Barriers To Genealogy In The Future

[pinefamily]

Yes DVDs/CDs/Blu-rays/etc are digital, but they are still a hard copy version. I was referring to digital downloads.

[ScouseBoy]

Hard copy?!  What a quaint old-fashioned idea!

In 100 years nobody will be doing hard copy of anything!

   How do you arrive at that prediction, I wonder?

Simply extrapolating from observations of the youth of today!
They don't read books or newspapers.

They do everything online.

Do you not see them walking down the street glued to their smartphones?!

   The Government and the Legal System  and HMRC  and TNA    would surely need Hard Copy documents and files, I imagine.

[Guy Etchells]

I do know of the Wayback Machine

And that goes to my point. A dedicated website set up to store information BECAUSE of the lack of storage , dead links and other reasons why search sites hate going back more than 5 years.

I also recognize Andrews point about obsoletion. Guy , you yourself have talked of destruction of paper records and what it could mean for future genealogists/historians. I did agree with your point on that thread and I understand the concerns about readable storage.

3SD - for some reason I am not a fan of cloud storage. I must be a Neanderthal

The main problem with archiving websites is many webmasters make use of the no robots tag to prevent spiders and robots accessing their websites.
The use of such tags prevents sites like the Internet Archive archiving their site which means when the webmaster loses interest, stops paying their subscription or dies, etc. his/her site is removed from the server and lost forever.
If the robots and spiders are allowed access the site is recorded on archive sites and saved for posterity.

Cheers
Guy

[3sillydogs]

 DavidG02 the only reason I use the "cloud" is because I don't always use the same pc I switch between the desktop and the laptop and that way I can access my docs from whichever one I am using at the time.................

I still print out all my genealogy documents and they are in a pair of very large box files.

[pinefamily]

I'm not sure if it has come up on this thread or another one, but I am wary of "cloud" type virtual backups. Too much like Big Brother for my liking.

[KGarrad]

The Government and the Legal System  and HMRC  and TNA    would surely need Hard Copy documents and files, I imagine.

So what about online Tax Returns?
TNA is putting more and more of their holdings online.

Just think of the "progress" made in putting all sorts of things online in the last 10 years.
Then multiply that by 10 to get a picture of 100 years time!
The rise of ebooks vis-a-vis paper books is a classic example of what I mean.

As for genealogy - those new to FH appear to only want to view things online, and rarely visit an archive, library or Records Office

[jaybelnz]

I have to do most of my research online, as my research is mainly in the UK, I'd be lost without that facility, as would so many others, not just FH history researchers!

[pinefamily]

Don't forget the LDS microfilm system, Jeanne. A great way for us on the other side of the world to look at records.

[DavidG02]

As for genealogy - those new to FH appear to only want to view things online, and rarely visit an archive, library or Records Office   **

I will echo jaybelnz comments. Most Southern Hemisphere SOBEs (sons of British Emigrants) and ADOBEs ( Also Daughters of British Emigrants ) would LOVE to visit archive offices in the UK. Its why I argue for online records. ( I note and congratulate the work done by Guy and others in moving this forward)

Its why after much huffing and puffing I subscribe to Scotlands People. Scanned Originals delivered to my desktop. I did a lot of Library searching and found it gave me a sense of what I needed to do to get it right.

I was initially sucked in by the web and family trees ( not Leaf City) I found on the web. Now I use them as guides until proven. Catch 22 is to prove or disprove them will take a visit to a Parish Office or Local Authority in the UK.

** I appreciate you don't mean most of us - I hope you don't anyway