From Newsgroup: soc.genealogy.medieval

With over 2 months since the last newsgroup post; it is obvious the
predicted demise of the group has now become a final and irreversible
reality.

If they ever see it, I want to express my thanks to Peter, and
Nathaniel, and Stewart, and Todd, and Don, and Jan and Ian and Douglas
and countless others who over the years have provided insight and
discussion.

With the recent passing of illustrious genealogist and "Genealogist"
journal editor Dr. Gale Ion Harris we are reminded that we are also are temporary in this world.

--Joe Cook, avid reader and occasional contributor 1995-2024
JoeCook over at gmail
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From Newsgroup: soc.genealogy.medieval

I would like to echo Joe Cook's remarks. I hope the scholarly research
posted to this group is not lost.
I see that I have been reading messages since before 6 April 1997 on
which date I printed out the then members names, 306 plus 3 concealed subscribers.
Adrian

On 14/12/2024 18:50, Joe Cook wrote:

With over 2 months since the last newsgroup post; it is obvious the predicted demise of the group has now become a final and irreversible reality.

If they ever see it, I want to express my thanks to Peter, and
Nathaniel, and Stewart, and Todd, and Don, and Jan and Ian and Douglas
and countless others who over the years have provided insight and discussion.

With the recent passing of illustrious genealogist and "Genealogist"
journal editor Dr. Gale Ion Harris we are reminded that we are also are temporary in this world.

--Joe Cook, avid reader and occasional contributor 1995-2024
JoeCook over at gmail

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From Newsgroup: soc.genealogy.medieval

There are still a few people left, so I think that the question is
whether or not there is enough left that it is worth the effort trying
to revive it. It seems obvious that the recent precipitous drop in the
number of postings was largely the result of Google pulling the rug out
from under us. First, they hijacked Usenet by adding the name "Google
Groups" to their version of the Usenet feeds, and then, presumably after
some bean counting, decided that it was not worth doing anymore. The
problem was that by then, most users were used to using Google's format
to access the groups, and too few people made the format change, so that
we apparently lost the critical mass to keep the group going.

As for the archives, there used to be a GEN-MEDIEVAL archive at
Rootsweb, which evaporated at some point after Ancestry.com took over
Rootsweb and then eventually abandoned it. Whether or not there are
such archives still available on a server at Ancestry is anyone's guess.
I could probably retrieve most postings from the period 1996-2004 from
the hard drives of some old desktops I have, but it would be laborious
at only about 1 MB per swap. The lesson there is that corporations
should never be relied on to keep such archives.

One idea worth trying: Sometime after the busy holiday season, on some specified day in January, everyone still interested starts one new
thread on a random subject of interest to that person, and then we see
what happens.

Stewart Baldwin

On 12/16/2024 8:14 AM, Adrian Channing wrote:

I would like to echo Joe Cook's remarks. I hope the scholarly research posted to this group is not lost.
-aI see that I have been reading messages since before 6 April 1997 on which date I printed out the then members names, 306 plus 3 concealed subscribers.
Adrian

On 14/12/2024 18:50, Joe Cook wrote:

With over 2 months since the last newsgroup post; it is obvious the
predicted demise of the group has now become a final and irreversible
reality.

If they ever see it, I want to express my thanks to Peter, and
Nathaniel, and Stewart, and Todd, and Don, and Jan and Ian and Douglas
and countless others who over the years have provided insight and
discussion.

With the recent passing of illustrious genealogist and "Genealogist"
journal editor Dr. Gale Ion Harris we are reminded that we are also
are temporary in this world.

--Joe Cook, avid reader and occasional contributor 1995-2024
JoeCook over at gmail

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From Newsgroup: soc.genealogy.medieval

On Thu, 19 Dec 2024 18:07:30 +0000, Stewart Baldwin wrote:

There are still a few people left, so I think that the question is
whether or not there is enough left that it is worth the effort trying
to revive it. It seems obvious that the recent precipitous drop in the number of postings was largely the result of Google pulling the rug out
from under us. First, they hijacked Usenet by adding the name "Google Groups" to their version of the Usenet feeds, and then, presumably after
some bean counting, decided that it was not worth doing anymore. The
problem was that by then, most users were used to using Google's format
to access the groups, and too few people made the format change, so that
we apparently lost the critical mass to keep the group going.

