Genealogy Chat

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Many of the questions thaty you are asking have been answered a million times by Members on this or the Records Board. Just above the list of Topics you can see a box where you can enter Text : so if you are looking for answers to questions on Censuses just type into the box '1851 Census' (for example) and all your prayers should be answered in the list that will be displayed. For any information on any subject Please use the Search Engine - Google. Just go to www.google.co.uk and inoput your question in brief - for example, you want to know about Tramsways in Islington in 1930s then just input 'Islington tramsways 1930s' and you will get over 400 results. Ask anything from pins to pins and needles to elephants in haystacks.

Hear, hear, Joe, Google is brill for absolutely anything. Giving you a nudge. Cheers Margaret.

To a degree, I agree with you Joe, but also, please remember, we all started somewhere and it doesn't hurt to run off a quick answer to a 'standard' question rather than referring someone to the search process or 'ggogle'. Sometimes people need a little bit of encouragement as well as pointing them in the right direction- no wonder some people think we can be a bit 'offhand' on here sometimes. Remember - what appears obvious to 'old hands' is sometimes not to 'newbies' and we all know what a maze family history can be. regards Looby

I agree, but there should be some sort of locked information at the top of each board that gives general rules and tips for newbies. Things like - dont post the same query twice on one or more boards as then you have a whole bunch of people looking when someone may have answered your question on another thread (happened to me today where some people were all searching for a birth entry for someone when I had already found it down on the year before - I made the suggestion to not post for help twice - but probably came over as being a bit narked off - which in a way I was, but didn't want to sound all nasty about it etc) Like on Rootschat, there are locked messages at the top of the boards with rules for posting. I think that for some people the time it takes for them to type a simple question and wait for a reply - they could have found the information out themselves in half the time using google etc. While many of us are quick to point out things like BMD being free to search on Ancestry etc - sometimes people go down the wrong track even on there and still need help - like if an image is missing etc. I am always happy to look up something for someone but also say that they can look themselves on Ancestry - but 9 times out of ten the time it would take me to type that they could find it themselves - I have already found the entry they want. Its sometimes a bit sad to see some members saying things like 'well if you've searched and cant find them, what's the point in one of us looking for you?' - Sometimes we all need another pair of eyes and a fresh point of view. I think its a matter of there being more rules and tips for newbies at the top of the page, but also that we dont all end up having no patience for people who need a bit of help from time to time. I know I have been guilty of getting a bit narked at people who I've helped and then they post again asking for the same info I have just looked up for them - purely because they dont check their old threads etc. But at the end of the day I like helping people, and if I didn't then I wouldn't bother checking the boards. I think if there are people out there that get too wrapped up in rules and get too easily annoyed at someone new asking a reasonable question, then maybe they need to start finding another place to spend their time!

Alexandra Agree with you about the 'fixed' threads idea - or maybe a more prominent section on the home page for newbies with a few threads on it. I don't mind giving help to anyone, and yes it is sometimes quicker to find the info for someone than to tell them how to do it, but if that's what they get every time then they will never learn to think, or do, for themselves, and that's when it becomes annoying, when you know you've looked up things for someone a dozen times and they're still asking!!!!!!. regards Looby

Looby, I agree. If I see that there is someone who keeps repeatedly asking for say BMD look ups etc then I will point out that perhaps they look themselves. For censuses I dont mind looking up stuff for the same people as I know not everyone can afford to join Ancestry etc (I dont need to worry as I won my membership so have it free for 13 months!! - I think I am still on the high of winning it so keep harping on about it! Sorry if you've heard it before!!!)