I understand what you are saying about controlling access to the profession.  Obviously, attorneys have to pass the bar, contractors have to obtain a license, doctors with boards, etc.  But I really think that those of us who care should fight for a profession.  Even those professions above who have to obtain permission to practice have fly-by-nighters.  The old joke about the doctor being last in his class but he still graduated is only a good joke because it's true.  There are always going to be attorneys who just passed by one point and doctors who slept through anatomy (like the dude in NJ who has TWICE now operated on the WRONG side of a patient's head). 

So, we as abstractors will always have some in our ranks who fail miserably, but that shouldn't stop us from promoting OUR superior knowledge and expertise.  We all know attorneys in our courthouses that we scratch our heads and wonder how they ever became attorneys, much less STAY attorneys, but that doesn't stop the other attorneys in town from doing their best.  The same for us.  Just because others are undercutting and making mistakes and wrecking havoc doesn't mean I think less of myself.  And if just one more good, but down-trodden abstractor reads my post or hears me speak and decides to start acting like a professional and taking themselves and their businesses seriously, then that's a good day.  And the more who join the ranks of committed, experienced abstractors, the larger the divide between us and THEM becomes.  Contractors didn't start out licensed.  They had a customer who needed a house built, they built it.  But slowly over the years, the good rose above the bad until the powers that be decided to license the good so the bad would die away.  One day the divide between professional abstractors and make-a-quick-buck-ers will be so large, other members in the chain will start noticing and that's when the real change will happen.to post a reply: login - or - register