Does reading the "Genealogy" section of Yahoo! Answers make you want to shoot yourself in the face?
September 28th, 2009 | by admin |Seriously. I can’t be the only one it has this effect on, can I?
Also, I have small ears… Does this mean my Grandma Fleischmann is Chinese? And do you think Beyonce thinks Taylor Swift is French?
The questioners on Yahoo Answers are frequently people who are curious about family history but don’t know how to get their feet wet. Many have heard that someone found their family tree online and for free! Apparently the word is on the street that you can. Of course, they don’t realize just because it is online that doesn’t mean it is accurate. You know before last Christmas I found out I was dead as well as my younger sister and my brother-in-law. Didn’t say when we died but we died in Newton, Sussex County, New Jersey. Since the only time that my sister and I were ever in New Jersey was in 1957 (after Hurricane Audrey hit nearby in Cameron Louisiana). We were coming back from New York and I do think my father stopped in New Jersey to put gasoline in the car. So we have been dead a long time.
Also, a large portion of people on their computers are kids and they are the ones that usually have someone put a camera at the end of their nose and click the flash button. Then they put it on here and think we can guess what ethnicity or ethnicities they are. If they ask a question on the Home Board of Yahoo Answers, the system picks out the category. They can change it but a lot of newbies don’t notice that too much. I think there is a tendency for the system to put questions regarding someone’s name on genealogy. That is why we get so much regarding Taylor Swift, Sweeney Todd etc. Questions regarding grandfather clocks will fall on the genealogy board because of the word "grandfather."
There are just a lot of people who don’t know what genealogy is all about. They don’t know that it is not the same thing as Genetics. They don’t know that we could care less if they have small ears(my older sister had very tiny one so maybe there is Chinese is my family).
Also we have a lot of poor kids who have teachers who apparently know next to nothing about genealogy giving their students outrageous assignments. Unless the students are magnifying the assignment. It might be the teacher has given them some vague possibilities of what they might do, not really thinking everyone can fulfill those ideas in their assignment.
Some kid says "I’ll put my family crest" on my report. His parents bought one of those walnut plaques with someone’s coat of arms on it that just happened to have the same surname as their family. The kid tells all the other kids, "Oh, everybody has a family crest!"
8 Responses to “Does reading the "Genealogy" section of Yahoo! Answers make you want to shoot yourself in the face?”
By Wildman on Sep 29, 2009 | Reply
I know you asked a good question and ima let you finish, but they ask better questions in the automobile section.
lol
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By Ted Pack on Sep 29, 2009 | Reply
If you are going to annoyed by ignorance, Y!A isn’t the place for you. I answered posts on GenForum for 8 years before this – and still do, sometimes. If you want to solve genealogy puzzles instead of crosswords, you can search their questions for "Please help" and get 20 – 100 a day.
I do wish they’d read the resolved questions, but I can copy and paste pretty fast now.
By comparison – search Singles & Dating for "How can I tell if she likes me?" or Religion & Spirituality for "How can you prove God exists?" People ask those 400 and 4 times a day, respectively.
> Does this mean my Grandma Fleischmann is Chinese?
Yes. I can get you her family crest, tastefully done on a coffee mug, for $19.95. <grin>
==============
Added later:
You inspired me to write one of my own. See above. It has a silly part and a real part. Thanks!
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By Nothingusefullearnedinschool on Sep 29, 2009 | Reply
I have found many interesting, useful tips here, so I think it is mostly a good thing.
Only a disturbed person would want to shoot his/herself, so, no, I do not feel that way.
However, questions and answers such as yours is demeaning, degrading, and serves no purpose.
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life
By Shirley T on Sep 29, 2009 | Reply
The questioners on Yahoo Answers are frequently people who are curious about family history but don’t know how to get their feet wet. Many have heard that someone found their family tree online and for free! Apparently the word is on the street that you can. Of course, they don’t realize just because it is online that doesn’t mean it is accurate. You know before last Christmas I found out I was dead as well as my younger sister and my brother-in-law. Didn’t say when we died but we died in Newton, Sussex County, New Jersey. Since the only time that my sister and I were ever in New Jersey was in 1957 (after Hurricane Audrey hit nearby in Cameron Louisiana). We were coming back from New York and I do think my father stopped in New Jersey to put gasoline in the car. So we have been dead a long time.
Also, a large portion of people on their computers are kids and they are the ones that usually have someone put a camera at the end of their nose and click the flash button. Then they put it on here and think we can guess what ethnicity or ethnicities they are. If they ask a question on the Home Board of Yahoo Answers, the system picks out the category. They can change it but a lot of newbies don’t notice that too much. I think there is a tendency for the system to put questions regarding someone’s name on genealogy. That is why we get so much regarding Taylor Swift, Sweeney Todd etc. Questions regarding grandfather clocks will fall on the genealogy board because of the word "grandfather."
There are just a lot of people who don’t know what genealogy is all about. They don’t know that it is not the same thing as Genetics. They don’t know that we could care less if they have small ears(my older sister had very tiny one so maybe there is Chinese is my family).
Also we have a lot of poor kids who have teachers who apparently know next to nothing about genealogy giving their students outrageous assignments. Unless the students are magnifying the assignment. It might be the teacher has given them some vague possibilities of what they might do, not really thinking everyone can fulfill those ideas in their assignment.
Some kid says "I’ll put my family crest" on my report. His parents bought one of those walnut plaques with someone’s coat of arms on it that just happened to have the same surname as their family. The kid tells all the other kids, "Oh, everybody has a family crest!"
References :
By treehugger on Sep 29, 2009 | Reply
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
not quite but I’m getting there
Yes Gramma Fleischmann IS Chinese
and Ted- check out the pregnancy category – Do you think I could be pregnant? must be asked 10 times a day
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By Researcher on Sep 29, 2009 | Reply
That seems a little over the top, for a reaction to some questions that have nothing to do with the topic, or are totally beyond the common sense of a fly, but if that is where you go with the foolishness of some people – its not my business. I don’t usually bother with the ones that are that off topic, but then what would you expect from someone who is serious about Genealogy and family history?
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By wendy c on Sep 29, 2009 | Reply
9 out of 10 persons here have NEVER DONE GENEALOGY, which happens to be the reason they ask questions.
Yes.. some of the questions are irritating and repetitive. And unless they get some explanation, they will go on with the same stuff.
Giving them some kind of answer, in many cases.. leads to a bit more curiousity and even sometimes to real research.
so.. who have YOU tried to help, today?
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By een Nederlandse kerel (michael) on Sep 29, 2009 | Reply
No it just makes me laugh sometimes.
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I am to cowardly to shot meself in the face