This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: michaelpthompson Surnames: Thompson Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.thompson/7774.451.1.1.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: I guess you're right about that. I laugh when I see the TV commercials where somebody clicks on a leaf in their family tree and discovers all sorts of great information. In my experience, those leaves almost always lead to somebody's else's family tree who has copied it wholesale and has no new information, or to dozens of possible hits in some database that you can't view without spending huge amounts of money. I've only rarely gotten actual useful information in that way. There's an awful lot of information online compared to only a few years ago, but it's still not possible to just post some query and get all your questions answered with no effort. Family research still takes a lot of patience and deductive reasoning to accomplish well. I guess too many people just don't read any of the previous messages in this thread. I see hundreds of posts each with its completely unrelated bit of family to which somebody is seeking connections. And very few serious researchers even look at this thread because it's so useless. Most of us scan the subject lines for possible connections to our own search. I just get frustrated once in a while and point this out to some newbie, only to have three more post to the thread right afterward. Best wishes for 2011. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.