Find Ancestors

Just wondered..............

Not so long ago this board used to be SO busy - you could get around 5 messages posted per minute.

Now, you can get 5 - 10 messages per hour !!

I do not understand why it has changed SO much.

Basically, the site has improved a lot but it seems to have lost 'something' ??

What is it that has changed??

Dea x

Heaven knows Dea! I don't think things have been the same since the "starry" helpers fiasco.

Yes MC - That's when it all started to go downhill but I don't understand why !!!

Dea Xxx

I have tried to analyse it but it doesn't make sense.

O.K. - the new board was introduced for 'living relatives' but that should only have taken a small percentage of the posts away!

The three boards were combined - Records Office, Tips and Trying to find. - that at first meant that there were lots more people on the same board doing look-ups etc so some of us got 'left behind'.

BUT, then suddenly there were hardly any queries for any of us to look into.

I don't understand what has happened,???

Can anyone throw any light on the problem?

Dea x

I have no idea Dea but was wondering the same.

It's really quiet and I must admit the only reason I come on the boards is to help with lookups.

However if no-one needs any help I can see no reason to stay with the site which would be a shame as I do enjoy it.

The board is simpler so, in theory, should be a lot busier. Perhaps everyone is just getting more adept at doing their own lookups.

Liz

I really don't think that is the case Liz but I am at a loss to see what the problem is!!

Dea x

The boards always seem to be quieter at this time of year due I expect to warmer weather (In the UK), more daylight hours, the start of the holiday season, no genealogy programmes such as WDYTYA on the box ect.

However the boards are very much quieter than usual even for the time of year. I would attribute this to several factors. The amalgamation of several boards into one. The introduction of the Living Relatives board with its initial "No board replies" (Now changed). Technical problems on the site will not have helped and may have discouraged or indeed have prevented some people from posting. All of these may be responsible.

Being retired means that I have quite a lot of free time on my hands so like you Dea, I used to like to get stuck into some of enquiries that I saw on the boards. Doing so kept my brain nimble and enabled me to hone my own research skills as well as hopefully helping someone advance their family tree.

Dea...I couldn't agree with you more but I would suggest interest in Family History/Genealogy has perhaps peaked and is now on a downward trend...When I first began very few people were interested and those that were wanted more than just names on paper then suddenly everyone seemed to want to " find their roots"...but by and large without the cost involved and the time and effort needed. Just take a look at all your posts and how many of them have followed through ...very few I imagine...
I admit I noticed a big drop in requests following the change to the boards ...but possibly that was pure coincidence....
I let my membership lapse and have only just renewed it...Big mistake..!!
I should have ignored a post (Victoria) answered by yourself but couldn't resist the challenge....

I'm another one who's very disappointed. Like Alviegal I usually just come on board to help others with look-ups but there's just no market for it anymore. Not much use for me to stay either.

I was only thinking the same, i know i only helped in a small way im not as good as you all are, but sometimes i managed to get there first mainly on military and 1911 census records, but everthing seems to be so slow on these sort of requests.

I dont know the reason why, i thought the "living relatives" may have had something to do with it, perhaps now they changed the set up things might change, i do hope so, i love seeing you all finding the info, it certainly improves my knowledge.

George

I blame Gordon Brown - but then I blame him for everything - even the weather!!!

joking apart, it is so quiet - when we had all the search boards there was so much more to do - it's flat now and pretty boring - and I still can't access the dozens of new Hot Matches I seem to have!!!

my threads have been VERY active! lol

as well as tracing my own family,i have,with a great deal of help from GR,(much appreciated!)put a family friend in contact with his fathers family.

he is 69 and never knew anything about his dad or dads' family,up until a few weeks ago.

those of you who help with the researching are doing a grand job!

i look in same places as you,but can't find out the things you do!! ;-)

I've read your comments with interest.

I only joined Genes Reunited about a month ago so I have nothing to compare it to.
I must admit joining has been a test for me.

I have posted a number of requests for information and have been delighted with the help and assistance that I have received.
I thoroughly appreciate the effort that has been put forth by others, and the successes you have provided!

That said, I have been somewhat reluctant to ask for too much. I fear I'm taking valuable time from others.

Together you provide a wonderful resource!

Many thanks to all.

Murray

Find Living Relatives

somebody wants to find descendants of their ancestors, that's where they post now

count the posts on that board

add up the fees paid by new 'members' to post there ......... even at the basic sub rate ( I know some have paid for Platinum memberships )

consider then what interest the site owners have in these traditional boards now where most users are of longer standing

not much , I think.

The money is in the new subscriptions brought in from the long lost families advertising from people who think they pay their money and they find their long lost family member ( just as Ancestry brings in new users with its adverts about finding your ancestors in other people's trees and never having to do any work at all ).

as long as new people keep buying subscriptions to post there, the corporation makes its profits, who cares about the real help boards ?

there are about 1,000 posts on living relatives ( not counting many that have been removed after review ) a large majority from new subscribers

even at the minimum fee for a basic membership what does that add up to in what is really money for old rope ?

I think that part of the problem has been sheer and utter frustration, not being able to access the site getting error messages all the time, the Hot matches you can't access because of a "Technical problem".

People just give up and go elsewhere, Ancestry has become extremely popular, it costs more but people are switching over.

Another small problem is that in the past there were certain people on here who weren't very friendly and actually put people off from posting.
I myself for one have been on the receiving end, as you can see I've been a member for quite a while and have tried to help where I can but each time I did I got shot down in flames by others, regardless if the information I supplied was correct and pointed the poster in the right direction, so I stopped helping.

The other factor as mentioned was the "Star" I inquired about this, as to how they chose the "Star" members as I have been a member for so much longer than most at that time and was told that it was only offered to those who post the most to the boards. It did sort of mess things up a bit as some members took out their frustrations at not being a "Star" on other members posting an inquiry. I still don't understand the "Star" concept.

I feel that most peoples hearts are in the right place and they genuinely want to help others find their ancestors, but there are a few who let it go to their head and unfortunately I think it has had an affect on the number of people willing to post on the boards.

To all you genuine good heart lovely people, a very much appreciated thank you for all the work that you do.

Most of the people who had a star applied for it. Some were asked but declined.

You had to have 100 people in your tree been a paid member for a year and no abuse reports about you. I dont think people wanted to be a star, but it made them look as though they were more experianced than others

I take no notice of how long people have been a member that means nothing to me...I have been a member since 2007...rubbish... I added my name in 2007 actually paid some money and added a few more names in 2010

Anyway I have been busy on Living relatives today :-D

jax

Some very interesting comments posted over night - It does seem that there are several factors involved but I still can't pinpoint the main cause of the problem........

I think I will take a look at this new Living Relatives board now that they have changed it and see if that is where all the queries which should be on here have disappeared to.

Many thanks All !

Dea x

hi all
maybe people have come to a stand still and dont know where to go next on there family tree [i know i have]
but maybe they wont post in case they get reported

who knows
lorraine

You DO have a point there Lorraine.

There has been a lot of 'reporting' of threads recently and this would certainly frighten people off who are not over used to using the boards.

I hope that GR have got this in hand. - I know that they have been working on it.

Dea x

never seen the name blackduck before of course .......... too bad we can' t look back at where they were 'shot down in flames' to see who was doing the shooting ..........



............. and I wonder who those members were who 'took out their frustrations' at members with stars ............. I don't remember seeing that but maybe I just don't see what's in front of me ..............



I have always felt summat the opposite I guess .......... it' s the helpers who get shot down in flames .......... there really seem to be some people who delight in criticising helpers but not doing much if anything themselves ......... I know some helpers just get fed up of it