Find Ancestors

Hi all, Could i just say that i am a dreadful speller and haveing a cockney accent don't help as i spell the word as i say it, not the King's or is it Queens english. I am sure if i were at school today i would be classed as dyslectic. Over the years i have been put off any thing that involved spelling until this site come along, i try and use spell check along side as i am typing and it give's me that extra confidence,but sometimes i do get it wrong. Never as anyone criticised me and thats beco's we are all here to help each other and friends don't wont to belittle or hurt anyone's feelings, if someone has been unsure of a request they simply ask the person to repeat it or add a little more information. I am very greatfull for all the help and hopefully continue to recieve from this site. Kind regards, Diane.

Please don't post to this topic anymore. Instead bump up the new one.

hi all, i was , at first, in favour of this thread. sarah started it off, i read it, it was friendly and helpfull. it now is starting to sound like an arguement. my son is dyslexic, he can neither read nor write , i did not take offence at gwynneths comments. i think they are valid. people should re read their messages, i re read mine- and wow, have i made some boo boo's that needed correcting ! not so much with the spelling, but leaving unclear messages. so please linda and maz- you have said what you felt you needed to , so has gwynneth. lets keep things friendly [as they usually are on this board] the arguing- not the comments- will frighten people away. and to all new members- we dont usually snipe on here- honestly ! lol. sue.

Hi Jean DON'T BE PUT OFF Please !! As long as you put who you are looking for, where you think they are, age, what year you want, thats fine. I imagine if you are new this thread could put you off as it maybe looks like a list of rules. It is here as a tip, thats all, we all have our own way of doing things don't we? Ask away Jean, someone will help you, honest. Lynda

Hi Jean, There's no need to be afraid the only "right way" is to be clear about what you want. For example if you want a look up in a census say which census and county in the title. Then give the name that you want with approx date and place of birth if you know them. If it's a general question or some advice you want you don't have to be precise. Gwynne

Hi Maz and Lynda, I do understand the problems faced by those with dyslexia I taught at a school for children with learning difficulties for a few years, and I've tutored dyslexic children. And I certainly don't want to put people off using the site. As I said we were asked for tips. I would have said making sure people understand what you want is essential. In my experience people with dyslexia don't have problems with basic punctuation. Some messages run on for several lines without a comma, full stop or question mark and are confusing. I'm left wondering what the person wants to know. A dyslexic friend always writes her messages in microsoft word then spell checks it. Then she copies and pastes it onto the board. I'm not saying everyone should do that but she feels happier doing that than trusting her eccentric spelling. It's not dyslexia that causes difficulties so much as messages written in haste and posted before the writer reads it through and checks that it makes sense. No one has perfect spelling and punctuation but everyone can take time to make sure they are asking a clear question. It's the best way to get an answer. And ensuring you get an answer is what this thread is meant to be about. Gwynne

Hiya Maz Exactly what I was trying to say, only you said it better. We had a dyslexic foster daughter and anything she wrote was wonderful. People with dyslexia and the suchlike have a hard enough time as it is. Would hate to put anyone of of contributing, just because there spelling or puctuation wasn't perfect. Lynda

Hi Gwynne I understand what you are saying and agree about names, place names etc, but I just thought that there are some people, who perhaps have dyslexia, etc, are sometimes reluctant to ask questions if they think that there spelling & punctuation will be picked up on. We wouldn't want to put anyone off who has those types of problems, would we? Lynda

Hi Lynda, As someone else said spelling is important for surnames and place names. If a message is written with no punctuation (and I have seen them) or in "text speak" it can be misleading and difficult to understand. Someone could spend time on a search that wasn't required. I'm happy to do look ups and help where I can but only if it is clear what the person is looking for. We were asked to add tips and this is mine - make sure people can understand what you want. Gwynne

And just to add a quick note about surnames. If you know that there are a few different spellings of the surname you're looking up that have been used, be sure to provide them as possible alternatives! You never know when they will crop up under one spelling or another!

Just like to add though Gwynneth, that I'm not bothered about spelling or grammar mistakes, would hate to put anyone off who perhaps had problems with spelling and grammar. If people are worried if they have spelt something wrong, they may not post, and that would be a shame. Having said that, correct spelling for surname is important :)) Lynda

Hi, It helps if you always read through your message before clicking on "add message". It's easy to make spelling and grammar mistakes or errors in dates when you're typing. Reading the message before you post could eliminate a lot of these. Make sure your message says what you want it to say and isn't confusing to the reader. I have real difficulty understanding some messages so cannot help. Gwynne

Diane - Tonight I was enjoying one of the side effects of family history research, talking with relatives about the past :) Tonight I sat down with my Mum and got her to read the Scarfe timeline I'd produced. This is my Mum's family so something not entirely alien to her like my Dad's family! I learnt alot about how they were brought up in terms of privacy, the relationship between men and women of the family etc etc. I learnt more about their general attitude towards life. It was absolutely fascinating. If my Grandad were alive I'd love to chat to him about the Scarfe's. Ah well, we can't have everything!

Sarah, Thank you for your words of encouragement, i can't tell you how much i love tracing my family history al'tho at times i feel very sad at the way they had to live. I also seem to get as much pleasure from helping others with theirs. Regards Diane.

Nudge cos this is important

Diane - To be honest I think everyone has been guilty of not putting enough details in at some point! I hope that the advice you've had has always been friendly. People who are new to the site are always well meaning and it would be a shame to scare them away. Family history is a great hobby for people of all ages and with it gaining a higher profile on TV etc. more and more people are starting out on the great research journey that it is :) I think my top piece of advice to anyone who happens to be reading is never to be afraid to ask a question. If may have been asked before, but you're not the one who asked it, so you're not the one who got answered :) I think thats what people forget. When people ask a question that others have asked before, its because they weren't there the first time round and you can't penalise them because of it. I wish you all the best with your research and I'm so happy to hear that you've jumped in with both feet and are offering lookups! Believe me, you learn so much doing lookups that you may not have touched on with your own research! You never know if it'll prepare you for future brick walls!

Thank you Sarah for your tips, I am still new to this and have been guilty of not puting enough details in, i am learning very fast only with the kind help from so meny people on this site. I have even started doing look up's for others, only smiple one's i might like to add. Regards Diane.

Its great to see people posting on this topic, thank you!

nudge

Hi Sarah Thank you for the info especially about the nudge. Regards Maureen