The Internet and Family History

Well, you get to read both a short story post as well as a Family history one. Since my infusion last Monday I have been on a downward spiral healthwise. My infusions shut down my immune system which allows me to catch any cold or other infection. After doing a service project at the 4th street clinic in SLC (our annual service project) yesterday I was feeling especially sinus-infectionany and bronchitisy. And so I made the annual pilgramige to my PCP (doctor) who informed me that I have a sinus infection, brochitis as well as pnemonia. After a quick and painful shot in the behinder I was sent on my way with my very expensive ($8 a pill) antibiotic. So I have decided to take the rest of the week off to be able rest and get better--I figure that there will be a net gain using my PTO: not only will I still get paid to sleep and get better but I will be able to spend time with Kari and the boys.
Ok, on with my post. My Bryan .paf file does have a lot of information, but I have discovered that there are no sources listed! I am sure that it was passed along without these sources, so I may have to give Shersy or GG a call to follow up on this dilema. (Of course, I could spend some time to collect these sources, but it is virutally unnecessary in this day and age) Enter the internet. I have spent this week exploring various websites whose main objective is to connect people doing family history. Rootsweb, Cindy's List, and Ancestory.com are a few of these websites. I figure that I should get the most out of my monthly high speed internet connection and use these sites as much as possible. Never in the history of mankind have we had the ability to connect so quickly and collaborate on family history projects than now.
BUT, there is a downside to this wonderful tool: many people make assumptions and either post what they believe to be credible information without having checked it against sources, and others who glean information from others on the internet and take all information at face value. Those who correctly do their family history work will always keep track of source documentation for others to verify that their work is accurate and correct.