Genealogy Chat

I have just pasted the whole of that thread on Gins thread as Cyn is out doing her bit for the community at the mo and I thought it may get deleted before she sees it.

Dea got a personall reply on that board too on her thread!

FBG, it seems like all the old ones, I mean that in the nicest way, are being treated as if they know nothing. I hope Genes can see what is happening and fix it up.

I just feel sorry for the newbies who post on Clinic as they cant get the full range of help that is available on the boards from ALL the helpers.

If I were Cyn I wouldnt send my letter to posters who dont return to their thread on Clinic after seeing her reply from Gr ...and have told her so too..!

Do not know if you all saw the post from a gentleman who said that he enjoyed answering threads concerning all military matters

It was obviously a subject he enjoyed and had provided both an interest and excellent use of the knowledge he had acquired

It is this type of in depth specialised knowledge that him and members like him

that Genes are totally squandering

Renes

Makes one wonder if there is an ulterior motive in all this........???


Do take a look at my replies on my two threads on Help !! I enjoyed replying.............oh yes siree. Cx.

there is some irritation creeping in .... ammeber posted a query on the Clinic re finding a person

got nowhere, so posted on TTF

I tried to give some help, but we're talking back in the 1750s +/- 50 years

Today, his poste ended with:-

Only really posted this as I thought we now had experts on the Help clinic. I have access to local records (still live in the area), but had run into a dead end and thought they could find out a bit more! I'm also in contact with a lost relative in NZ who has tried in the past to get further back but failed. I think its a lost cause, but thanks for your time


www.genesreunited.com/boards.page/board/trying_to_find/butterfield/thread/1249960

I did get a response from Estelle today:-

Thank you for your feedback. My colleagues and I are meeting this week to discuss the Help Clinic and how we can make it better. I will definitely pass your coments on to them.

Your feedback is much appreciated. All we want to do is make the Help Clinic work and for all our members to feel valued. We're grateful for all the work everyone does helping others and we want to recognise this.


That was in response to my:-

Subject : Feedback
after a weekend of utter turmoil on the site, .............. where people cannot move from thread to thread, ........... cannot move easily from board to board, .............. cannot move easily from page to page within a thread, ............ cannot understand exactly when a posting was made ("today" meaning any time from 12:01 am to 6 hours ago), ................ where people have lost names or been assigned strange board names, ....................... and the horror of the Help Clinic ............. I think it is time that you guys got your acts together, and made changes that actually work! ............ Those poor people who volunteered to help on the Help Clinic have largely found themselves in untenable positions .............. often unable to help answer requests posed for them because of the limitation on which sites can be used, ...... responding very inappropriately to a request for help because said request had been made earlier on a board with no success in breaking down the brick wall, thus obviously suitable for posting on a board which says "break down your brick wall" ............... and unable to have the TEAMWORK that was the basis for the magnificent work done previously. ........... I have a suggestion for you:-------- Help Clinic, when you think about it, is in fact excess to needs! .............. Other boards do the job better, have done so for many years, and in more timely fashion ........ There was no-one working on the Help Board from about 9 pm last night to 7am this morning UK time. Which means that none of your overseas members could get help. There has been no-one apparently working on that board most of this afternoon and early evening. The other Boards are doing fine! ......................... As an answer to the problem that volunteers felt unacknowledged, as shown on the market survey done in the spring, literally ALL that needed to be done was ............1) a statement in a very obvious place that all research was done by volunteers "and we thank them all"; ........ 2) inclusion of the fact that member to member help was available on the site in advertising; and ............. 3) for you to refrain from inferring in advertising that the help available on the site was by GR itself. ............... I think that would have done the job magnificently, and been approved by us all! ......... Instead of which, there are many members very upset; members seriously considering leaving GR because of the difficulties in using the site; the disparity you have caused by having Starred Official Helpers and the rest of us unstarred, and presumably to be considered less than worthy. ................. The feeling of being unacknowledged and not valued for the help provided is WORSE now than it was before.. ........ We all heard about the sale to brightsolid with hope in our hearts that the site would be improved. What a terrible job you have done.

Today I sent my one and only feedabck email to GR re the new Help Clinic.

I did not pass any comments on the software problems that some have been experiencing as these did not affect me. Although I do accept that when changes are made there is always the possibily of software problems.

In my email I indicated that I could not see the benefits of the Help Clinic which was poorly launched and provided little support to the Advisors who were very much left to the mercy of those opposed to this scheme.

Amongst other comments in my email was reference to the wording in the guidelines for the help Clinic which appears to have annoyed some. I suggested that perhaps an acknowlegement in the gudelines that there are many knowledgeable helpers but only a limit number of Advisors are required and that such Advisors would be rotated on a rolling basis to ensure all member are treated equally would go some way to placating some concerns.

The new board is in place and is unlikely to be removed in the foreseeable future. Despite my disagreement with it I will accept it until such time as it proves not to be up to standard. Insufficient time has yet elapsed to suggest this to be the case.

It was interesting today to see that GR themselves intervened with 3 Help Clinic posts informing the posters that the subject matters were support and not resaearch related. Perhaps had they done this from day one the Advisors would have been better prepared and felt better supported.

GR have apparently made a high level decision to introduce this new board and it is unlikely it will cease until they are of the opinion that it is serving no purpose in their minds. That unfortunately is the nature of most companies when they introduce a new system.

