To dg:
Yes, I DO know of you volunteers, acting on local levels to help us. And I also know of RAGK, and the dedication of locals to help SERIOUS reseachers.
I have sent many checks (over 35 yrs) to local folks and Societies, including SASE's etc.
I have also worked within local/regional groups to get data saved and archived. I appreciate you all immensely applaud your efforts and feel your pain.
However, there now are a lot of pseudo-genealogists offering to do lookups and work for others.These folks are within the "clueless" catagory. They grab data from the Net, offer no primary source documentation and even if no money changes hands, it strokes their ego.
The fact that they don't know a primary document from a GedCom seems to be a non-issue with them.
" I is now a Genealogist" is their mantra.
To the rest of the Gentle Readers( thx to Ms Manners for that title):
It is NOT up to us to teach you HOW to research. That is what classes, seminars and books are for. Take one, read a book, practice getting it right before you waste cyberspace with Gedcoms.
The basic rules stay the same, but each locale will carry it's own special set of 'glitches' for you to learn to wade through. One cannot help you with MS problems if our experience is in MA!
Has anyone (other than Jeff and a few more experienced researchers) ever thought of joining Genealogy Societies, locally, State and regional?
Yes...it WILL cost you some money, costs vary.
But - Anyone expecting to find the right information, all for FREE is in the wrong hobby/avocation.
It doesn't matter if you are subscribing to a net-site and risking junk data, or joining a local group who will assist your search (hopefully with correct data). Bottom line is - you are gonna have to shell out some money to get what you need!
WHAT the "return on your dollars" is, is the issue.
I prefer to go directly to the SOURCE, pay for it and lessen the risk of finding junk.
Now....FREE is good ( I like FREE stuff, if it is accurate) but with the current state of Net-genealogy, FREE can also equate to junk.
Does anyone know that Chalkley's 3 volume work on Scots-Irish in VA is on-line? That it contains vast amounts of non-S/I data?
Or that Savage's works are there too?
Or that there are actual BOOKS scanned and available on line?
How about the Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild ? (A Rootsweb project, with applause!).
That you can subscribe to NEHGS and get access to their archived publications and Jounals spanning over 150 years?
These Local/regional groups have amassed archives that blow your socks off, and a lot of them will NEVER make it onto the net.
Why? Many reasons, including not enough volunteers to enter, check and recheck the data. Most of them require proper documention of your work, to even get into the running for publication.
Gee Whiz - what a concept....ACCURACY
Add to that, they make money selling their Marriage, Death Record etc books, directly to the public.
They also publish Newsletters - a wonderful way to discover what they archive and will help you find.
There is no earthly reason to give away what is their COPYRIGHTED primary source of revenue (and they ARE non-profit).
Many local Societies also have spent a lot of time, building websites, putting data online. But it takes searching to find them, making local contacts and building a rapport with people who will walk/drive to the Courthouse and find you that hidden document.
Most local groups are still affiliated with Roots/GenWeb but a lot of them are seeing their hard work stolen and spewed (sometimes with glaring errors or someone else claiming it is their personal work) all over the Net.
They are burned..financially and personally!
"In the beginning" there was Rootsweb/GenWeb, and they were FREE. Then Ancestry bought Rootsweb, and while it IS still free, it is also controlled by Ancestry policies.
Ancestry (and others) is a "for profit" company, and there is nothing wrong with that.
However, misleading advertising sucks in the gullible, but builds the black ink on the P & L.
THAT is the issue for most of us.
They usually have no clue - and no committment - to advancing Genealogy research. It is a business venture, with the ultimate fall-out (to us) simply not considered when the Board makes a decision.
Analogy time: Knitting with rotten yarn; building a house with unseasoned wood.
As long as the commerical sites allow undocumented data to be submitted to them (for culling and re-selling), drag their feet bringing advertised enhancements to a point where they are usable, and suck money from a gullible public, we will rant-on.
Happy Holidays...and remember: There will be many more Genealogy Programs given as gifts this year.
