Find Ancestors

We are sponsoring TV show Long Lost Family for the third time running this year. The show will start on the 17th June on ITV at 9pm, and run for eight weeks.

We are likely to see more activity on the community boards whilst the series is running, in particular the Finding Ancestors and Finding Living Relatives board. For those of you that frequently help other members on this board, we want to make sure that your time is rewarded and we want your views on the best way to do this. One of our ideas is to ask everyone who has received help on the boards to nominate a person/or people who have helped them. The top 3 members each month with the most nominations will receive prizes including free or extended subscriptions or vouchers for a shop of your choice up to £50. We will be monitoring which new members have been active on the boards so we will be able send them an email encouraging them to nominate anyone who has helped them.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on this suggestion in the comments below.

Thanks, Natasha

Maybe its me, but I see this being a competition to see who can give an address out for a birth mother or unsuspecting father the quickest ....sorry not keen on the idea for living relatives at all

Valid point Jax

my 11 year grandson answered the telephone to someone who says,

Hello, xxxxxx, i am your Nanny ....
( the caller was the birth mother of his adopted 47 year old father ...... making "first" contact )

Was not pleasant .... neither was she ....

It took legal action to stop the contact !

Interesting idea - it is finding missing living people which has given me the most pleasure and joy.

Firstly, I think it is too complicated to have TWO discussions on this.

I thought most people did this for their own enjoyment, usually because they find their own research slowing down and they are missing the hunt.
I find it distasteful to do it for a prize.
I also think searching for living people is a minefield and open to abuse. This is an area where we tread very very carefully within our own families - wouldn't want to be involved in opening Pandora's box for another family.

I think this idea will have the same effect as the infamous "help desk" had a couple of years ago. It will cause animosity between people.

Some people have more time to spend helping but that doesn't mean that someone who only spends a short time helping can't be a really big help.

Most of us do it for our own pleasure - not to win prizes.

Not sure why this thread is not on the "Announcements" board or "News" page.

Kath. x

Apart from the element of a popularity contest as there is nothing stopping friends nominating each other, I worry about the fact the living person search element does not take into consideration that the person being sought may not wish to be found.

I would not be surprised to learn that the researchers for the TV programme contact the person being sought prior to passing on the information to:-

a. confirm that they wish to be found
b. agree to have themselves filmed at their first meeting.

GR I am sure already are aware of my objection to the living relatives board because the person being sought is not asked if they are happy for their details to be passed by a stranger to another stranger who may not be who they claim to be.

I am aware that, in the main, most people will be genuine but for the small element who are not who they claim to be, as was the case last year when an 82 year old possibly vulnerable man's security was put at risk, I think some kind of buffer should be in place so that the person being sought is contacted via a third party.

Edited to complete the final sentence as it didn't make sense

Have had another thought:-
If one person was to win most months they would, possibly, no longer be seen as a 'volunteer' but as a paid member of staff - that then brings in HMRC!!!!!!!

What a silly idea. I work full time and so I am most active for half an hour in the morning before I go to work and in the evenings when I have finished work. I help out because I want to put back into boards what I have taken out in help from others. I have worldwide access to Ancestry so can help out in that respect. But I don't do things to compete with other members. If you want to reward people who help out, then do it like you did with WDYTYA - reward everyone who helped out. And I agree wholeheartedly with everyone else...ancestors are one thing living people another thing altogether. I even get jumpy when responding on deceased people who have "unexplained" events when their children or grandchildren are most certainly alive and kicking! There are certainly living relatives who do not want to be found!

I think this is a bad idea.

We all help for the love of it, because we enjoy helping other people, and teaching them how to research their families themselves ........................ not to win prizes.

This idea is setting up a competition between members ................. and could indeed lead to situations where "I'll vote for you if you vote for me"!

Not that I want a year's worth of Penguin books ................


and you are negating your overseas members, as seems very common ......................

Penguin probably would not send their books overseas anyway!

Nor could any overseas member use any of your shop/store vouchers.


I am also on record as believing the Find Living Relatives Board is wrong ..........................

we do not know who is asking for help, whether they truly are related to the person they are looking for, nor whether the other person wants to be found.

I echo TF's concern re searches for people like the 82 year old man last year, as I remember that situation very well.


If you have any wish to "reward" those of us who help on the Boards, please consider doing the following ............

1. make it very clear to those requesting help that it is other members who are providing the help, out of the goodness of their hearts.

2. ensure that GR staff working with the new people do know HOW to ask questions and what information is essential and helpful, and try to make sure that the requesters do provide as much information as they have

3. ensure that the requesters know how to find the postings on the site .................. I think there are still 1 or 2 posts from WDYTYA last February that have still not been looked at. One was looked at just about 2 weeks ago.

4. give those who help only 1 or 2 months extension of their subscription, at the same level that they now have. Any longer than that, or an upgrade, is completely unnecessary, and in fact, almost obscene.



sylvia

A 'reward' scheme, from past experience, is likely to cause friction on the boards and I am sure that new members wouldn't want to be the cause of potential problems.


I, for one, am happy to 'do my bit' for absolutely no reward whatsoever. :-)

Cynthia - you are so wholesome :-)

And so correct :-D

I agree with the opinions/concerns being voiced.

The fact is that most of us work as a TEAM on Find Ancestors queries. Someone may have access to a certain database...someone else will be good enough to post a census...another might have some insightful local knowledge,etc.

Listening to our opinions and an occasional "thank you" is reward enough for me.

Unless round trip airfare to the UK is involved-in which case-stand back!!! :-) :-) :-)

Maureen

Maureen

:-D :-D :-D

He he all :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D

Bedtime now...long day yesterday two hour meeting which required a 0430 start and 8 hours on a train....was fine....until now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A bad idea, in my opinion.

For all the reasons stated above.

Chris

Quite agreed, I think the whole thing would cause disharmony.

I might have only made a couple of posts on a thread but spent hours and hours researching and tracking someone to break down a years old brick wall. In that time other people may have done dozens of quick and easy BMD look-ups and get more kudos. (Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking look ups, just making a comparison).

I've had free credits in the past, an extension to my membership but they don't matter at all (haven't even used all the credits yet). Biggest reward is someone appreciating what I've found.

I hope GR listen to the very good points already raised about this.

Nothing to add other than I think it is not a good idea

If Cynthia is wholesome does that make her the best thing since sliced bread?
:-D :-D :-D

I agree with the above posts.

I have said before I think there should be a third party to make contact and check if they want to be found without giving either party address etc.
My son's fiancee was sought by her father on here and he is a violent man.
You could not tell that from his request.

LK

There have been too many horror stories like that ........................

even one is one too many


but I can think of perhaps a dozen where the situation was very "iffy" sounding