Hi Pauline To my mind I don't think its a problem of ease of access as that still presents many problems, although in some areas of the country its getting better (but we always want more don't we) No, I think its more the ease that people have in sucking up information into their trees that is more of a problem, they find a person who *might* fit their requirements so with a click of the mouse they are in, often followed by a string of others similarly linked because they *look about right* To me its lack of care that is the problem mostly I was once told that a person was added to a tree "just to see what happened" , I was told that "I am sure someone will tell me if its wrong" So its little wonder that some trees are a little shaky at the roots It seems that quantity is the favoured factor, rather than quality I don't blame the big companies (before someone throws that in :-) as they can hardly be expected to tell prospective customers they will be at it for years, never finish and have much grief in the process of compiling their tree <g> Nivard Ovington in Cornwall (UK) On 16/03/2015 14:30, Pauline Taylor wrote: > Hi Nivard, > > Basically I agree with you but I think that this ease of access to some > information on these sites is what the problem is for beginners. We, in > those good old days, soon learnt how, why, when and where to look for > things, and we did not expect instant answers, now, it seems everything is > expected to be available online when we want it to be, but, unfortunately, > it isn't, and it never will be. Thank heaven, say I, for people like you on > the Lists who will always try to help when we get stuck. > > For me it is the pleasure of the hunt which keeps me interested in research, > if it all magically appeared overnight without any work or effort I would be > bitterly disappointed. > > Pauline.