Avoiding the lies from boilerplate
Here’s the thing. I do a lot of research into family histories, my own and others. I’m very much aware of how many records one must go through to find something of actual value. A bit like panning for gold, where you get to toss a large quantity of pebbles aside before finding a nugget worth keeping.
And when I was asked to evaluate a commercial site (for someone else), I went in without any delusions. Let me know your pricing, before giving my credit card information in return for a “free seven day trial” I shouldn’t have to ask Google for that.
Advertising that you have thousands of newspapers on hand is stretching things. You have links to thousands of newspapers. Similarly, the admission that you have hundreds of millions of obituaries in your holdings: did you count them? I didn’t think so. It’s easy to offer dreams, when the reality will be much different. Google can make the same claims, without wanting monthly injections of cash.
I took the time to read some reviews of the site. The term “underwhelming” told me more than any of your advertising boilerplate. And so I did the fair thing. I advised a potential customer to walk on down the avenue. It’s easy to offer the moon, when one can walk outside on a clear night and see evidence. It’s a lot harder to help someone find their g-g-grandfather who moved from state to state, back when cars were science-fiction. Maybe, someday, there’ll be an analogy to the Rosetta Stone, unlocking the secrets of our ancestry. We’re not there, yet.
Elsewhere in the world, another member of the Moody Blues has passed away.
