin to help you with your results. That's like seeing the Levi's on sale at Sears and asking the Macy's clerk for help. It's the same for GedMatch as well. Luckily, FTDNA can accept DNA results from AncestryDNA and 23 and Me. So if you want help from an FTDNA admin, transfer your results over to FTDNA. Now we all know that many store clerks are part time workers and some work at more than one store. Some FTDNA admins have tested at other companies and are willing to help with those results. Most do not. For those that do, many do charge a consultant fee, as it is beyond the scope of what they do as a volunteer admin with FTDNA. They are acting as a consultant across companies and not solely as a volunteer admin with FTDNA. Hope this analogy clears up some confusion. Cheri Mello, Family Tree DNA Admin (volunteer) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Azores Genealogy" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/azores. --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Azores Genealogy" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/azores.
