It's so unfair to the looker uppers

[celia]

I usually PM the person and tell them I have answered it, and ask them to acknowledge it on the post, so nobody else will waste their time.

You are brave I did that a few times,I always got an apology & sorry computers been off for a few weeks .Strange that is because they had been logged in a few times during my wait .I don't think people realize we can keep Tabb's on them.For instance i can bet my boots that this person who hasn't replied to hardly any of the request that they posted .Doesn't log in at all, they just go to the replied mail then print out the info. If it was me giving that certain info which i cant.I would P.M.It then they would have to log in

Celia

[wheeldon]

When I first joined I asked for lots of look-ups, which I was most gratefull for.  However, I now have a subscription to ancestry and only now do I realise how much time it can take to find one person on the census.

So, although people should respond out of courtesy, I bet most have no idea how much time is spent looking up their ancestors 

[LizzieW]

I bet most have no idea how much time is spent looking up their ancestors

Especially as some experienced people seem to be able to look things up so quickly, I'm often amazed at the speed with which some people reply.

Liz

[celia]

Me to Liz
i see a request for a census lookup next thing there it is.
I would be interested to know what the source is,do you have disks,books,or what ,and how long does it take to find the requested family.Sometimes people aren't even sure the family they want are in Cheshire or Lancashire in 1871.
It always amazes me that with so little info they are found.So how do you do it

Celia

[LizzieW]

Celia

I've no idea, I'm not one of the people who can look things up that quickly, even when, just as an exercise,  I search for an ancestor for whom I have all the information already to hand, it doesn't seem to be quick.  I think some people have disks for Parish records, but even so, they would still have to insert them into the computer and search them.

Perhaps these clever people could tell us all the secret!

Liz

[julianb]

I'm not a particularly "clever person" in the sense of what you've just described - I'd say I was medium speed on look-ups, but if you're used to searching a well-known international website, and know a few tricks, you can find things quite quickly. 

Then there''s the transcription to be done which should be freshly typed to avoid falling foul of copyright issues - I've noticed partial replies by some people which are then  filled out with full details within the next minute.  Transcriptions into a reply can take as long as finding the records in the first place.

I got frustrated and didn't do look-ups for quite a while because I felt it was becoming a race.  Now when I've got the time to do look-ups I seek out ones that have been sitting unanswered for a while, because they're less likely to be competitive.


JULIAN

[LizzieW]

know a few tricks,

Julian

I think that is part of the secret, not just for doing searches quickly, but being able to find the required information at all.  I asked for help on the Lincs. site some time ago and the info I was given was extremely helpful and when I asked the person where they found it, they had searched on IGI.  Now I had already done that, but only by asking the other person how he'd find the info, was I able to search more effectively than I had been doing.  I suppose it is all down to trial and error (or maybe reading the instructions on the website!!).

Liz

[Gadget]

Those transcription - particularly when there is a family of Mum and Dad, 8 children, Grandad, a servant and an apprentice take forever. I'm a fast typist but I hate those - and then trying to find the correct reference - reading sideways, going to page before for the folio number ................ 

No,  photo restoration is much more fun and prettier 

Gadget

[julianb]

Those transcription - particularly when there is a family of Mum and Dad, 8 children, Grandad, a servant and an apprentice take forever. I'm a fast typist but I hate those

... and even worse if that large family has moved around and all the children were born in different, incomprehensible places LOL

know a few tricks,

The IGI trick is to use an asterisk against the first name on the IGI search page (not the general search page).  That gives you all the people with the required surname against the other criteria you have specified eg father's name, county etc.  This is particularly useful when you are uncertain of the parish.  When you know the parish, Hugh Wallis's pages are ideal.

... and returning to earlier posts, please forgive me if I have not said "thank you" for look-ups done for me 

JULIAN