Why do we have to pay?

[anotheoldgit]

Why do we in the UK have to pay to gain access to public records, while those in the US can reseach into theirs for free?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1 113763/1911-census-reveals-David-Beckhams-rag- bone-man-ancestor-----lived-house-WW1.html

[jno]

er, because it's a different country and they do things differently? They get cheaper petrol and more expensive medicine.

(I'm not actually disagreeing with you, I think public records should be free too, since we've paid for their compilation. The Guardian's technology pages have been running a 'free our data' campaign for a while; perhaps you should join in.)

[jake-the-peg]

Perhaps it a tax on people with too much time on their hands

[Rollo]

Why do you have to pay?

Because St Gordon's goverment says so!

And he needs all of the money he can get to fund his silly schemes.

[jno]

hm, so that would be the unemployed and the retired (like me), Jake? I suspect you could be right.

[jake-the-peg]

You don't want to get involved in that familly tree lark.

You never know what you'd find

I heard of someone who spent years researching his familly tree in great detail before someone told him he was adopted

[rov1200]

Would Sat-Navs been less popular if we had to access our own satellite rather than relying on the US ones?

[Gromit]

Anyone can go and view these documents at the Public Records Office in London for free.

There is a substantial cost in making digital copies of all these records, in creating a searchable database, in designing a website, employing people to administer it and the cost of hosting it.

And all that effort is for our entertainment, curiosity or amusement. It serves no useful function to Government and rightly is not a statutory requirement of Government.

The taxpayer should not pay for this expensive exercise just to satisfy amateur genealogists and it is correct that there is a charge to access the data on this site.

In short, access to these public records is free, access to this website is not.

[jno]

while I know what you mean, Gromit, I'm not sure I agree. Presumably the government already pays for the upkeep of the registy office, as is proper. But there's been an upsurge in people taking an interest in genealogy in recent years, mostly fuelled by the internet. It seems to me the same data ought to be available online, given that - as far as I can tell - that's how most people want to access it. No doubt it would cost money, but I think it would be appropriate; otherwise it's like telling everyone they have to go to Swansea to register their cars rather than employing someone to open mail. (I'm only suggesting it in this case because the information is public and relating to everyone in the country; therefore I think it's 'ours'.)

[Gromit]

jno

Registering cars is a legal requirement. Looking up your Grand Parents in the archives isn't. Presumably, the cost of staff and the cost of paying the the bill is built into the cost of registering the vehicle.

The data contained in the 1911 census is fascinating (I have had a look myself) and I am glad the data has been made accessible to my computer, but I also appreciate the large costs involved and do not believe the taxpayer should subsidise my hobby.

[anotheoldgit]

Gromit

Perhaps then the National and Local Goverment should charge you to access other Goverment departments also?

Come to think about it perhaps you wouldn't mind, all other Web-Sites on the internet to make a charge for you to access them also.

[Gromit]

A lot of local authorites have a local studies deparment often connected to a central libaty. This is financed through the council tax. Local councils have a precendent for supporti g lisute activities.

Web sites do not appear at no cost. They are often self financed by individuals (like mine) or rely on advertising such as Answerbank. Processing the raw data for the 1911 census would have been very expensive indeed ( I remember the 1901 census was largely transcribed by convicts in HM prisons, though I don't know if this is the case with 1911).

Government websites tend not to carry advertising as it would look like the Government was endorsing certain products.

Which leaves the option of charging for it. In business, it is not unusual for paying for data. As the Government has no statutory duty to make this data available on the web, then any costs incurred in doing so should be recouped from people accessi g the data for their own personal entertainment.

[Gromit]

Sorry for the typos above, I posted that from my iPod. Hope you got the gist.