> > I have subscribed to Ancestry.com since around 2000, and, for the > > same time, I have kept my family records on Family Tree Maker. > > > > After 30 years of military service, 8 years of working at two other > > jobs, 1 year losing a battle with Hurricane Katrina, 2 years of > > losing my parents, wife and I spent 2008 building our house and > > settling down. > > > > After moving in our first project was to attack the 12 cartons of > > photos, documents, diplomas, marriage licenses, and notes that we > > collected developed over the years. > > > > I ordered a brand new Family Tree Maker and loaded it on the > > computer. FORGET IT. > > > > The newest FTM -- I think it's FTM 2008 -- IS A MESS. DAMN NEAR > > UNUSABLE. > > > > I switched to Legacy and will not look back. > > > > Then there's the matter of the Ancestry.com search engine. As best > > I can tell, over the past 3-4 months, they have changed their online > > search engine three times and now they have settled on the absolute > > worst possible search. > > > > I tried to find an uncle of mine to verify his death date in the SS > > death index. With the new Ancestry.com site, I got over 50 hits on > > his name, none of which was my uncle. I switched to the > > FamilySearch site and found him in 30 seconds. > > > > Guess this is what happens when you employ a shop full of computer > > nerds who feel that they ABSOLUTELY MUST "improve" things. > > > > "A Nonnie Moose" <moose@nonnie.com> > > I sort of "stumbled" onto this site a while back. From your "rant" > you may be interested in reading what Anne Mitchell has to say about > searching on Ancestry. Anne is the person in charge of the Ancestry > Search Engine development! > > http://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/category/ancestry-com/features/ > > http://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/author/amitchell/ > > Anne Mitchell > > Anne Mitchell is a product manager for search at Ancestry.com. Feel > free to contact her with your thoughts about search. She can't help > you find your long lost ancestors - she's still searching for her > own, but thoughts on how to improve search functionality are always > appreciated. Her email is amitchell at tgn.com. > > Let me know how you come out on this? > > "Young Snodgrass" <young.snodgrass@verizon.net> There are several ways to search ancestry, you have to dig through and find the one best for you. When you find it make a short cut to it. Same with the image viewer. Ancestry keeps asking if I want to upgrade to the most recent viewer, I am satisfied with the original and am still using it. Ancestry vs Family search. I use both. Ancestry seems a little better for pre 1900 records. Family Search seems to be limited to records from about 1900 to present. It also makes a difference as to the location that your family lived. I have one branch that lived in western Kentucky and another that lived in northwestern Ohio. For the Kentucky branch Ancestry is best, for the Ohio branch Family search is best. I think the bottom line is you must use the tools that gives the best results in the given situation, but don't forget the other tools because they have their specialties. Keith Nuttle <keith_nuttle@sbcglobal.net>