Genealogy Chat

How long should be a resonable time to get replies to messages? i thought we all want to increase our tree? Some people don't reply. i think a quick reply would be nice. Do GR send e-mails to all , to say they have a message? i just get a little frustrated , so decided to have a moan. Sorry!!

Pauline

GR does send an email to everyone who has received a pm on this site, but they do not send emails to say that there have been responses on the actual threads.


However ....................... it does depend on GR having the correct email address. If the person has changed addresses, and not notified GR, then there is no way they will get the notice.


People start trees on here, and then lose interest ............. or become ill ......... or die


GR claims something like 10 million members ............................ that is the total number of people who have joined this site since it began! Who knows how many "active" members there are?


Has your message been opened? To find out, go to your Messages, click on Sent Messages in the box to the left

.......... if it has been sent but not opened, the envelope will be purple

If it has been opened, then the envelope will be green

If it has been opened and a reply sent back, then their will be a darker green arrow over the envelope.


As to time taken ............... I've heard people on these reporting that they've finally got an answer after 18 months!


I do hope that you gave sufficient information in your request

......... I refuse to answer any requests that say "Please may I see your tree", or anything less than something like the:-

"I see that you have George Smith, b. ca 1851, in Buckinghamshire, in your tree. I also have George Smith born ca 1851 in Buckinghamshire. He is my gt grandfather. My George Smith married Louisa Foster in 1875, and had children, including Samuel who was my grandfather. Do you think we could have a match?"



sylvia

if you send a PM via genes then providing the recipient hasn't changed their email address that they gave when they joined ,then they will get an email saying a contact has been made,
You can check to see is someone has viewed a message by going to you sent messages ,If the Box on the side is still Purple then they havent read the email. If the box is Pale then the email has been opened and read,
Its frustrating when you are waiting for a reply but none comes! even if they are no longer Genes members they can reply to your email.What they cant do is to initiate contact if they are not up to date members

This one rears its head from time to time about non replies.

Whatever you do when you send a message don't give that person the right to view your tree. They may open the little purple envelope not get back to you and the next thing you know half your tree has been copied.

Make sure the box at the bottom of the message is not ticked!!!!!!!!

Norma

Some people simply gather names Steven, they aren't bothered if there is a family link having the same surname seems them to think they should be allowed access to information that has cost its 'owners' a great deal of time and often money to collect. If there is a family link then Im more than happy to open my tree but if its as vague as the same surname then its a no Im afraid

I have just done a quick count and I have access to over 450 members trees on this site, and turn have granted access to over 200. I only grant access after a firm connection has been proven and I feel comfortable with the member concerned.

Only once have I ever come across what I would term a Name Collector, and he got short thrift. In my experience, most people I share with are only interested in their little corner of my tree. I can count on one hand those who have probably added more names to theirs from mine than I would have done, if it was the other way around, , but it is no big deal for me and that is a risk you take.

If you feel so strongly that you don't want anyone at all to see your tree, then leave it off, or at least leave off the names and details that you think are private.

Thanks all for your replies. Did not know about the "open" bit. Now I will know if they have seen my question. I agree, I do not let them see my tree untill contact has been made.I suppoose as stated,, some people give up, loose interest etc.at least I had my little moan
Pauline

I sent one to someone 5 years ago now

I have a neighbour with a tree on here but she no longer has the internet.
I have a niece with a tree who no longer has a computer.
When Bright Solid bought the site a newspaper report said that there were just over a million paying members and falling.
Is it a bit like gym membership,pay your annual sub. but never use it.

Should we go to our libraries and throw away all the books that have not been borrowed?
These trees that have not been accessed for a while may,in years to come,prove invaluable.

I have sent the note below and three other messages to a member, they all have been opened but I have never received a reply. Disappointing, as I had hoped that I was as polite as could be.

