Provo, Utah - October 19, 2001-Ancestry.com, the largest collection
of online family history research, today announced the launch of its newest
user tool, User Comments. Made available on all text database records, User
Comments allows family history researchers to post brief messages or information
links on associated names and information sources adding valuable information
and research links. Enabling researchers to connect and profit from the
experience and efforts of previous researchers, this latest feature allows
greater collaboration among the Ancestry.com user community.
"Family history researchers need these types of tools
and functions to better help one another and be able to profit from the
knowledge and discoveries they have made," said Andre Brummer, general
manager of Ancestry.com. "Collaboration is going to be a major factor
in the pursuit of genealogy going forward. User Comments allows corrections,
clues, helpful hints and contacts to be tied directly to names and records
on Ancestry.com. No one wants to re-create work already done."
Ancestry.com staff will also utilize the features of User
Comments to include information about the source documents, suspected spelling
errors or omissions and data conversion notes. For each record on the database
results screen, users are given the option of creating an annotation. These
comments are automatically linked to the record and posted, thus viewable
by anyone who finds the record later.
Often researchers uncover errors in original or source documentation
created by errors from long ago. These errors and omissions, in many cases
send family researchers on errant trails. User Comments will allow those
who have run into errors or obstacles to post this information saving time
and frustration for those who encounter these records later. Additionally,
researchers will be able to assist and aid others interested in the same
records with their own insights or links to other files on Ancestry.com.
About MyFamily.com, Inc.
MyFamily.com is the largest and most popular source for family history information
online and among the most successful online subscription businesses. The
company offers both free and premium paid subscription services to it's
network of Internet properties, which include: Ancestry.com, the number
one online source for tracing family history with over 1 billion records;
RootsWeb.com, the oldest and largest free online genealogy community; and
MyFamily.com the foremost provider of online family resources offering both
free and premium paid Web sites for families to connect and communicate
within a password-protected framework. Privately held, MyFamily.com has
offices in Provo, Utah and San Francisco, California.
Dick Eastman Online
