I can see and understand what you say. I have been doing this via Internet for over 20 years (started with Fidonet), ran a couple of GenWeb county sites years past, and help others when I can as I go to the state library. But for newcomers it may seem to be a closed fisted group of people no matter how many lists they find (many dead). I even saw this happen years ago as people became stingy with their research and stongheaded about their info being the gospel. After that people went underground but then a new group emerged and now seems to have disappeared. I had wondered if the various state laws limiting documents have hampered the interest. I know I relied on them a lot and being able to simply walk to or have someone go to a courthouse and opening a book to get what I needed. But what I find disheartening is that GenWeb (rootsweb) county sites have changed coordinator hands so much that many sites have become useless - only a bunch of links to other sites or books to buy rather than posted information. That the sites can be outdated as much as 5-years. And like you said, volunteers have become scarce and sites dedicated to them doesn't even take the time to remove dead links or seek out new ones wasting people's time. I am not alone when it comes to limited income or ability to travel and obtain information especially when you still work a 9-5 job. That is when you have to depend on volunteers to help. Eric ----- Original Message ----- From: "Excalibur131" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Monday, July 14, 2008 10:09 PM Subject: Re: [VA-ROOTS] Has Genealogy Become Obsolete? > 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 > > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at > http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html