May Heaven Help Us
Yes, I DO know of you volunteers, acting on local levels to help us. And I also know of RAGK, and the dedication of locals to help SERIOUS reseachers.
I have sent many checks (over 35 yrs) to local folks and Societies, including SASE's etc.
I have also worked within local/regional groups to get data saved and archived. I appreciate you all immensely applaud your efforts and feel your pain.
However, there now are a lot of pseudo-genealogists offering to do lookups and work for others.These folks are within the "clueless" catagory. They grab data from the Net, offer no primary source documentation and even if no money changes hands, it strokes their ego.
The fact that they don't know a primary document from a GedCom seems to be a non-issue with them.
" I is now a Genealogist" is their mantra.
To the rest of the Gentle Readers( thx to Ms Manners for that title):
It is NOT up to us to teach you HOW to research. That is what classes, seminars and books are for. Take one, read a book, practice getting it right before you waste cyberspace with Gedcoms.
The basic rules stay the same, but each locale will carry it's own special set of 'glitches' for you to learn to wade through. One cannot help you with MS problems if our experience is in MA!
Has anyone (other than Jeff and a few more experienced researchers) ever thought of joining Genealogy Societies, locally, State and regional?
Yes...it WILL cost you some money, costs vary.
But - Anyone expecting to find the right information, all for FREE is in the wrong hobby/avocation.
It doesn't matter if you are subscribing to a net-site and risking junk data, or joining a local group who will assist your search (hopefully with correct data). Bottom line is - you are gonna have to shell out some money to get what you need!
WHAT the "return on your dollars" is, is the issue.
I prefer to go directly to the SOURCE, pay for it and lessen the risk of finding junk.
Now....FREE is good ( I like FREE stuff, if it is accurate) but with the current state of Net-genealogy, FREE can also equate to junk.
Does anyone know that Chalkley's 3 volume work on Scots-Irish in VA is on-line? That it contains vast amounts of non-S/I data?
Or that Savage's works are there too?
Or that there are actual BOOKS scanned and available on line?
How about the Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild ? (A Rootsweb project, with applause!).
That you can subscribe to NEHGS and get access to their archived publications and Jounals spanning over 150 years?
These Local/regional groups have amassed archives that blow your socks off, and a lot of them will NEVER make it onto the net.
Why? Many reasons, including not enough volunteers to enter, check and recheck the data. Most of them require proper documention of your work, to even get into the running for publication.
Gee Whiz - what a concept....ACCURACY
Add to that, they make money selling their Marriage, Death Record etc books, directly to the public.
They also publish Newsletters - a wonderful way to discover what they archive and will help you find.
There is no earthly reason to give away what is their COPYRIGHTED primary source of revenue (and they ARE non-profit).
Many local Societies also have spent a lot of time, building websites, putting data online. But it takes searching to find them, making local contacts and building a rapport with people who will walk/drive to the Courthouse and find you that hidden document.
Most local groups are still affiliated with Roots/GenWeb but a lot of them are seeing their hard work stolen and spewed (sometimes with glaring errors or someone else claiming it is their personal work) all over the Net.
They are burned..financially and personally!
"In the beginning" there was Rootsweb/GenWeb, and they were FREE. Then Ancestry bought Rootsweb, and while it IS still free, it is also controlled by Ancestry policies.
Ancestry (and others) is a "for profit" company, and there is nothing wrong with that.
However, misleading advertising sucks in the gullible, but builds the black ink on the P & L.
THAT is the issue for most of us.
They usually have no clue - and no committment - to advancing Genealogy research. It is a business venture, with the ultimate fall-out (to us) simply not considered when the Board makes a decision.
Analogy time: Knitting with rotten yarn; building a house with unseasoned wood.
As long as the commerical sites allow undocumented data to be submitted to them (for culling and re-selling), drag their feet bringing advertised enhancements to a point where they are usable, and suck money from a gullible public, we will rant-on.
Happy Holidays...and remember: There will be many more Genealogy Programs given as gifts this year.
May Heaven Help Us