As for the archives, there used to be a GEN-MEDIEVAL archive at
Rootsweb, which evaporated at some point after Ancestry.com took over Rootsweb and then eventually abandoned it. Whether or not there are
such archives still available on a server at Ancestry is anyone's guess.
I could probably retrieve most postings from the period 1996-2004 from
the hard drives of some old desktops I have, but it would be laborious
at only about 1 MB per swap. The lesson there is that corporations
should never be relied on to keep such archives.

OTOH if they suddenly realise that it is something they can monetarise,
they then start charging for access. Usually when I'm stumped by
something, I search what I shall call the 'Google Archive' of SGM [when
I started reading the group had became part of Google groups] as i often
find that almost everything I'm interested in, has been discussed
several times over the last 30 years. I think there was a discussion
last year about what would happen to the archive [that is old postings]
if Google at some point stopped making it available, other posters said
at least 2 sites were gradually making the whole usenet publicly
available. I would have thought that some university in the US, Europe
or Oceania could get a tech giant if not google itself, to sponsor a
publicly available archive of SGM as a academic resource. Admittedly it
would include a large amount of chaff and trolling like on all
unmoderated public forums, but overall it has enormous value for the non academic amateur like myself.

One idea worth trying: Sometime after the busy holiday season, on some specified day in January, everyone still interested starts one new
thread on a random subject of interest to that person, and then we see
what happens.

That sounds like an excellent idea.

mike
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From Newsgroup: soc.genealogy.medieval

Stewart Baldwin wrote:

One idea worth trying:-a Sometime after the busy holiday season, on some specified day in January, everyone still interested starts one new
thread on a random subject of interest to that person, and then we see
what happens.

Now's as good a time as any. I've got a fair amount of Kaye material
for anyone who wants to get their teeth into it.

Ian
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From Newsgroup: soc.genealogy.medieval

On 12/14/2024 1:50 PM, Joe Cook wrote:

With over 2 months since the last newsgroup post; it is obvious the predicted demise of the group has now become a final and irreversible reality.

If they ever see it, I want to express my thanks to Peter, and
Nathaniel, and Stewart, and Todd, and Don, and Jan and Ian and Douglas
and countless others who over the years have provided insight and discussion.

With the recent passing of illustrious genealogist and "Genealogist"
journal editor Dr. Gale Ion Harris we are reminded that we are also are temporary in this world.

--Joe Cook, avid reader and occasional contributor 1995-2024
JoeCook over at gmail

This is sad, Joe. There have, however, been a few responses. Might the
group do better by starting a new Google Group (not a newsgroup)? It
wouldn't be connected to the SGM newsgroup archive available on Google
Groups, but people can find those posts by general searches or by
searches on Google Groups. Posts in a new Google Groups SGM could refer
to old SGM newsgroup posts by their addresses in Google Groups when
relevant.
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From Newsgroup: soc.genealogy.medieval

Jan Wolfe <janetpcwolfe@gmail.com> wrote:

On 12/14/2024 1:50 PM, Joe Cook wrote:

With over 2 months since the last newsgroup post; it is obvious the
predicted demise of the group has now become a final and irreversible
reality.

If they ever see it, I want to express my thanks to Peter, and
Nathaniel, and Stewart, and Todd, and Don, and Jan and Ian and Douglas
and countless others who over the years have provided insight and
discussion.

With the recent passing of illustrious genealogist and "Genealogist"
journal editor Dr. Gale Ion Harris we are reminded that we are also are
temporary in this world.

--Joe Cook, avid reader and occasional contributor 1995-2024
JoeCook over at gmail

This is sad, Joe. There have, however, been a few responses. Might the
group do better by starting a new Google Group (not a newsgroup)? It wouldn't be connected to the SGM newsgroup archive available on Google Groups, but people can find those posts by general searches or by
searches on Google Groups. Posts in a new Google Groups SGM could refer
to old SGM newsgroup posts by their addresses in Google Groups when relevant.

I hate to see this go. As a new user, I didnrCOt post often but the others posts were extremely valuable.
--
Regards,

Michael Pitzer, MSMIT
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