A Few Thoughts on Our Blog Philosophy

For those who are new to this blog, we'll post a little bit about my philosophy on this blog. Those who have been viewing for a while are probably aware of most of these things and can probably pass on the rest of this post.

In-progress research. 

There is a school of thought that any type of "publishing" should be relatively finished. I'm not a member of that school as far as blogs are concerned. In-progress research is fine as long as it's written clearly, has a point, and can serve as some sort of illustration. It's also important to point out that the research is very much in-progress and that conclusions are temporary and may need to be revised. 

Citations

I don't include "complete" citations in blog posts--at least not usually. However, there is usually enough information in the blog post for a reasonable reader to discern from where the information was actually obtained. Readers who think this amount of detail has been left out are free to post comments or email me and I'm happy to include more detail if I've accidentally left something out. 

Press Releases

I don't include information from press releases in blog posts. Ever. If your company or organization has a site, book, etc. that you think may interest me, you are free to email me that information. If I use it in my own research and find it helpful, I'll mention it. Otherwise I don't. Don't bother sending me "suggested text" to use in a blog post. If your book or item covers an area in which I have no interest, the chance I write about it is virtually zero. This blog is about my research. 

Content

I only write about and research the ancestors and extended family of my children. That includes twenty states and eight countries in Western Europe and rural and urban areas--although I do tend to focus on the rural families. That's enough to keep me busy.

It does not matter how "neat" the site or service is. If it's not related to one of my areas of research or families, it's not going to be mentioned. While we love traffic to our blog, we don't write blog posts just to generate traffic.

Suggestions

Suggestions for content are welcome and can be sent to me at mjnrootdig@gmail.com. I do get behind, so please be patient.