Project Contributors are essential to enhance and improve the accuracy of the data for their haplogroup on PhyloGeographer.
To avoid the situation of having multiple, possibly biased versions of the truth, each haplogroup is represented by a single* team of contributors that work together to curate a single Supplemental Samples file.
*An exception to the rule above is made in the case where it is impossible to fuse data between two sources for the same haplogroup either because of unreliable deduplication or due to inconsistencies in tree structure/SNP nomenclature. In these cases PhyloGeographer may be useful to visualize differences in computed paths resulting from different branching or age estimation methodologies.
Project Contributor Pledge:
1) As a Project Contributor, I pledge to use PhyloGeographer as an objective data discovery platform and not to manipulate data to advance a racial, political, religious or other ideological agenda.
2) I recognize that the computed paths do not constitute scientific proof or disproof of a theoretical migration. Instead they are a product of a good faith attempt at applying an objective method on a large amount of data with the goal of producing sensible paths based on a simplistic method.
Uncertainty Statement: Going on modern DNA alone, neither this algorithm nor likely any algorithm is guaranteed to produce an accurate result for every or any haplogroup, given the frequency of large-scale population displacement throughout the world. Even in conjunction with ancient DNA there is uncertainty with any presumed origin, as it is always possible that an older ancestor will be found elsewhere.
3) Recognizing this inherent uncertainty, I promise to use PhyloGeographer to DISCOVER and never to PROVE or DISPROVE. When describing any theoretical computed migration, I will use language like "theoretical", "computed", or other words indicating this is not scientific fact but the result of a generalized method that may not always work well and that data may be incomplete or imperfect. This type of language seems safe: "According to the current data and phylogeographical algorithm, which is not scientific fact, a more consistent theory would be..."
4) I will provide a link to or the exact text of the Uncertainty Statement above in any thread or other communication where I discuss a theoretical migration computed by PhyloGeographer