# Dead useful?

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/1999/01/05/dead-useful/
- Published: 1999-01-05T00:00:00+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

uk.people.dead is a new UK-focused Usenet discussion forum that looked as if it 
might offer a promising source of fundraising research information. The newsgroup’s
formal title is “UK obituaries and discussion of dead people”.

[uk.people.dead](https://www.fundraising.co.uk/news:uk.people.dead) is a new UK-
focused Usenet discussion forum that looked as if it might offer a promising source
of fundraising research information. The newsgroup’s formal title is “UK obituaries
and discussion of dead people”. Its charter explains that it was established “for
all discussion relating to dead people from a UK perspective. Postings are welcomed
in respect of all dead people, whether famous or not, who had some connection with
the UK.

However, early indications are not encouraging for fundraisers. Most posts to date
have been trivial and of no practical use to fundraisers. Elvis’ name has, perhaps
not surprisingly, cropped up several times. But then so have those of Mollie “Mrs
Slocum” Sugden, and Peter Sallis, the voice of Wallace and Gromit. The latter posts
could have been useful for fundraisers planning to contact them about a celebrity
appearance at their charity event. Are you sure that both celebs are still alive?
Needless to say, the information posted was not entirely accurate, with reports 
of the deaths of some celebrities being somewhat exaggerated. Still, a periodic 
review of the newsgroup might yield some pointers to other resources for fundraising
researchers.

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