New message to T***a,
“Hello, I just checked my message pages and noted that the old messages I sent have been opened. I had presumed that you were not actively using GR, but I did persist in sending repeat notes and even a tree request.
I hope you are well and please excuse me for writing to you, I have been researching for over five years and finding that you have a common name interest was quite exciting. This especially as in all this time I have only ever had one 'near' relative contact.
I do not keep a tree on GR, but have a research one on Ancestry and the main reference tree with Tribalpages.
If I can be of any help with your research, please do not hesitate to contact me, either through GR or my private e mail [email protected] best regards, Bob Cooke”

Hi Pauline
I was thinking of putting a moan on here too.
I sent a message to a member on here on the 17th, I got a sort of reply quite quickly a automated request to view my tree!! which I granted. I know it was perhaps being a little silly.
I haven't heard another thing!!
There was only one Enid V born that year, there is a good chance she was my Grandmother's sister. Sooo close!!

I am with you Jim - but unfortunately Libraries do get rid of books that are no longer read and it is very annoying when you find a good author and only there more recent books are at the library. Especially if it is a series.

I'm with piglets pal. If GR contacted all members who have not accessed the site say within the last couple of years and removed the trees which have no responses from the members this will make it more efficient. What is the point of keeping trees on the site when the members don't revisit the site. It is wasting everyones time. Nobody can gain access to their research. They are just floating in cyber space no use to anyone.

Hi again Guys and Girls, I agree that the site could do with and update, it could be a much better site, and would I believe generate more revenue for the owners. There are so many sites available now, but a lot of us stay with GR, as is a VERY Friendly site.Would be nice to be able to download ones tree to a disk for instance, straight from the screen.Keep it simple please you programers, as i think a lot of users are retired people, with out a lot of computer expertise (Like Me) Lets hope the BOSS looks at this!!!
Pauline

A few days ago (after finding the sent messages feature) I went through all my sent messages to see the ones which hadn't been opened. There were quite a few, some going back to 2006!

So a sent another message to each of them. Hoping for a few to respond (just incase first messages had been deleted by mistake). So far, none have responded. I will give it to the end of the week and then will assume that they are no-longer members and delete them all from my contacts.

It is a shame that GR cannot via membership records update us as to whether a member is current or lapsed, perhaps by putting an astrix next to the current members' names, and deleting it again if they have let their membership expire. This way, when we see their names listed, we would know that we may not get a reply even if GR are delivering our messages.

For some time I have been advocating that GR cuts out the redundant information from its database, especially spoof trees, the multitude of Mickey Mouse and other foolishly added names. It won’t happen.

The community forums have been a great help to me over the years, it is such a shame that even some active members won’t enter into the spirit of research discussion even after receiving and opening polite and informative messages.

Good hunting, Bob

GR depends on the member to send in information re change of email address, or death .......... you just change from paid to unpaid member by not paying your subscription.

If that information is not sent in ........... they have absolutely no means of contacting a member.

As a member since 2003, I can tell you that there have been 2 makeovers in that time ........... the first allegedly had used input from "some" members, the second came out of the blue earlier this year.

As far as I am concerned, neither of those changes answered the complaints that we the user have about the site

............ in fact those of us who complained about the second change were told in no uncertain terms that "the best site designers" had been employed and no changes would be made!


You also have to remember that the Friends Reunited family, which includes GR, was sold earlier this summer to the company that owns the Beano comics ......... and also owns findmypast.

so that means GR and FMP are in the hands of the same company, as long as the government agency has approved the sale.


What will that mean for GR?



sylvia

I once wondered if there should be a "dot system" so that, if you clicked on a name to send someone a message, you would see (for instance) a red dot if the person had posted on the message boards/logged in/sent messages to others in the last day, an orange one if they had done so in the past week, a yellow one for activity during the last 30 days, green for 6 months, blue for 12 months etc, so that anyone contacting another person would know how likely it was that they were still using the site (eg. orange or yellow dots might apply to people who could be on holiday).

But I have seen another idea on a couple of sites (not genealogy based) where you can see a member's profile page and it will tell you what date they joined and what date they last logged in. Maybe if Genes did something like that, people would be able to assess the chances of getting a reply and be able to decide whether to send a message or not from that information?

I have opened a "hornet nest" with my "Moan".There are some good sugestions here. How/Who do we get to look at them ??????
i think the theory that people change thier e-mail address, is maybe one big problem. The "profile" is a good idea. I use a non geo site that does this, also shows who's on line at any one time, but that may be dufficult on GR, as it is probably a lot of people worldwide.My other site is Uk and ex-pats mainly.COULD DO WITH A SUGESTION PAGE???
pauline