Hello Sharon, I don't think the situation is hopeless, I just think we need to accept that it can take years to attract the needed test subjects. I've had some standing offers out there since 2004, and only a handful have come to fruition, but they have succeeded. As you say, sometimes people with solid paper connections to a European progenitor don't think they need to test. I will challenge these people by saying *no one*, no matter how solid their paper trail, can be certain they don't have an NPE unless they test. This prompts some to jump in and test, but others to resist even more strongly. To them I say, get tested in private, without telling anyone. If you get the result you expect, you can proclaim the indisputable proof of your ancestry. If not, no one need ever know. If all the offers for testing I have out there get accepted, all at once, I will need to take out a loan... Diana > -----Original Message----- > From: y-dna-projects-bounces@rootsweb.com On Behalf Of Sharon Fontenot > Sent: Saturday, July 03, 2010 1:58 AM > To: y-dna-projects@rootsweb.com > Subject: Re: [Y-DNA-projects] Country of Origin Participation > > Hi Diana - > > What I meant was that for every success story I heard (*I > really did hear > one or two*), there were several stories of frustration, > miscommunication, > and failure. Even though I'd thought I had a workable plan, > it made me > realize that I may not yet have the skills necessary to pull it off. > > This point you brought up in your previous post is something > we simply have > to realize and accept: > *People living in Europe know **where they came from (may > still be living > in the ancestral regions), so feel no **need to test**.* > > The harder part is figuring out how to interest someone in > DNA testing when > they already know their family history for hundreds of years > back and take > that knowledge for granted. > > I always expected to pay for several tests. > > Sharon > > > > > > > On Sat, Jul 3, 2010 at 12:04 AM, Diana Gale Matthiesen > <DianaGM@dgmweb.net>wrote: > > > Sharon, > > > > I'm not certain I understand what the negative feedback was > about. Can you > > explain further? > > > > As for approaching strangers re testing, I agree that must > be handled > > carefully. > > My solution is to put out offers for testing -- on my > project web sites and > > the > > various genealogy message boards -- then wait to get a > taker. I've waited > > years > > in many cases, but I have gotten some takers this way. > > > > If genealogy takes patience, DNA testing for genealogical > purposes takes a > > *lot* > > of patience. > > > > Diana > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: y-dna-projects-bounces@rootsweb.com On Behalf Of > Sharon Fontenot > > > Sent: Friday, July 02, 2010 6:31 PM > > > To: rt-sails@comcast.net; y-dna-projects@rootsweb.com > > > Subject: Re: [Y-DNA-projects] Country of Origin Participation > > > > > > Ralph - > > > > > > My project is still new and very small, but I have intended > > > to do this. I > > > obtained permission from a local history association in the > > > area I'm most > > > interested in to post on their messageboard, but at the same > > > time I got > > > negative feedback from people in the US who've recruited UK > > > participants. > > > Hearing that men would/might expect to be paid something in > > > addition to the > > > free Y67 test made me wonder if I could really afford to do > > > this on my own. > > > My plan was to find one person with our surname who was > interested in > > > family history and ask if there is another family they've > > > wondered if they > > > were related to - then offer to test both. > > > > > > There's also something that you alluded to - more than one > > > person told me I > > > needed to be very careful about how I worded the offer to > > > avoid offending > > > prospective participants. > > > > > > I haven't totally given up on the idea, so I'd like to hear > > > any success > > > stories people have to offer. > > > > > > Sharon > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------- > > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > > Y-DNA-PROJECTS-request@rootsweb.com with the word > 'unsubscribe' without > > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > Y-DNA-PROJECTS-request@rootsweb.com with the word > 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body > of the message >