To get a smart match (which you need for a merge) you need more than a name, which is all that the parent smart match provides. Neither does it say whether the name is forename or surname which smart match seems to care about. The only way forward then is to try find someone with a reliable tree and compare the trees manually, which is to say it a bit careful; cumbersome
I have attached an image illustrating the problem.
The reason that we don't have this option is mainly for security reasons, so that people don't copy whole trees and lots of information without permission. Like you said, if you want to copy relatives from a tree, you need to contact the owner of the site, request a membership and copy the details manually.
I don't completly buy that explaination. With the suggested feature, it just makes what is already possible easier. If you compare trees you dont need to request a membership to see the members (if the site is open). And if the site is open, why would we need permission?
The explanation for not allowing copying of relatives from matched trees does not explain the negative policy. MyHeritage could enable the feature and make it's use contingent on mutual consent of the managers of both trees.
The current policy makes the long lists of "smartmatches" pretty much a nuisance for me.
