The system of checks by a number of people on projects such as FreeCEN means that transcription errors are minimal and the quality is consistently high. >From what I understand there are no such systems on pay per view sites. I have seen absolutely outrageous mistakes on Ancestry.com that could only have been due to hurried reading and lack of thought. I'm sure that not everybody that works for them is guilty of such sloppiness, but it is certainly there. The volunteer sites also happily ask the public to report errors, and correct them as soon as they are advised of them, unlike ppv sites. You only need to be a member of a few mailing lists to hear a lot about errors on Ancestry.com. If there are few complaints about volunteer sites I would say it is because there are far less reasons for complaint. Val ----- Original Message ----- From: "Janet" <wightway@tiscali.co.uk> To: <sct-argyll@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, May 03, 2009 9:09 PM Subject: [ARGYLL] Transcription errors. Re: SCT-ARGYLL Digest, Vol 4,Issue 70 Glensealth > Merely as an observation here, is it possible that those who use > Ancestry.com are more in touch with each other for the purposes of sharing > errors, than those who find errors in volunteer projects, FreeCEN, > FreeBMD and all the other local Family History societies who have > recruited volunteers. Perhaps its because they pay to use it. > > Janet > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > SCT-ARGYLL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com Version: 8.0.176 / Virus Database: 270.12.13/2091 - Release Date: 1/05/2009 5:52 PM

Val Burge wrote: >> I have seen absolutely outrageous mistakes on Ancestry.com that >> could only >> have been due to hurried reading and lack of thought. Its electronic transcribing, as well as folks who are reading the scans, who's language is not English who are transcribing. The Ancestry site is not made up of local historians or genealogists. Its purely commercial. The transcriptions are farmed out. The mistakes are across the board, but it does save money in being able to reduce ones likely choices, and remove some people from the searches when one goes to SP where one has to pay for their higher quality transcriptions, but far too general searches. I'm sure that >> not >> everybody that works for them is guilty of such sloppiness, but it is >> certainly there. The volunteer sites also happily ask the public to >> report >> errors, and correct them as soon as they are advised of them, unlike >> ppv >> sites. Wrong, Ancestry and SP and others give you the facility to correct entries. regards Jill Bowis www.benderloch.org.uk/forum - One Place Study on Ardchattan history, geology, ecology, genealogy, weather, webcam, local forum www.kintaline.co.uk - where we are, what we do: Kintaline Plant and Poultry Centre www.bowis.co.uk - all our family trees and a One Name Study on Bowis

This is what I mean; you have confirmed it in what you say. We hear more about the errors in Ancestry than any elsewhere. I think it has to be because people pay for it and expect more as well as being more supportive of volunteers. For the sake of clarification, I was excluding Scotland's People from my comparison. Janet ----- Original Message ----- From: "Val Burge" <valburge@iinet.net.au> To: "Janet" <wightway@tiscali.co.uk>; <sct-argyll@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, May 03, 2009 12:34 PM Subject: Re: [ARGYLL] Transcription errors. Re: SCT-ARGYLL Digest, Vol 4,Issue 70 Glensealth : The system of checks by a number of people on projects such as FreeCEN means : that transcription errors are minimal and the quality is consistently high. : From what I understand there are no such systems on pay per view sites. : : I have seen absolutely outrageous mistakes on Ancestry.com that could only : have been due to hurried reading and lack of thought. I'm sure that not : everybody that works for them is guilty of such sloppiness, but it is : certainly there. The volunteer sites also happily ask the public to report : errors, and correct them as soon as they are advised of them, unlike ppv : sites. : : You only need to be a member of a few mailing lists to hear a lot about : errors on Ancestry.com. If there are few complaints about volunteer sites I : would say it is because there are far less reasons for complaint. : : Val : : ----- Original Message ----- : From: "Janet" <wightway@tiscali.co.uk> : To: <sct-argyll@rootsweb.com> : Sent: Sunday, May 03, 2009 9:09 PM : Subject: [ARGYLL] Transcription errors. Re: SCT-ARGYLL Digest, Vol 4,Issue : 70 Glensealth : : : > Merely as an observation here, is it possible that those who use : > Ancestry.com are more in touch with each other for the purposes of sharing : > errors, than those who find errors in volunteer projects, FreeCEN, : > FreeBMD and all the other local Family History societies who have : > recruited volunteers. Perhaps its because they pay to use it. : > : > Janet : > : > : > ------------------------------- : > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to : > SCT-ARGYLL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the : > quotes in the subject and the body of the message : : : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : No virus found in this incoming message. : Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com : Version: 8.0.176 / Virus Database: 270.12.13/2091 - Release Date: 1/05/2009 : 5:52 PM :