I assume that everyone on this board has a computer.
I would strongly encourage the new folks and some of the old as well to consider using one of the genealogy programs--one that is easy to use and one that allows you to send and receive gedcom files.
We all are more than happy to share our information and assist and be assisted by others. It is so much easier to do this when one can send/receive gedcom files.
It also allows the researcher to organize their own material, many take pictures as well--changes can be easily done, bits and fragments can be saved which may connect at a later date.
I grant you, it is tedious if you have to key in a lot of material but I assure you it is well worth the effort.
There are many programs available for both PC and Mac.
Anyhow, I'm a big fan of such programs and just wanted to mention it again.
If you're just starting out, give it a go--I believe you'll be glad you did.

Donna