Credits

[jdbPA]

Anyone else out there find the credit system on SP to be irritating and mean spirited? It seems more like a system inspired by slot machines and peep shows rather than a library.

[LesleyB]

Hi jdbPA

Personally, I find it better value than many other credit/pay-per-view sites. I think the trick is to do as much research as you can using other resources e.g. Freecen & IGI, before paying to see an image, so that you are pretty sure that the vast majority of the images you are paying for are the ones you actually want. Admittedly this takes a bit more time, and a bit of experience, and with some name combinations it may not guarantee a 100% sucess rate! (my Smiths jump to mind...) It is also well worth getting to know how to use the search options in depth. With any database there is always a bit of a learning curve to find out exactly how it works and how you can make it work for you.

If there are events you are having problems finding, if you make a post outlining who and what it is you are looking for on SP, we may be able to give you some hints and tips to more effectively locate the events you are seeking.

Best wishes
Lesley

[Russell]

Hi jdbPA

I think you must be trying to compare apples and oranges Scotlandspeople is NOT a library at all It is an expensive commercial outlet for millions of records which would otherwise be available only by visiting the Registrar's headquarters in Edinburgh in person and copying by hand from the originals. The transcription and scanning of millions of documents is a costly process so a charge must be made but it compares very favourably with many other sites and the records you can view are scans of the original documents unlike some other sites where their transcripts can be erroneous and occasionally downright ludicrous. I reckon they are value for money by any standards.

Russell

[apanderson]

I must admit to doing a power of moaning every time I have to top up my credits, or when I've only got 4 left and I need 5, but when all's said and done - it is really good value.

I agree with the previous comments by Lesley & Russell - you just have to watch what you're doing and hopefully, the credit card won't get too hard a bashing.

Anne

[mallog]

I have no complaints about Scotland's People just glad it is there.

[jdbPA]

True. Sometimes I forget the hassle of getting documents, including travel time and parking fees. The quality of the documents are the best and if they are not, they certainly provide a new copy quickly. It's not so much the credits for viewing a document that's irksome. It's the credits used for viewing a search. But if that's what it takes to get out accurate information, I'll eat crow and complain about undecipherable microfiche and snippy librarians instead.

[Russell]

This is a recurring moan which we have all indulged in at some time. I look at my 10 lever arch files crammed with BDM certificates and census returns and wonder whether we should have gone out for a few more meals and evenings out then think how much we have learned and enjoyed
Next time you have a totally indecipherable certificate to puzzle over post the problem with us and put a link to a site like photobucket and put the certificate on there. We love a good deciphering problem here and I don't think we have been stumped yet

Russell

[Ann In the UK]

I have to say I do agree with your gambling analogy to some extent - sometimes it does feel like playing the slot machines on there, watching your credits dwindle away when you get a couple of tantalising cherries in the indexes, which never quite seem to show whether or not you've hit the jackpot! (And all too often, you haven't! )

But I also agree with the others, once you do hit on a winner, the records (especially the immediacy of them!) are second to none. I've been one who's moaned about the credit system in the past, though, and long for the day when they add a subscription package - I'll be one of the first to sign up!

[trish58]

I agree with Ann in the UK. You find what you are looking for, then "bingo" you also have parents names & maiden names (marriage certs) so of you go again looking for them. But isn't this the way we do our research and without it we would go nowhere.

As for the cost, when you consider the price of a certificate via SP it is nothing compared to ordering records here in Australia, depending on which state you are in, my last lot where $30 EACH, that's almost $200 for 6 certificates, thank goodness I only have to order these on occasions for family that came from the UK to Oz. Most of my research is Scotland, UK, USA.

We will always find something to complain about, the cost, waiting times (3 weeks) for certs to arrive from the UK. Then if it's your hobby so be it.

Trish

[ninatoo]

Over the years I have spent a small fortune on certificates, but I'm with the others....especially when the elusive ones turn up, it's like a treasure hunt. There's nothing like it really....and when we can get an 1855 certificate...WELL!!!

It isn't cheap, but I don't think it's too expensive either, especially considering that Scottish certificates give far more value for money than some of the English ones, who might only give a father's name, no mother, and no actual age on marriage certificates.

And for me, and probably many more people with this hobby who live in another country, the SP website is a Godsend, because there is no possible way I could ever get to the records offices myself, and have a rummage.



Nina