Reflection on Today's Society

[Alcluith]

Having spent the last few years away from general research and concentration on military research one thing has been very noticeable.
Those who are enthusiastic about a certain section of history are only too willing to assist and often share information that they have paid for without any thought on recouping any of their costs.
Then there are the others - that the only motivation is to make money either by selling books or selling information, this group will not part with a scrap of information or even guidance without looking for cash.
The worst of all is Ancestry who blatantly sells information knowing full well that it contains nothing of interest to those purchasing that information.
My advice to any researcher would be try to find your information elsewhere before going to those people/organisations as with persistence, you will usually find the information and more without have to pay those ridiculous prices.
Don’t get me wrong I have no objection to paying a reasonable price for relevant information but why be ripped off by unscrupulous organisations and individuals.

[Russell]

I quite agree about current trends in society today. There are definitely two camps with the money grubbers beginning to outweigh the altruists.
At the dentists the other day when I found out that both dentist and dental assistant were beginning family tree searches I was blowing the trumpet for TalkingScot (naturally ). When I mentioned that there was no cost to join they were surprised then asked me what we charged for our services
Both were very surprised that anyone would offer information and assistance FREE

Needless to say our web address was hastily noted for immediate exploration

Russell

[trish1]

I am wondering why you single out Ancestry as a site/organisation to be part of your complaint. For all the $$$ (I'm in Australia) that I have spent on genealogy research my best value for money - by a long shot has come from Ancestry.

If one is to complain about research costs - the fact that we are all obligated to provide information to civil registration authorities and then have to pay to get it back probably annoys me as much as anything else. Thus said, I accept that there are costs in providing the information I want & where I think value is given I will pay. In times past those of us researching from Australia had to physically travel to the UK to advance our research, which was much more expensive than some of the options available today.

I am always grateful to those who provide information & assistance free of charge & am always willing to exchange/provide any information I can to help others. I also accept that there are some resources that are only available for a fee - as in many other parts of modern society. Some people are professional researchers, it is their occupation and their livelihood - I do not believe they have an obligation to give away their research.

Trish

[Heather]

My two cents worth.

I am located in Canada, since starting this "little hobby", in addition to my Ancestry subscribtion I have spent
my fair share on Scotland's People credits not to mention making 3 trips to Scotland already to do some local research
within the last few years.

I think what is a reasonable cost is really tied to the individual situation. For my money, the Ancestry subscription
has been worth the amount that I spent, simply due to unlimited census searches and the military records, not
to mention the incoming passenger lists.

If I lived in the UK I might feel differently about the cost, but for me it is all money well spent on a hobby
that gives me a great deal of enjoyment.



Happy camper here !

Heather

[Rockford]

...
At the dentists the other day ...... I was blowing the trumpet for TalkingScot

I'm quite impressed that you could say TalkingScot and genealogy with a set of someone else's fingers in your mouth. That's real dedication!!

One the subject of accessing information, I agree that Ancestry has been very good for me, both through a couple of pay-per-view memberships and now a six-monthly membership that i have with my new tree software. There are areas of information where I have 'clicked' to be told nothing in particular, but I'm wise to these now. Mind you, like Heather, my searches have been confined to census records and military records.

There are a number of free sources I've used and I'm lucky to have had great help from others, through this site and elsewhere. I suppose for me it is about striking the right balance between the two.

Best wishes

Brian

[Alan SHARP]

Greetings from Down Under.

As the Realtors’ say it can be all about Location, Location, Location.

I find that where communities are well established with services over a number of generations, it’s all about the here and now, and what’s my labour/endeavours worth for me. There is no sense of history and how “communities of interest” have found it very productive to barter and share for the common good. Seasonal harvests, improved water supplies, local roads/bridges, Schools, Halls, Churches, Fire Services, First Aid & Medical Services, Sport & Recreation. All being achieved with a voluntary community drive. This ethic still being very strong in the so called New World areas and especially so in less populated Rural areas. Also areas of low employment. Local / State Governance was never seen as the total answer, such being the demand upon taxes.

Also personal knowledge of the privations of the Great Depression, WWI & WWII, where communities were forced to help each other without hope of renumeration are rapidly dying. Too much of societies infrastructure is now taken for granted, and seen to be ‘as of right’.

Such are the fruits of our generation.

PS. In the field of Genealogical Research, where would we be now, had it not been for the beliefs of the LDS. They were the ones who set out to copy records on a global scale, and all they have charged me, was the nominal fee to import the relevant film into NZ, for all who to enquire to see, and again another nominal fee to reproduce the record of interest. Presumably thousands of hours of labour was required.

Alan SHARP.

edit dieing/dying AS.

[Heidihei]

Hi
I have been very lucky - I started with my Newman ansesters in Portland, Dorset and found the Dorset OPC - and the free BMD [can appreciat the 10 of 1000 of volenter houers gone in to the making of them .]as well as a wonderful distant cousin in Canada that done a lot of work already. I also spent hours in a small LDS room looking at films - and this was thanks to a Scottish born man and his English wife that would open the doors weekly sometime only for me.
The Digital Arkive in Norway is free and with some famely there I have been lucky there too
Ansectory I have only used in Liberys -but did find some useful info. Using SP in the last 2 weeks is the first time I used a payed site. Not use to reliting "credits" to money - it away -I will learn.
My late Uncle had done some nice ground work on the Menzies of Balornock so I was of to a good start. Now with the wonderful people on TalkingScot, I am reciving a lot of wonderful help, and with all the experins you all have I am learning new ways of looking and finding information as well. You all are also a reflection on today's Society - and you spend hours giving your time and experiens to others including me. - Thankyou Heidi

[Currie]

The furthest I’ve ever been in pursuit of genealogy has been about 70 miles as the crow flies. The only times I spend money on genealogy are during moments of temporary insanity. Claims about the cheapness of various sources compared to the cost of actually travelling to Europe or wherever are totally meaningless to me.

As for Ancestry, have a look at this special offer through the National Trust. http://www.ancestry.co.uk/nat_trust2010 ... _lid=42796 That’s not much for 12 months access to the whole world. It’s not their fault that they don’t have more Scottish material. It’s all to do with a rather bizarre relict of the dark ages called Crown Copyright which seems to expire about the time that hell freezes over. Hopefully they’ll dump it as part of this review. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11695416

There is really no comparison between organisations such as FamilySearch, and FreeCen and FreeBMD and all the other voluntary organisations all across the world who give the time freely, and the vast number of Genealogist Businesses that are now popping up like mushrooms in a dung heap.

The big offender here seems to be the National Archives which scatters the nation’s treasures about willy nilly to whoever will throw them the most money. Even the records of those who died for King and Country are treated with not the slightest reverence.

And now the British Library seems to have caught the disease. They had a beautiful arrangement with education organisations Gale-Cengage and JISC that produced Part 1 and Part 2 of 19th Century British Library Newspapers. Now the British Library’s head has been turned by an organisation with an intense interest in its own wealth and not the slightest in education. The thought of what will happen there fills me with dread.

The sort of thing that I like to see is the current arrangement between the National Library of Scotland and the Internet Archive where huge amounts of their material is being put online and is freely available to everyone. I could also point to similar things that National and State Archives and Libraries are doing in my own country and in many other places.

As for the professional genealogists I guess that wanting to turn a hobby into a career, or just wanting to have a job they actually like doing, is a fair and reasonable excuse.

All the best,
Alan