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I have been on ancestry for almost 3 years now that amount of information that I have found has been tremendous. I have learned so much from my family history that I did not know before. But I do think alot of people go on to ancestry without really understanding exactly what the site is. It is a compilation of various state and federal public records. Ancestry does not write any of the information...they only organize it for the use of its members. So, if incorrect information, incorrect spellings, wrong dates, lack of information on documents, etc, are found by members, it is not the fault of ancestry. The incorrect information comes from the public records this way, which can happen for alot of reasons(i.e. transcription errors, lack of documentation from old records, lack of education and knowledge that was much more common in the mid 1900s and before, etc). Also found on ancestry is a compilation of members input, such as their own public family trees, photos, stories. These trees are made soley by ancestry members, again-NOT ancestry. Other family trees can be great as guides, but must never be taken as facts.
Also important to remember is that much of the information found on ancestry comes from the individual states. Some states have much better online resources than others. For example, N.C. has very detailed information from death records, with death certificates available from as early as 1976, while some other states don't even allow death certifcates from any time period to be posted. So again, alot of the success you have on ancestry will be dependent on the state(or country) in which you live.
Another issue alot of people have comes from researching information from living people. There are privacy guidelines which must be followed, so what you will find on living people, or more recently deceased, will be limited. I recommend starting with at least your grandparents or greatparents.
I hope this is helpful for those trying to decide if ancestry is for them. Honestly, I don't think everyone one will have great luck, but for others, it will definitely be worth the money. But even for those who do have good luck, you will not find everything you are looking for just on this one site. Research other genealogy websites as well as ancestry. Use the library microfilms, and of course, don't forget your older relatives. Use them all together and you will have better luck.
The two week trials are a good start, but you are not going to find everything in that short amount of time...it is NOT instant gradification!! I am still finding information after 3 years. Be patient, and remember to use other sources as well.
In summary, I would recommend Ancestry.com to a friend.
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