I can relate to the Ancestry hits thing Don. And sometimes it is sorted
in a way that better relative hits are further down the list than the
top ones.
Genealogy.com is even worse with the sort thing on their side bar. You
give it variables to seek and it totally ignores them!
I remember the days when all we had were ListServ (pre Rootsweb)
volunteer and host supplied databases, KindredKonnections, and the LDS
site and that was about it. We have come a LONG way via Internet but
now seems to be reversing course and as one person indicated, Ancestry
is turning into a monopoly.
If they can afford to buy all of these databases and so many are
registering, why not offer "lower" fees and/or monthly payments (not
yearly charges) and get more subscribers who will also contribute more?
me, I can't afford them and as I indicated, the State Library has access
but their hours are 9-5 (I work 9-5) and Saturdays with them are
sporadic with various hosted events locking patrons out. Very
inconvenient.
-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Donald E King
Sent: Wednesday, November 03, 2010 4:19 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] Is Genealogy Dead?
Personally, I do not care whether the site is free or not. Actually,
Ancestry.com does have operating expenses. What I regret are the
incorrect data. Send an e-mail to the poster and almost guaranteed that
you will not receive a response that generally means that the person
copied the data from somebody else or their e-mail is out-of-date. One
other thing that irritates me is that you try a lookup and you indicate
that you want data on a person in order to completely cover a range from
1650-1800. You will get those, but you will also get inundated with
people born after 1900. Thus Ancestry can balloon the number of hits you
get.
Some data contain death dates older than birth dates.
The LDS data are free. I am not LDS, buy I appreciate greatly the
service that they provide. If a person uses only the "official" (parish
registers et al) data, they can better rely on the information.
Lastly, as I could go on, some of these free sites appear to be selling
out to Ancestry and those Public ID sites which promise to provide
"dirty information" on you. Enter the name of someone in your genealogy
whom you are trying to find and you likely will land in Ancestry or one
of these public disclosure sites.
Enough!
Don
PS : a few days ago I attempted to update my e-mail on VA-HIST.
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