Hello Carpenter Cousins,
The test of attachments to the Carpenter Cousins Google Forum went well. And the
attachments can be downloaded from the email after logging into the following link.
https://groups.google.com/d/forum/carpentercousins
Current polling on and off lists:
Group.io 3
Google Groups 9
Facebook 11
Google & Facebook 5
Any of the above 4
Group.io appears to be pretty much out of the running.
Several members suggested a single place to go for Carpenter information. And many
indicated that Facebook has the benefits of both the long standard of Carpenter Rootsweb
(for past archive type searches) and it allows attachments.
FYI - There once was many places on line that allowed surname queries and places to meet
for information. But over time, those varied options have closed down.
Carpenter Rootsweb worked for a very long time until
Ancestry.com bought it. Then Ancestry
ignored it (its typical behavior) until serious problems developed. This is the time we
opened up the Carpenter Cousins Yahoo Group.
Then because of significant customer demand of the past archives and current users –
Ancestry promised to fix and restore. There has been some fixes and some restoration.
Please notice the word ‘some’ used.
There will not be new items added, nor full restoration for Rootsweb and this is per
Ancestry.com. They have allocated x amount of funds for maintenance and x amount for
operating over x time. What will happen after that is anyone's guess.
Recap - Now that Yahoo groups is shutting down, the two basic replacement options were the
suggested being Groups.io and Google Groups.
Groups.io which the basic free version would work – but other features cost. The basic
version is a bit clunky because it is an abbreviated version that is part of a cost
package whole. This means you start to do something then you run against the pay wall. And
you only discover those pay wall blocks by doing things.
BTW - the daily emails from them to me to upgrade is a bit irritating and can not be
turned off under the basic version.
Google Groups is the alternate or more favored replacement to Yahoo Groups. It is email
based and you can access it on the web also. To me it is similar in function/format to
Yahoo Groups thus easier to use.
Facebook to me was a social page that allowed business and other groups a presence. I was
never happy with Facebook (my personal page) because of all the minutia I received. Some
people dominated the notices with what they had for a meal or snack and apparent free
range thinking. The information I needed became lost in the junk – so to speak. It was
information overload. This experience taught me to severely limit my Facebook friends to
just family and to isolate the chatters to the background. This allowed me to go in gather
information, respond as needed then move on to the next task.
A Carpenter Cousins member has offered to take over the Carpenter Cousins Facebook page
and I am awaiting the response. That person could run the page as they like as long as it
is supportive of the Carpenter Cousins Project. And when needed, I or others can help
people with their genealogy and family history.
In addition, people could post vacation or visit images to places of Carpenter/Zimmerman
interest for others to see. This would allow those more interested in the social side of
Facebook to communicate and share.
The email forums of Carpenter Rootsweb (no attachments allowed) – as long as Ancestry
allows it to run – and Carpenter Cousins Yahoo Group (attachments allowed) as a back up
and replacement to when Rootsweb shuts down – seem more data based to my older mind.
And getting a one step email to respond to or to read is better than numerous emails
telling me to go to Facebook to read messages and respond there. That to me is a
frustrating waste – others think and feel differently. And that is the way it should be.
Please remember that we are all different in our thinking and skill sets. We all learn
and retain data in different manners. And our journey through life is vastly different
along with our experience in genealogy, family history and genetic genealogy. We should
celebrate that great diversity!
Okay – I see that I am still a wee verbose!
We will try running the Carpenter Cousins Yahoo Group for a while until we or Yahoo shuts
down Carpenter Cousins Yahoo Group.
And if the person interested in Facebook decides to run it – members will be advised.
Until next time ....
John R. Carpenter
La Mesa, CA USA
Carpenter Cousins Project - Our main support page!
https://carpentercousins.com