tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849506599116665235.post7259863765189303703..comments2024-02-06T01:45:26.884-06:00Comments on The We Tree Genealogy Blog: Time to Pop a Cap in the Term "Drive-by Genealogist"Amy Coffin, MLIShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00612044786240692282noreply@blogger.comBlogger86125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849506599116665235.post-49939898588214098352012-12-08T12:38:31.036-06:002012-12-08T12:38:31.036-06:00I'm one of those who likes to encourage new fa...I'm one of those who likes to encourage new family historians and genealogists to cite their sources, and I put it in the context of "Don't make the mistakes I made!" I made some doozies when I was new! And I let them know that they'll make their own mistakes, anyway, as that's how they'll learn. I think there is a middle ground where we can gently and with humor and empathy bring the newcomers along, hopefully helping them avoid some of the pains we ourselves went through. But we also have to let them make their own mistakes so that they will learn -- and will have stories to share with good humor with the next generation of new arrivals. We don't have to be geneaNazis about it, though. Well said.Karen Packard Rhodeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07641711434283636830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849506599116665235.post-44806131830943116972012-11-29T14:47:48.573-06:002012-11-29T14:47:48.573-06:00One must never forget what it feels like to be ...One must never forget what it feels like to be 'new' at something:new kid in school, new at a job, new at genealogy! Reach out your hand, offer help and the reward comes back tenfold! Genealogy Societies all over need to read your message and they may figure out why their memberships are declining! Great job on the article and a message to be heeded by all the 'professionals!' Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17004641332673276757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849506599116665235.post-87719871340955329972012-11-29T14:44:46.956-06:002012-11-29T14:44:46.956-06:00One must never forget what it feels like to be ...One must never forget what it feels like to be 'new' at something:new kid in school, new at a job, new at genealogy! Reach out your hand, offer help and the reward comes back tenfold! Genealogy Societies all over need to read your message and they may figure out why their memberships are declining! Great job on the article and a message to be heeded by all the 'professionals!' Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17004641332673276757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849506599116665235.post-48626474231687647912012-11-27T15:38:32.897-06:002012-11-27T15:38:32.897-06:00Exactly, Shirley! What if that family member had b...Exactly, Shirley! What if that family member had been shoo-ed away from genealogy? You never would have had that photo or that interaction with kin. I'm glad she's looking and adding information, too!Amy Coffin, MLIShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00612044786240692282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849506599116665235.post-39316495736812381312012-11-27T15:37:13.191-06:002012-11-27T15:37:13.191-06:00Whew! Glad I'm not the only one.Whew! Glad I'm not the only one.Amy Coffin, MLIShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00612044786240692282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849506599116665235.post-44264772663196741152012-11-27T15:36:55.569-06:002012-11-27T15:36:55.569-06:00Thank you, Lynn. One of the reasons I wrote this w...Thank you, Lynn. One of the reasons I wrote this was to give newcomers a voice. I want them to know there are welcoming faces here. I appreciate you being a part of that.Amy Coffin, MLIShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00612044786240692282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849506599116665235.post-29953247756316047822012-11-27T15:35:32.928-06:002012-11-27T15:35:32.928-06:00Thanks, Tina!Thanks, Tina!Amy Coffin, MLIShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00612044786240692282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849506599116665235.post-13786996233484935832012-11-27T15:33:58.705-06:002012-11-27T15:33:58.705-06:00Thanks! I agree. I don't care if you're ol...Thanks! I agree. I don't care if you're old, young, new, whatever. If you're researching my ancestors, I want in on that. I'll verify the info an get the sources.Amy Coffin, MLIShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00612044786240692282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849506599116665235.post-5980212179812119102012-11-27T15:29:18.145-06:002012-11-27T15:29:18.145-06:00Thank you! I appreciate the thumbs!Thank you! I appreciate the thumbs!Amy Coffin, MLIShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00612044786240692282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849506599116665235.post-32984170217145772632012-11-27T15:28:55.582-06:002012-11-27T15:28:55.582-06:00I didn't care for the tone either. Some though...I didn't care for the tone either. Some thought it was funny, but I felt it did more harm than good in encouraging new genealogists to join the ranks.Amy Coffin, MLIShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00612044786240692282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849506599116665235.post-57468956601161681512012-11-27T15:27:44.737-06:002012-11-27T15:27:44.737-06:00The more the merrier, indeed. As a genealogy socie...The more the merrier, indeed. As a genealogy society member, thank you Pamela for making your group more accessible to others.Amy Coffin, MLIShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00612044786240692282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849506599116665235.post-38598420446212822772012-11-27T15:26:56.076-06:002012-11-27T15:26:56.076-06:00Diane, I couldn't agree more. Thank you for re...Diane, I couldn't agree more. Thank you for reading.Amy Coffin, MLIShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00612044786240692282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849506599116665235.post-35214204685057120432012-11-27T15:26:34.791-06:002012-11-27T15:26:34.791-06:00Oh Janet, YOU ROCK. Seriously, it means a lot to h...Oh Janet, YOU ROCK. Seriously, it means a