Eric, let me start by saying that genealogy is not dying out, taking a
backseat, becoming obsolete, etc. I'm probably going to get wrapped around
the axle here, but there are a variety of reasons why you might think
genealogy is on a downhill slide.
Lists, such as those on Ancestry.com and Genealogy.com, are sometimes
cyclic. They run hot for months on end, then seem to just stop. Others pick
up from no posts at all, to being a booming list. This is caused by many
reasons. People run out of things to say about a given line or new people
have many questions about a line that hasn't had much discussion. I've seen
a few instances where list users seemed to go into research mode at the same
time; nothing gets said for a year or more; then they all stumble over each
other making as many posts as ever.
Some people have gone underground. They found that so much of the
information on various lists, message boards, family trees, etc. was
incorrect that they couldn't stomach being a part of it any longer. They
still do genealogy, might be active at their local society or library and
are always on the search for new information, but they do it privately. They
are no longer willing to be a part of the larger community that believes
everything they read and copy/paste bogus information to their genealogy
file.
Volunteers have become scarce. Some were taken advantage of by users who
wanted the world at their feet, but gave nothing in return. The same is true
of RAOGK. Many times a newcomer would almost demand that a volunteer do
something right now. They didn't use basic etiquette in their requests and
didn't seem to understand the meaning of the word volunteer.
Some of the mailing lists have died down; while others are still booming and
inactive ones get a jump start. Consider the thousands of mailing lists
available. Newcomers become overwhelmed by the sheer number of lists, while
those that have been around for awhile may have moved on to a different
family line. Also, many folks that have been around for awhile have found
their own small group of people that they email weekly and even daily. Most
of them contribute to each other, resolve problems, try to figure out an
approach for new problems, and get each others family line on the straight
and narrow. Some stay in contact by phone, passing information back and
forth, information that may never be seen by others.
Then there is the subject of citations and sources. How many times have you
wondered, and maybe even asked, where someone got some piece of information?
How many usable answers did you get? People that have been doing genealogy
for years understand the importance of citations and sources. Yet I would
bet that 9 out of 10 newcomers think "Who cares?" or "What's the harm if I
can't prove where my information came from?" Not intentionally perhaps, but
many online sources of material seem to foster that line of thinking. Some
people will make the effort to help newcomers down the correct path, but
many get tired of beating their head against the masses.
Genealogy is still booming. It might be harder to recognize now, but it's
still going strong.
Just some of many thoughts I have on this subject.
Tom
Eastern Shore & More
http://easternshoremore.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Eric Huffstutler" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, July 14, 2008 8:42 PM
Subject: Has Genealogy Become Obsolete?
I hope someone can chime in and relate to my question and concern. Has
genealogy taken a back seat or just dieing out due to various state
regulations about records?
I say this because...
1) Various surname or area lists (like those on Ancestry or Genealogy) often
only show a few posts per year and sometimes only 1 or 2 posts a year!
2) Volunteers are becoming scarce, GenWeb counties have none available, and
even RAOGK listings often bounce back or get no reply.
3) The volume of email connected to genealogy research had become slim.
Has the #1 hobby 5-10 years ago become obsolete?
Eric S. Huffstutler
Richmond, VA
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