MI look-ups

[purplekat]

I absolutely agree that Dumfries and Galloway FHS does a great job and the booklets are very reasonably priced, but an advert for their service brings them not one penny.

I was thinking from the point of view that if more people went to the website and saw the publications on offer sales would increase. 

[Aonghus]

Well, purplekat, they might increase, but not as much an increase if people didn't post looked-up information in the first place.

After all, we who use RootsChat all know that family history societies exist, and we know how to find to whether a society exists, or if we don't we can ask.

I haven't seen anyone posting "is there a family history society for Dumfries, or Annan, or Ae", but I've seen lots of people posting "can you look up Name in Place".

[Aonghus]

Further to my penultimate post on this subject:

You wouldn't steal books from the library, or electricity from the power company, so why would you steal from a charity ?

If you answer, it's not stealing if it's open view, I disagree; if you see a purse lying on the ground, do you pocket it and keep it ?

When somebody posts a lookup, they're not just making it available to the person who requested it, but also to everyone else that reads that post for evermore.

How many lost sales is that ? 10, 100, 1,000 ?

[purplekat]

Well, purplekat, they might increase, but not as much an increase if people didn't post looked-up information in the first place.

I can't see it makes much difference, if people don't want to buy the booklets they won't buy them whether or not details are published on rootschat

 

haven't seen anyone posting "is there a family history society for Dumfries, or Annan, or Ae",

maybe not but I've people posting "there is a family history society in Dumfries etc" 

[csc]

i think this is a big stink about nothing i have purchased dozens of these booklets for myself and for people in new zealand america australia and canada and what is it all about if not for sharing with everybody if i was not allowed to share i would not be happy i have also paid my subscription csc

[Aonghus]

I'm quite sure that if you started putting bits of books in print published by the well commercial publishers, they would be after you as quick as anything, and we'd be seeing you reports of your court in the media.

[Ceeoh]

Aonghus

So you really don't believe I would buy the publications!  Would you like a list of what I compiled during the last 23 years?  I save up to travel to the U.K. which I manage about once every five years - a lot of time spent in Dumfriesshire where my family originate - and spend 90% of that time hunting around cemeteries, researching archives - all the usual.  Believe me, I buy those publications when I can.

Really the distance is not as irrelevent as you may consider it, because that is exactly what I do when I get there, traipse around the country, after paying my air fare, bus/train fares and accommodation, because then I can see for myself what I have read in a publication, or from other sources of information.  The old rule, confirm everything.

I have spent many hours transcribing MIs and mistakes do creep in.  I take my hat off to the dedicated folk who do all this for the love of our hobby, but even from a publication after checking for myself, I have seen errors.  We all make them.

By the way it's no use complaining to our post office!!

Ceeoh

[walterc]

csc:

I'm sure that there is a big difference in your idea of sharing with people you meet, than there is in openly saying on RootsChat for all the world to see
[quote ...]

if anyone needs info from the langholm parish memorial
i have a cd from them with the info on

i will look anything up for u

[... unquote]

I'm sure there would be a "big stink" if Langholm Archive Society decided not to distribute any more of the memorial booklets.

[Ceeoh]

Just a thought - there are MIs available from libraries in photo copy form - yes you pay for them and I think they are mostly the older cemeteries.  I found this out when visiting Lockerby library and have some wonderful data.

Ceeoh