Re: Census Lookup Offered

From: kindredhearts <groups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

On Aug 29, 7:55 pm, kindredhearts <sa...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: >
I am willing to look up census records for a limited time if anyone >
needs help! Please give as much information as possible to enable me >
to use my time sensibly :) > > Sacha > Kindred Hearts > >
www.kindredhearts.co.uk

I have actually been quite deflated with the response I received from
both Don Moody and Roy Stockdill (amongst others) as I had actually
been entirely truthful in offering help with the census lookups. On
further research, it seems that I am not the only one that has had
such a setback from comments from such people... it is not my place to
point others in the right direction. It seems that they are just
interested in more people voicing their opinions against theirs.

In truth, yes, I am Sacha Buttle, Sacha Trusler, groovekitten, etc.
etc. etc. I am on the verge of changing my name back to my maiden
name. However, I don't understand why this important as to whether I
am capable in offering a service. I certainly don't appreciate
comments such as "blonde bimbo" and "wench".

I am entitled to my privacy and in no way does my personal life
infringe upon my business life. They really should refrain from making
these offensive comments. I could consider it slanderous.>


You have totally missed the point, I am afraid. Both Don and I - and we
are both very experienced genealogists - objected that your original
message was, in fact, little more than disguised advertising for your
commercial website. There is another forum for offering genealogical
services that would have been more appropriate. It seemed to us that
you were using it as a "come-on" to get people to go to your website
where you are offering paid-for research services. There is absolutely
nothing wrong with offering genealogical research but there are ways of
doing it in which it is made absolutely clear that it is a commercial
service. If you are indeed a lawyer, surely you should be aware of this?

Nowhere in your message was it made absolutely clear that you were
offering census look-ups at no charge, nor was there a mention of this
anywhere on your website. To tell the truth, I am still not clear what you
are offering. In any event, there are hundreds, probably thousands, of
people here who could equally offer census look-ups because we have
subscriptions to Findmypast, Ancestry, etc. Personally, as most listers
here know I tend to be very much against the "look-up" culture because it
makes newcomers to genealogy lazy, expecting others to do their
research for them and avoiding having to pay out for a subscription. I am
a great believer in people doing their own research unless they can show
they have done everything possible and failed to find an answer. Then, I
am often willing to help.

Speaking purely for myself, it wasn't I who called you a blonde bimbo or
wench and to suggest I did might also amount to slander! It was I who
discovered that in another context you apparently call yourself
"groovekitten" and, since you have very clearly placed this information
yourself in the public domain, i.e. on an Internet contacts website, it
seems perfectly reasonable to mention this. You can hardly talk about
your privacy being invaded when you have actually invaded your own
privacy by putting your CV and profile on a website for the whole world to
access! That is the same kind of hypocrisy indulged in by celebrities who
constantly whinge about invasion of their privacy, but who are very happy
to invade it themselves when they have a new film, TV series, book, or
whatever to sell.

I make no comment about your genealogical expertise, since I have
never heard of you, and I know most people in the mainstream UK
genealogy world and they know me. For what it's worth, here's my CV.....

30 years a family historian.

Member of the Board of Trustees of the Society of Genealogists,
Committee of the Guild of One-Name Studies, Editor of the Journal of
One-Name Studies for 10 years, and former member for 4 years of the
Executive of the Federation of Family History Societies.

Former national newspaper journalist, now a professional, or semi-
professional, genealogist, not offering private research but researching
and writing every month for the major commercial family history
magazines. I am also a frequent lecturer around the country to family
history societies.

It doesn't seem unreasonable, surely, when you are offering paid-for
research services that potential clients should know something of your
qualifications. Are you a member of AGRA, for instance? Most
professional researchers who are say so on their website and in their
literature.

--
Roy Stockdill
Editor, Journal of One-Name Studies
Guild of One-Name Studies website: www.one-name.org
Newbies' Guide to Genealogy & Family History:
www.genuki.org.uk/gs/Newbie.html

"There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about,
and that is not being talked about."
OSCAR WILDE



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