Find Ancestors

Since GR introduced the 'Discussions' feature to the Home page a few weeks ago, it has been obvious that new members have been posting on old threads in the hope of contacting family members or whatever.


Each day, many of you kindly advise these newcomers that the thread is old and to send a pm to the OP etc., etc.


I just wondered how much response you feel there has been to your efforts to help or, does it show that new members are being led astray by the word 'Discussions', and that they are posting in vain?


Wonder if GR are keeping a watch on how their 'new feature' is working? :-D


Cx

Good afternoon Cynthia - must say I really like the pic of our distant cousin.

I agree this is a problem - although this has always happened, it seems to me it is much worse now. I have ventured the idea in the past that the date of the thread should be made more obvious.

Most people acknowledge the advice given, but I have never seen the outcome on any thread I have posted on.

Jan

Good afternoon Jan,

We used to have this problem with the old Surname Search board where the same sort of thing happened didn't we?

I was just curious as to whether new folk were actually seeing and acknowledging the advice given and as to whether GR were taking note.


One day, my tongue will stick in my cheek ;-)



As for our distant cousin - he isn't as distant as I would like him to be!

Cx

I think that some people are seeing and acknowledging the advice given Cynths but, as always, GR are NOT taking note !!

They seem to keep producing these 'new babies' and, as with the parents of any 'new babies', they can never admit that there are any inperfections :-(

Perhaps when they are 'old and grey' they will become wiser? However, it won't be in our lifetime!

Dea Xxx

If I were a new user to GR, I can’t help but think how off putting it might be to find my first post on the boards 'all wrong'

Imagine, you make your first post and it appears on a thread years old, you’re told (no matter how politely) that it is an old thread..........and here’s what you should do...

..........I wonder if they then think 'why bother'

GR really should have more guidance for new users they should make things much more transparent, it's not their fault, it's not our fault, we’re just trying to help

I don't see it that way to be honest Gins. Personally, I would be grateful for the advice and most of those who return are grateful for the help.


However.......what I am getting at is that new users are posting on old threads but not returning to them, so they are not even seeing the advice left for them.


I had a quick look through since the beginning of this month - 8 days - there have been over 20 messages left on old threads and only about 4 of the new posters have been back and responded.


I used to advise new posters on old threads but don't do it anymore.


Cx.

The real problem whichever way you look at it is one of GR's making.

Firstly they do not give their members any instruction as to how the site works or how to use the site. It becomes a bit like trying to play a complicated game blindfolded without first being told the rules or procedures.

Secondly GR seem to insist on introducing new "Features" such as the inappropriately named and badly structured "Discussions" without giving sufficient thought to all the implications.

Thirdly I'm pretty sure that the reason most inexperienced posters fail to return to their posts is because they expect an email from GR letting them know that their post has received a response. Almost every other forum or site has this facility nowadays but GR does not. Yesterday I made posts on 2 much smaller free sites that I rarely visit. Both of my posts received a response and both sites notified me. It is what people now expect to happen as the norm.

I have replied to quite a few of these posts and not noticed many returning.
Yes I agree they are probably waiting for an email.

GR have tried to point out about replying on these old threads, but if the newbies cant be bothered to read it, I am now beginning to feel they may aswell get on with it

These matches have been found on the Community Boards in member discussions. Please be aware that some of these discussions contain very old content, but it is always worth checking them as you may find something useful. To check the date the discussion was originally posted click on the title of the post you want to read in the ‘Topic’ column. You’ll see the date the discussion was first posted in the right hand corner. If it was added more than a few years ago there is a chance that the original poster may not see your reply to their thread. We suggest you send the member a message instead by clicking on the ‘send message’ button. They’ll receive a message from us letting them know you’ve been in touch and we’ll let you know when they reply.

Hi everyone. Just under the box I typed this into is a tick box so that the thread can be added to the threads you are interested in. It took me a while to notice it but it's really useful as the incredible number of posts that appear in a few days pushes the original many pages down. It also says they will send an e-mail when there is a response. I have had e-mails but I can't remember if it went to my Inbox on GR or my own e-mail address. I'm going to tick the box and see if I get the e-mail to my own address.

I think some people click Send Message when they should be Adding your reply because they forget to scroll down. This could also be the reason they don't find the tick box.

Here goes - somebody reply please so that I can check.

Thanks.

Janet
If you have clicked watch this or add to my watched threads under the reply box you would get an email.

But that does not help if a new person is not clicking these boxes

Your absolutely right. The fact that it's at the very end and in small print makes it easy to overlook especially when there is so much to take in. If it was in larger print or before the reply box they might see it more readily. I know in the excitement on starting out I missed the finer points and have learnt a lot through other people making mistakes and you kind experts pointing them in the right direction.

By the way, no e-mail yet. There's probably a delay between ticking the box and the system gathering the information.

I'll be interested to see how long it takes.

Thanks for your comments.

Maybe just to prove a point - I hadn't noticed the Add a Reply or Watch This at the top of the thread. Was it always there?

My point exactly Jonesey ;-)

Add reply has always been there, but the watch this has only been around about a year and for most of that it did'nt work :-)

I noticed I had some emails informing me about replies on a thread I must had accidently clicked last week, so I expect it must be working again

jax

No e-mail yet from the Add to my Watched Threads tick box. Off now to watch Poirot :-)

Just discovered that My Watched Threads is different from My threads. I'm learning all the time. :-D

Yes Jonesey.....many people I have messaged tell me that they were waiting for an email to alert them to the fact that they had replies.

Always been puzzled as to why members should expect an email from GR when a reply has been posted to a thread.

Not had much feedback when I have mentioned they have posted on an old thread

I'm always grateful when I receive an email from other sites such as Rootschat. It keeps me up to date with threads I have posted on or initiated; it's easy to forget sometimes.......well, it is at my age anyway ;-)

GB,

These days most forum sites seem to send their members an email if a response has been posted on one of their threads. This means that instead of either constantly refreshing the relevant message board or returning to it to find your post you can get on with other things.

For example I made a post on Rootschat at 3:05pm yesterday afternoon. Having made my post I left the site to do something else. When I came back to my computer there was an email from Rootschat waiting for me. It advised me that a response to my post had been received and incorporated a live link back to my post.

So much easier than having to scroll through a message board full of other peoples posts/threads to find the one that I had originated. Rootschat is a completely free site so if they are able to be "Sophisticated" enough to incorporate such a feature how come that GR, a site where its members pay a subscription, are unable or unwilling to.