I understand from reading posts on this subject that some members who were offered to be Advisors refused on the grounds that they felt either the Help Clinic was not required, was restrictive in nature or some other reason. I think it was a missed opportunity for those who refused as they would have been in a much stronger position to improve a system which, as I have said, is likely to be in place for some time.

As I said at the start I have sent my one and only email to GR on this matter. I see no point in sending multiple emails covering the same subject as in my experience each additional email has less impact on the reciprient.

I think one of the best repies on this thread came from Sally who said:

'I think the best way to solve it is not to use the help clinic and then it wood die naturally'

A very sensible and measured approach in my book.

I have reserved making any comment to site management about the Help Clinic until it has some track record to comment on. Its track record on my own posts is less than stellar. I have also been helping two people intensively by PM who had posted on the Help Clinic -- the kind of time-consuming, sideways-thinking, dedicated-effort help I put into any thread I decide to work on at this site. Nothing I have offered was even attempted on the Clinic board.

What I really want to say is:

Why are people posting links with the DOT COM url??? I see Sylvia has done it now.

I'm logged in through the DOT CO DOT UK portal. I think most people, especially new posters, also are. I've never seen anyone use the dot com url before ever -- the NZ and ZA and AU ones, yes, but the dot com, no.

What has brought this on?? It's hugely annoying. ;)

I'm not computer literate JC but the url for this thread is .com I am in the UK as you know so I log into .co.uk ect anyway I have had too much to drink now nothing going on as usual so may go to bed

jax

Janey

I copied that url right from the address line to post it above ....... it came straight from GR

I also am logged in through .co.uk

This thread is actually showing .co.uk for me at the moment .......... unlike what it was doing for jax

PLUS, when I just looked at that thread through My Threads ......... it shows as .co.uk

www.genesreunited.co.uk/boards.page/board/trying_to_find/butterfield/thread/1249960


so it warn't me ............... it was GR ............... AGAIN




sylvia

I'm a bit slow. Dot com. Dot co. What do you all mean?

Don't tell me it's like Ancestry that keeps switching you about.

Ignore me if I am daft.

Jax - too much to drink. Wat dooo youie meen?

Best wishes

Margaret

I need to hide in http://www.genesreunited.co.za/boards.page/board/tips_board/thread/1249937 or in here -
Tried to help in trying to find and the board turned into all posts about the same surname.
AAAAARRRGGGHH

As it does not give the time anymore Margaret no one knows that was poss posted about 6 a.m and yes I had too much to drink probably because I was bored not having anything to do.

What does this thread link say on your computer mine says

http://www.genesreunited.com/boards.page/board/tips_board/thread/1249322?page=6

jax

mine says

www.genesreunited.co.uk/boards.page/board/tips_board/thread/1249322?page=6



sylvia

Me too, dot co dot uk like Sylvia's. And yes, it's like Ancestry that keeps switching you from site to site. ;)

http://www.facebook.com/genesreunited

for anybody like me, who hadn't bothered yet ... I've put my opinion of the Help Clinic there. ;)

Oh, what the heck. I'll copy it here.



Right, so this is Janey Canuck, absolutely top-drawer star supersleuth "helper" at the GR website. Not an official advisor with a star, though.

1. Don't want to be, for several reasons. (a) No family history problem should ever be tackled w/o using all available resources. (b) I want to choose what I work on: what catches my interest and what I'm good at. (c) I don't want to be part of an arbitrarily selected group of "stars" that do not reflect the strengths of the website users *as a team*.

?2. Don't qualify, for several reasons. (a) I spend most of my time on TTF, not Records; I like the newbies best. (b) I have an abuse record as long as your arm (I once staged a contest for who had the most/longest suspensions, and at least tied for first place). I don't tolerate racists and bigots, I object to having my time wasted, and I have several fan clubs that have abused the arbitrariness of site administrators to abusively report my posts (and send abusive PMs about me to new users, some of whom have helpfully reported back to me).

So the end result is: I'm chopped liver, as far as GenesReunited is concerned. As are all the rest of the long-time, devoted, clever team of "helpers" on the boards. And people who post on the Help Clinic expecting a superior level of expertise are not, with all due respect to the "advisors" there, getting it. The "advisors" themselves are getting duplicated requests, insoluble problems, and a headache.

And in this website's long history of poor decisions and disregard for users, this idea takes the cake. Far from recognizing the users who make the place what it is, it rewards a few for absolutely no reason, misleads other users, and slaps the rest of the excellent team on the help boards in the face with a wet mackerel. And I've probably typed far too much for this place now

I am not sure if anyone else has noticed this, when getting notification of renewing their subscription from GR

* Help Clinic

'We now have expert volunteers on hand to help you through any stage of your family research. We will ensure all queries are answered in 5 days.'

some members have received emails telling them the benefits of their Standard membership ...... inclduing the expert volunteers




that makes me feel really really wanted!




sylvia

Sylvia,

You and a lot of other 'helpers' will be always wanted on TTF and the others boards. I just wonder, how people will react if they have to wait 5 days to receive any answers to their questions, I am sure I would give up very quickly!!

one last attempt before going to bed to contact GR has succeeded, by pm through Contact


Lesson ...... do NOT include any email address(es) in the body of the text, even their own, or it will be turned back


even using their email address to demonstrate that one has been using the correct address is apparently verboten!



sylvia