Author Topic: Posts on 'wrong' boards??  (Read 2141 times)

Offline Melbell

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Posts on 'wrong' boards??
« on: Tuesday 17 April 18 14:56 BST (UK) »
Hello Everybody

I am intrigued by the numbers of people who post queries in The Common Room about specific places or topics which have their own dedicated Rootschat boards.  I realise that some queries will be from people new to the forum, or who don't know which board is quite appropriate.  But some are e.g. about John Smith in Liverpool or something, and you'd think it would make more sense to post on the Lancashire board?  Or is it because people see that the most active and experienced Rootschatters are always in The Common Room and think it would be good to pick their brains?  How often do topics get moved to more specific boards by moderators?

Please don't think I am trying to criticise the way other people use the forum.

Melbell

Offline Kiltpin

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Re: Posts on 'wrong' boards??
« Reply #1 on: Tuesday 17 April 18 15:03 BST (UK) »
I think that you have answered your own question, Melbell. There are other boards that I should really check daily - but I don't. I go to the common room.
If there is any spare time left then I go to the others, but really some of them are like Siberia - everybody knows where it is, but nobody wants to do there.

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Offline dawnsh

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Re: Posts on 'wrong' boards??
« Reply #2 on: Tuesday 17 April 18 15:15 BST (UK) »
As you have discovered, people post where they think fit depending on their Rootschat experience. There are no hard or fast rules.

By the same token, those of us who have been here for a while have our own preferences as to which boards to visit first. The common room tends to be further down my list than the county boards.

If you feel that a post would get more coverage or useful advice elsewhere from those with broader local knowledge, please use the 'report to moderator' button and we will relocate it as soon as anyone of us is online.
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Offline JenB

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Re: Posts on 'wrong' boards??
« Reply #3 on: Tuesday 17 April 18 15:18 BST (UK) »
There are other boards that I should really check daily - but I don't. I go to the common room.

I do the opposite. The areas where I feel have the most knowledge and interest are Durham and Northumberland, so I always check there first.

If I see postings in the Common Room which relate to those areas I often ask for them to be moved to the relevant County Board. It's then up to the Moderators whether or not they do this.
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Offline WhataPratt

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Re: Posts on 'wrong' boards??
« Reply #4 on: Tuesday 17 April 18 15:22 BST (UK) »
Conversely, I as a newbie/lurker spent a while umm-ing and ahh-ing about where to post my request for help with an ancestor from Middlesex, and ultimately opted for the Middlesex board, where it has (so far after 5 days) got precisely zero replies.  I've asked if a mod can move it to a more general board, but I don't know if that's the done thing!

(And maybe my query was just too difficult.)

Offline davidft

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Re: Posts on 'wrong' boards??
« Reply #5 on: Tuesday 17 April 18 15:35 BST (UK) »
Conversely, I as a newbie/lurker spent a while umm-ing and ahh-ing about where to post my request for help with an ancestor from Middlesex, and ultimately opted for the Middlesex board, where it has (so far after 5 days) got precisely zero replies.  I've asked if a mod can move it to a more general board, but I don't know if that's the done thing!

(And maybe my query was just too difficult.)

I think you have posted it in the right place (Middlesex board) and it has had 73 views so far so its not as if it is being ignored. Sometimes people just cannot help and the fact that Thomas Partridge is a common name makes it more difficult too. If its any consolation I once received an answer to a enquiry I had posted five years earlier which solved a mystery for me so maybe in time you will make progress with this enquiry. Good luck
James Stott c1775-1850. James was born in Yorkshire but where? He was a stonemason and married Elizabeth Archer (nee Nicholson) in 1794 at Ripon. They lived thereafter in Masham. If anyone has any suggestions or leads as to his birthplace I would be interested to know. I have searched for it for years without success. Thank you.

Offline WhataPratt

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Re: Posts on 'wrong' boards??
« Reply #6 on: Tuesday 17 April 18 15:40 BST (UK) »
I think you have posted it in the right place (Middlesex board) and it has had 73 views so far so its not as if it is being ignored. Sometimes people just cannot help and the fact that Thomas Partridge is a common name makes it more difficult too. If its any consolidation I once received an answer to a enquiry I had posted five years earlier which solved a mystery for me so maybe in time you will make progress with this enquiry. Good luck

Thank you, I think you're right!

Offline JohninSussex

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Re: Posts on 'wrong' boards??
« Reply #7 on: Tuesday 17 April 18 15:47 BST (UK) »
I think there are very few posts on "wrong boards".  An example would be posting on Herefordshire when it should have been Hertfordshire, or seeing Bradford Lancs and assuming it's a mistake for Yorks.  Also, posting a query in "Resources, don't post queries here" where the instruction is actually written right there!

I'm quite surprised how often I see the moderator moving a newbie's post out of the newbie's area.  That is by definition not a "wrong board" and moving a post may perhaps suggest you've done something wrong.

I'm surprised how many regulars say they only visit certain boards. When I started visiting regularly, I would check the county boards I'm interested in, and their sub-boards, and the England board, and perhaps a few others. 

But now I still check Rootschat usually at least once a day and I start with "recent unread posts".  Going by the title as well as the board it's placed on, I can usually spot those of interest.  I know others use the site that way and in my experience it's more efficient.
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Offline KGarrad

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Re: Posts on 'wrong' boards??
« Reply #8 on: Tuesday 17 April 18 16:19 BST (UK) »
I always click on [ Unread Posts ] at the top of any Forum page.
That way I get to see any new post, regardless of which board they are posted on ;D
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