Genealogy Chat

Hi can anyone help me please, is there anyway that you can tell if somebody is not on this site anymore, I have sent a couple of messages to different people but have had no answer, so I am wondering if they no longer use this site.

Kind Regards,
Sylvia

If they haven't opened the message then they may have changed their email address. Or sadly passed away .or no longer interested in family history

Genes never deletes a tree

It's a common enquiry I,m afraid that people get no response from messages

How long is it since you sent the messages?

People don't necessarily look at their computers every day - so don't give up hope

Or can we help at all with your inquiries?

Hello Shirley/Erika & Mel,

Thank you for your answers, I will try not to give up, it's just they have names in their tree and just wondered if there was any connection.

Best Wishes,
Sylvia

I am new to the site just this last fortnight, and I also sent several messages to members who have my ancestors on their tree. Got no answer. I have not even managed to see another members tree yet. I would like to see what others are doing.

I have been manually adding ancestors to my tree and have about 500 so far.

Are there other ways I could get to see other members' trees?
Or is being invited to see a tree the only way possible?

On GR you can only see someone else's tree if they give permission - which means successfully contacting them.

If it's only a fortnight or less since you sent your messages, Bix, it's still early days.
It's been known for replies to be received weeks or months after messages have been sent.

Don't give up hope!
I don't know what message you've sent, but usually it's a good idea to explain why you're interested in the person on the tree. Don't just send GR's standard request to view a tree - most people ignore such requests..


Try Googling names of your ancestors - you never know what might turn up on other sites.

ArgyllGran,
There is someone on my tree I wanted to know more about, so I went to SEARCH then SEARCH ALL MEMBERS TREES, and typed in the person in question.

A couple of pages came up, and I could tell that two of the trees had the correct person, because of a small place in Berkshire, where he came from and which they named.

...So I clicked on FIND OUT MORE beside one of the tree owners names, and sent him a message. The next day, I sent a message to the other tree owner.

I explained why I was interested in the person. But still waiting. As you suggest, they might take some time to reply. Anyway, I am still exploring the Boards. I was previously on Ancestry site for about 9 years.

This looks like quite a reasonable way to contact someone about a mutual ancestor. I will probably keep using this method and see what happens.

Bix ...........

one problem with GR is that they never delete a tree, onlt the member can do that .......... or someone given the password information by the member.

This means that there are trees on GR dating back to 2002/2003 when GR began.

The problem caused is several-fold ........

1. members die and no-one knows about or can delete the tree. GR will deelte the tree if a family member who knows about contacts staff and provides the necessary information.

2. members change their email address and don't notify GR. Thta means any emails sent by GR just float away in the atmosphere. I've noticed that Brits seem to be far more likely to change their email addresses than members in other countries.

3. Members lose interest, or become disabled and no longer able to work on their tree, but do not delete the tree or give someone the information to do so.


Just keep an eye on your SENT messages ..........

if the envelope to the left of a name is green, it has not been opened

If there is no envelope showing, then the message has been opened.


You also have to remember that some members do not want to make contact ...... this may be their wish and one has to respect that.

Or it may be because the contact has been one of GR's standard suggestions (eg, "Open your tree"). I am only one of many members who will not respond at all to those messages.

Envelopes for the two members I posted messages to are still showing, and are the green colour. Thanks for that tip!