RootsChat.Com
General => The Common Room => Topic started by: Melbell on Tuesday 17 April 18 14:56 BST (UK)
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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
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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.
Regards
Chas
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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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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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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.)
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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
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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!
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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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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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I tend to check on "New Replies" first, then the various county boards that i'm interested in, then Common Room etc...
We all have our own ways. Perhaps if you try a "Partridge " search, you may link up with more of your flock?
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Interesting replies - thank you all.
Please don't think I was suggesting that anyone is doing anything wrong!
I suppose the main reason for posting on specific boards is that you are more likely to tap into Chatters' expertise about particular topics or geographical areas.
I don't know, I guess we all muddle through, and get there in the end. Whatever, I know I have had lots of help and fun using Rootschat.
Melbell :)
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I confess that I post in the Common Room first if it's at all difficult - then all the geniuses will see it.
More routine queries should go on the County board but often the post covers more than one county, so Common Room again.
Many people don't know the right county because there's been so much change over time. Pre-1974 counties are best because they lasted a long time, but not everyone knows them. Warwickshire board is top-heavy with Birmingham queries - the one part of the county I've no knowledge of, and many of them should really be in Staffs or Worcestershire!
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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
Me too :)
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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
Me too :)
Me three :)
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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
I do the same and click on mark as read when I leave so that I usually only get a page full to look through.
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I have it set up that when I click on rootchat it opens at new replies, then I click on unread posts.
I have noticed over the last few months many new rootschaters posting questions in "How to Use RootsChat (Please don't post requests here)" at first I 'reported' so the moderator is notified so they can more it to an appropriate forum. However I do understand when you are new it is a maze until you get used to everything.
Also if you are posting from another country and don't know the UK countries it could explain why county posting could be more difficult AND especially the US forums where you wait years and people do not answer the question but just add their own, it maybe more logical for those people to post in the common room especially at first
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A lot of people don't know the difference between a look-up offer section and a look-up request section and post new threads asking for a look-up in the look-up offer thread section. It's also surprising how many long term members ask for help researching living people and name them in their thread.
Blue
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It can be difficult to know where to post a thread.
We often don't know where a search will take us. Sometimes a person or family could be living in one place, but then could be found on a census and they say they were born elsewhere. If the search is for their parents, or their birth for example, does the thread then get moved to that county board? Many rootschatters go beyond answering a simple question about a birth or marriage - this often leads to census finds, more bmds etc, different counties, different countries ....
I know posting the same lookup on different county boards is a definite no no, but it is easy to see why some people do this, especially when the family are known to have moved around, or the husband and wife come from different counties. There can be a lot of crossover, and it can get complicated.
Posting in the Common Room is just a way to cover all bases. Although many of the members do have speciality areas, most of them still help out on many other boards, so there are generally some good experienced helpers on most boards.
I think I'm alone in not checking unread posts - I generally head to the "Home" page to see the new topics as they appear. :)
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Like Ruskie, I head to 'Home" first.
I strive to share my offline resources and knowledge (particularly on NSW admin in 19th century) on the main Australia board but I do also check both the Beginner and Common Room boards.
JM
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Sometime it's not so clear cut where to post. My 3x grt grandfather for example. I could try the location boards but which one? He was born in Ayrshire, he met my 3x grt grandmother in Nairn, he studied in Edinburgh. I could post in the general Scotland board but he also spent considerable time time in India with the army. His career in the army means I could also post in forces board or occupations board if there was a connection to his career. So in cases like this common room is a good choice as covers all bases. I have quite a few ancestors who could be slotted into a variety of boards.
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Carrying on from what pharma said, I have a few queries where, for example, the person was born in Northamptonshire but the registration district is actually Rutland. Also seems to be a few Derbyshire but the registration district is Nottinghamshire.
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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.
That's what I do. Pleased that I'm being efficient at something. :)
I sometimes look at older posts on boards relevant to me and may find I can be of help or conversely, learn something from reading them.
I've never browsed old posts on The Common Room.
Title is key as John says. A title on The Common Room needs to indicate subject of the query.