I'm as interested in genealogy today as I was 15-20 yrs. ago when I began tracing my family history. We traveled across the U.S., searching hundreds of court house records in many States, interviewing people in towns where our ancestors lived, walking cemeteries, reading thousands of records in libraries, we had to slow down. That was before the internet. Today most of the research is via the computer. I've subscribed to dozens of Rootsweb lists. I've posted hundreds of queries. Practically none are answered. My family is not large, few did anything noteworthy, so I understand why I seldom receive a reply. I was glad to be able to research Ancestry and other sources on the internet. I've found it relaxing and worthwhile to use my subscription to Ancestry to help others in their research. I have an ulterior motive I guess, because I think I'll find some of the elusive info I need. In the meantime, perhaps I can provide a clue for someone else's search into their family roots. I try to answer as many e-mails as I can. I subscribe to a number of Rootsweb lists, but there have been times I'm dropped because of technical reasons, I suppose. I don't think interest in genealogy has died. It seems family history and genealogy was an activity of the older generation for a long while. The younger people have other interests. I've noticed fewer postings on every list. Hopefully that will change. The Rootsweb lists should not cease even with reduced involvement. juanita > I didn't see this post so trying again... > > A while back I asked the question if Genealogy was Dead? It caused a > flurry of responses most saying that it wasn't. > > I am reviving this question and asking if it isn't dead, where has > everyone gone? > > I have been working online since pre Internet days and ran a BBS Hub > in Richmond, VA that included genealogy areas. I was a coordinator for > several Rootsweb county sites also in the past so have seen activity > come and go. > > Rootsweb is the oldest Internet based genealogy mail list and the core > is ROOTS-L. All one has to do is visit the Monthly Indexes Archives > and see how interest and/or activity has dramatically dropped in the > past few years. > > http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/index/ROOTS [1] > > For example... starting in 1996 there were an average of between > 3,000-4,000 posts per month. In 1997 it dropped slightly but was still > between 2,000-3,000 per month. By year 2000 things dropped below 1,000 > and was on a steady decline until by 2009 there are only between > 200-300 per month - nearly 1,500% drop in 10 years! > > So, if people aren't utilizing Rootsweb any longer and doubt with the > economy that people are flocking to pay premium prices for places like > Ancestry, where are people sharing information online? Is there a new > clearinghouse? > > Eric