When you contribute your family tree to the World Family Tree project, your file will be processed and eventually published on a CD. First the file will be checked to see if it can be read or not. Then it will be checked for certain types of errors. Finally it will be privatized, a process in which most information about living individuals is deleted so that only the name and position in the family will be shown on the CD. This protects these individuals from nefarious people who may choose to use this type of information for illegal purposes. You may update your file periodically. But, the update will not be published on the same CD as your original file. Anyone who owns a computer with a CD-ROM that can run Family Tree Maker or our Family Archive Viewer can view these CDs.

Publishing your genealogy information on a home page on our web site has a different purpose and is shared with a different set of computer users. People who like to use the Internet can search out and view your site through various methods. When you publish information to your web site, you are in complete control. You choose which of your information you want to publish and which you do not. You may update your information as often as you want or delete one report and upload another as your genealogical interests change. Because you are the one publishing your own information on the web site, you are responsible for the content of your web site. It is important to keep the privacy of living individuals in mind when you publish your data. You should delete private information before uploading reports and trees either manually or via one of several shareware programs designed to help in the privatization process.