lot to have your feedback. Amy Coffin, MLIShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00612044786240692282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849506599116665235.post-66517629617337436352012-11-27T15:25:42.522-06:002012-11-27T15:25:42.522-06:00And that's the way it should be. Thanks for co...And that's the way it should be. Thanks for commenting, Robert!Amy Coffin, MLIShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00612044786240692282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849506599116665235.post-6697195673519429632012-11-27T15:25:20.282-06:002012-11-27T15:25:20.282-06:00Thank you! I'm glad I made you smile.Thank you! I'm glad I made you smile. Amy Coffin, MLIShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00612044786240692282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849506599116665235.post-70689922139970113852012-11-27T14:59:02.132-06:002012-11-27T14:59:02.132-06:00BRAVO!!! Thank you so much - you've said ever...BRAVO!!! Thank you so much - you've said everything I was feeling, and I've come away smiling!!<br />:)<br />anitabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00581214810248124603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849506599116665235.post-77580820357969285962012-11-27T08:56:57.398-06:002012-11-27T08:56:57.398-06:00Refreshing - brings the fun back in genealogy.Refreshing - brings the fun back in genealogy.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00908961111845359260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849506599116665235.post-33782527956950919692012-11-27T06:18:36.472-06:002012-11-27T06:18:36.472-06:00Amen, amen, amen, amen, amen. Late to the party b...Amen, amen, amen, amen, amen. Late to the party but I had to add my amens to the list. Thanks for writing this so I didn't have to. As usual, you rock Amy. <br />Janet Hovorkahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07456985050735871822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849506599116665235.post-18716341148795900412012-11-25T20:13:34.340-06:002012-11-25T20:13:34.340-06:00Great post. One of the things I love about genealo...Great post. One of the things I love about genealogy is the sharing,where would I be but for those with more experience guiding me. I also get very excited when I come across someone who is just starting on their family history, and I see that glint come into their eyes as they start to discover their ancestors. We must be accepting of all levels of researching skills and remember we all started somewhere.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14747734897778712396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849506599116665235.post-85756297894136772032012-11-25T09:04:55.623-06:002012-11-25T09:04:55.623-06:00I've been researching my family history seriou...I've been researching my family history seriously for about 12 years. I made mistakes when I started and now that I know, I TRY not to make them again. And I learned from making them, not from another genealogist's mistakes. In that way, it's a lot like life. Genealogy societies often come off as being elitist and I am working to make our society accessible to anyone who wants to know a little more or a lot more about their family history. I can guide them a little and we can learn together. We need to promote our societies as "sharing" organizations because "the more the merrier"!Pamela Wilehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16870487902514673264noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849506599116665235.post-35055681176210005102012-11-23T17:51:40.314-06:002012-11-23T17:51:40.314-06:00Excellent post! I'm just starting out and no o...Excellent post! I'm just starting out and no one told there was a single definition of genealogist or family historian or any of the terms noted. There's precision and care in research of any sort and there's sloppiness. People with any discernment will recognize the difference and simply ignore work that isn't helpful to them. <br /><br />License indeed! <br /> <br />As I said over there, because I don't like cyberbullies, and that's how I perceive that piece, if you want to inform people then you don't take an insulting tone. That could have been a helpful article, a way to define terms for others. Instead, it was off putting in the extreme.Ediehttp://freudsbutcher.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849506599116665235.post-8424826170640446042012-11-23T13:32:49.896-06:002012-11-23T13:32:49.896-06:00Thanks, Amy. Two thumbs up and well said!Thanks, Amy. Two thumbs up and well said!sjtaliaferrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04485340969813958339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849506599116665235.post-33368513211826182612012-11-22T00:09:33.609-06:002012-11-22T00:09:33.609-06:00Great post! Never hurts to have fresh eyes searchi...Great post! Never hurts to have fresh eyes searching. <br /><br />Being part of the younger genealogists, I'm usually asked at seminars/conferences if I've passed my 2nd or 3rd Great Grandparents yet. I'll reply "Yes. Quite a bit ago." but rarely mention that I have 20 years of research under my belt at 32. <br /><br />Everyone starts out a newbie :)Deidre Erinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07317584021084205923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849506599116665235.post-70445769380720201842012-11-21T13:08:59.150-06:002012-11-21T13:08:59.150-06:00Awesome post, Amy!Awesome post, Amy!Tina Lyonshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04659702987536188214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849506599116665235.post-12341048517843445432012-11-21T08:42:52.559-06:002012-11-21T08:42:52.559-06:00Amy, my blood boiled for several hours after readi...Amy, my blood boiled for several hours after reading that article. But like so many others I am exhausted by this mentality. We can't change the haters but we can drown them out. There are enough of us on the Internet who are more than willing to help those who are struggling to research their family history. I encourage everyone to be gracious, empathetic and generous to our newcomers, roll out the welcome mat and let's throw those doors wide open to everyone, and I mean everyone!! Lynnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06598994683893095499noreply@blogger.com