Genealogy Chat

Why when people want help in looking up details of their family they do not add all the details on that message, we are not mind readers. HOW many times does the question of who, where etc is put on, that thread in question, do it when you ask for help it saves time .

tis the season of goodwill !

If you wish to report any abuse of the system please contact our abuse manager and we will quickly remove the offensive material I.ll say goodbye to you now,Roger

Roger, sometimes people just want to be pointed in the right direction and then look up themselves from there. Some practical help is what is needed , rather than asking someone else to do it for them. Some are a little shy of asking for too much help, as some replies are a little lacking in politeness. Some may be asking for help for the first time and need prompting to give the information. So what if you have to prompt a few people? If you dont' have time to help them, dont' do it, there are plenty who are happy to help, and to ask the relevant questions where needed.

Lol Ed ;-)

I thought this is a tips board and I was giving a tip to the people who asks for look-ups without giving relavant details I have looked and given help when I can. But only when full details are available, to start looking for right records.

....................... and sometimes people are just sooo excited they forget to put the details. Once people get the hang of it they usually remember. Yes, Ed, tis the season of goodwill - nice to hear you in fine voice!!!!

I know that some of the messages are a bit frustrating.....I find that myself,........................but I have to stop and remind myself what I was like when I first started on this genealogy lark. I didn't have a clue where to start and where to look. Even when I was given details...I didn't know what the heck people were talking about. The first time I was given details from a census...well.... you could have been talking a foreign language! 'Here he is in 1901: John Smith, Head wid 59 ag lab middx ann Smith dau 5 soton hants Pk Connley vis 39 trav Ire Living in St James Bristol' Now we all know what this sort of info means...but to a newcommer..it's doesn't really mean that much, unless they have read all about census records and the sort of info that it gives. Some are so green that they need just that little bit of extra prompting, guidance and patience. So I think it's worth remembering that not everybody is as 'tuned in' as the majority of us. We all had to learn our way around...and some people take longer to take everything on board. I know I found it quite overwhelming to start off with. And I bet I wasn't the only one! We are all keen to help others...but sometimes you do need a bit ot patience to find out what they are really looking for. Seasons greeting everyone!..Teresa

I don't have a problem if people miss out info on initial postings.....it's easily done, BUT I do find it frustrating when the info still isn't provided after someone has asked for it, particularly when it is clear from the way the request is worded that the poster does actually have the details for which they are being asked. Reg

But when you are still 'wet behind the ears' as it were, you have no concept of how long it will be before someone replies. The first time I asked about something on the boards I didn't come back for hours. I had no idea that I was likely to have a reply within seconds.

Roger, Not so much what you are saying but the way you have written it! Fiona.

Personally I find it more frustrating when I've been following a thread (and helped if possible) and really come to 'know' the person either looking or being looked for (this is happening on another site at the moment) and then never find out what happened next! It is a bit like starting to read a book and then finding the last page has been torn out!