You will become a captive audience
I've been a member for about 20 years. There've been many changes. You MUST understand Ancestry is a money-making business. Service has become less helpful, while charging more for what is offered. Fewer tools, fewer options in search -- this makes your search last longer - you must renew to continue. If you're looking for DNA,, do not use Ancestry! They are not competent. Do NOT use 23andMe. This is headed by the wife of a Google founder, whose declared objective is to gather as much information about EVERY soul. DNA is one more way. All information will be kept in the "cloud" for future purposes. Check it out! For real DNA results, try Family Tree DNA. They also have groups (names) to join. Harder to follow, but more competent. Ancestry is just "fun and games" and not accurate, but it may connect you to others -- you must decide if that connection is valid. It might lead to other Trees, sharing information and photos. Ancestry has bought out various collections and is now the SOLE proprietor. If you want to see them, you MUST join Ancestry. Census, Social Security Death Index, and more. No one else wanted to go through ages of records and categorize them - so they were sold to Ancestry. If you see errors (ie SS Death Index), Ancestry cannot change it. The price of Ancestry continually goes up. Once you are "hooked" or in the middle of research, you will be "forced" to continue. Family Search aka LDS has joined hands with them -- their site simply doesn't work as it did, declaring the site is not operating. Making a Tree on Ancestry can be a valuable tool . See it for what it is. Once you find a document, COPY IT ONTO PAPER as well as posting onto your Tree. Should you not renew your subscription, you can still access your Tree -- but you CANNOT open documents saved, as they belong to Ancestry. This will create piles of paper, so choose carefully - death certificates, etc. Many sites are free, Collections are limited, but you can copy others.
beentheretoo
Ventura CA