Comments on: The first day: 3.4 million searches

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Sat, 05 May 2012 07:36:22 +0000

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[...]1911census.co.uk blog » Blog Archive » The first day: 3.4 million searches[...]…

By: A J West

A J West — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 12:04:00 +0000

Of the dozen or so searches I have made for people known to be living in England in the counties available at least a third has resulted in “no records found”. Does this imply that the website data is incomplete in a random way?

By: Linda Batulis

Linda Batulis — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 17:11:35 +0000

Following my last comment, what I meant to say was that the phrase “COMING SOON” does NOT give enough information. I am waiting expectantly for information about the other ridings of Yorkshire! Worried that the credits may expire before the info is available.

By: Linda Batulis

Linda Batulis — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 12:18:55 +0000

I was one of the first to access the 1911 census and generally have been happy with it until today when I have been able to get on the site. My main gripes are the cost and waiting for the unfinished areas to come on line. The comment “COMING SOON” does give enough information. Is there any chance of being more specific about each area?

By: iantester

iantester — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 18:40:40 +0000

Thanks very much! We do moderate the blog (i.e we approve all comments before publishing them) but we have so far only deleted one comment, because it was spam. In terms of naughty words, we have let some through, but only because they were amusing rather than gratuitous.

We don’t believe in censoring our own blog - apart from anything else, it’s largely pointless to not publish critical comments because a. you wouldn’t trust the blog or use it b. there are a billion other places on the internet you can let off steam (and there are too few of us to be on all of them and talk to you there). We’re happy to provide a place to do it here and to let others see it. And respond to some of the criticism, if we can do that in a vaguely coherent way.

From some of the comments it’s clear that many do not believe it, but as a company we are very driven by listening to customers and understanding their concerns. We do not get everything right first time but if we don’t listen, we won’t get it right second time either. So we’ll listen and try to fix things that we can do something about. But no, you can’t have Wales yet (cos it’s not finished), and you *will* have to wait for the subscriptions.

By the way, ton the subject of complete transcriptions: the only parts we leave off the transcript is number of rooms in the house and children born to marriage. We leave these off because neither is particularly useful to search by (”I don’t know my ancestor’s first name, but I do know his house had 6 rooms and he had 2 children who died young” is not a common scenario).

If you can find a definition of fraudulent that encapsulates what we have done here, I’d be interested to see it. In the meantime, we remain reasonably confident that the SFO are not about to beat down our door and take us all off to Paddington Green.

Compare this with previous censuses from a range of suppliers and I think you will see that, as is normal, findmypast.com have provided a significantly more complete transcription than most of our competitors (as we do with all our censuses). Incidentally, we also allow you to search all fields transcribed. Because we know that providing the most flexible searches is what will keep you happy. Talking of which, not long now until we start to unlock the search features.

Have a good evening. I’m going to research some more forebears.But not the Thomases in Glamorgan. I’ll just have to be patient.

By: Steve

Steve — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 11:55:01 +0000

Crikey!!!
Though I have been critical of the pricing structure (and still am) I feel that I have to praise in one particular area - this blog.
Most blogs are ‘mediated’, i.e. someone/somepeople pass the blog entry as being OK. This is to filter out any messages that use naughty words, are litigious, or defamatory. The mediator/s on this blog, I have to say, are very fair and have included heavy criticisms (some mine) as well as praise (not mine -except this one).

By: Callously Ripped Off By Find My Past

Callously Ripped Off By Find My Past — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 08:04:37 +0000

One of the worst examples of monopolistic exploitation I have ever had the misfortune to suffer. 10 Credits for a PARTIAL/INCOMPLETE! transcription is a disgrace and fraudulent - transcription should be 100% & not only partial! FMP should have included the 1911 census info as part of their normal subscriptions - as their fraudulent advertising falsely implied. FMP’s failure to reply to an email also reveals a guilty & shameful silence. Just another sordid example of RIP OFF Britain/Find My Past’s gross ineptitude, dishonesty, greed & awful lack of service.

By: darkside

darkside — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 15:23:31 +0000

I paid for the site on Tuesday and still cannot get on to do any searches.
Also sent an email for some help but as yet none forthcoming. I hope things improve soon.

By: redlight74

redlight74 — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:16:30 +0000

Just a tip — When trying to locate my mother I started by putting in my
Grandfather’s details. This did not locate the family record I was seeking.
As my Mother was born three years before the Census I entered the
family address from her Birth Certificate together with the family name
and Hey presto.Have had no problems whatsoever in accessing the site,
Good work Team

By: iantester

iantester — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 11:37:25 +0000

To David: searching by address will be much easier shortly when we unlock the search facilities and add the RG78 Enumerator Summary Book images. please see our post on search tips for address search.