Or
Rednecks, Short Cuts and Con Men
Batten down the hatches and put on your seat belt we are in for a Rough Ride this week. You folks that read my column on a regualr basis know I try not to get too serious, preferring to make my points with humour. I had planned for This week a review of one of the mailing lists I am a member of and part 2 of the Mail List Rules. But like my Granpa said "Don't plan the honeymoon till ya get a bride."
Monday evening (Aug 16Th, 1999) I received a "Special Invatation" to view a new genealogical page. The Invation stated they had been rated "Cool Site of the week" did not say who rated them as this and talked about family coats or arms and other really neat Gen stuff. I got the feeling I had read this come on before but I didn't recognize the company name.
So I doublechecked my virus killer to make sure my Com-Pewter was safe then I headed for the page. Well much to my surprise when the page came up I knew the company. When I first started doing Genealogy I came across a booth in a mall in San Antonio that would look up your surname and see if you had a "Family Coat of Arms". This sounded like a really great short cut for my research and since I was still a rookie at it I gave it a try. Well they produced a real nice coat of arms and a brief history of my wifes family. The only problem was it was a load of garbage. True the "Coat of Arms" was for a family with my wife's surname but there was no proof it was my wife's family.
This Company "Hall of Names International" sells generic Genealogy that all though its impressive it aint real. If you want a "Coat of Arms" that may or may not be yours use this company but be aware IT AINT REAL. I would also like to point out since they dont on their page that this company is located in Canada not the USA. As a result if you get ripped off by them your chances of getting your money back are NILL.
Ok, I am off my soapbox, hopefully next week the Review and part 2 of the Mail List Manners.
Adios and Keep Smiling
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