General Chat

Hi

I am new to this. I have been searching other members trees and have found a couple of likely matches to my family. I have sent messages to the owners of the trees but no one has got back to me. Is there anyway of knowing if they are still active members if the site

Many thanks
Sandra

Welcome to the boards Blair. (edit - Sandra)

No, there is no way of knowing if they are active members; GR doesn't remove dormant trees.

You could look in your 'sent messages' box and see if there is an envelope icon next to their message. That means that they haven't read it. It will disappear when they have.

Some members won't answer a message if it's rather vague - as a recipient it helps to know who you think the contact has in common. 'John Smith' or any other name could be a nightmare to find unless the sender says something along the lines of ' My John Smith was born in xxxx in the town of yyyy. His wife/children/parents was/were zzzz. Is he the same person as in your tree please?'

If you've sent the messages in the last few days, they might be away from the computer or otherwise occupied.

In addition, they may have died, changed their email address or have lost interest. Give it time, but move on - you might get a reply in several months!!

Thanks very much for your prompt response that was really helpful thanks :-)

No problem - its a question asked frequently.

If you ever need help, post a thread on the appropriate board, usually Find Ancestors or Genealogy Chat. It helps to stay on the site for at least 30 mins after posting, checking or refreshing the page frequently - answers usually come quickly + there are often follow up questions being asked to clarify a point. ;-)