Hello Caron Enthusiasts!
In the interest of helping newbies or those unfamiliar with posting queries
on lists, the below message appeared in Ancestry Daily News today and is
accessible from the
Ancestry.com website at the URL at the end of this
message.
28 January, 2000
GEORGE G. MORGAN: "ALONG THOSE LINES . . ." "Effective Postings on Message
Boards"
One way to extend your research reach is by posting a message on any one of
many message boards on the Internet. A message board is a place where people
with similar interests post written messages which others read. The reader
may either post a response on the message board or send a private reply to
the person who posted the message via E-mail.
If you're already posting messages to message boards, good for you! If you
aren't posting messages there yet, you should consider doing so. This week's
"Along Those Lines . . . " column focuses on creating an effective message
board posting.
WHAT MESSAGE BOARDS EXIST?
There are literally thousands of genealogical message boards on the Web.
There are message board for surnames, for countries, states and counties,
for ethnic groups, and a variety of other topics. They can be found at many
sites in the electronic community. In my own research, I use the message
boards of the Genealogy Forum on America Online, at
Ancestry.com
(
http://www.ancestry.com), at RootsWeb (
http://www.rootsweb.com), and at a
few other places. I have made contact with and exchanged information with
many other researchers over the years and have extended my own research
considerably.
Once at a message board, you can read the messages there and/or you can post
a message yourself. In order to use the boards to your best advantage, you
need to post an effective, meaningful, and communicative message, one that
will pique a reader's interest and provide enough information to elicit a
response.
As a frequent user of message boards, I am continually amazed at some of the
lousy messages are posted on them. Let's talk about the three components of
an effective message board posting, and let's use a surname message board as
our example.
GOOD SUBJECT LINE
First and foremost, you want to capture the readers' attention. In message
boards and in E-mail messages, an effective, specific and informative
subject line is the key to successful communication. I have seen messages
posted with the following actual subject lines:
JONES
John Smith
ATTENTION: OHIO Wilson Researchers!!!
STILL LOOKING FOR CONNECTIONS
HELP!!!
These are not good subject lines. They tell the reader nothing to help him
or her determine if the content of the message is of interest to them. An
effective subject line for surname research contains the following:
1. Name of the individual, with the surname in all capitals--such as Isaac
WILSON;
2. The location where you are seeking records, such as NC or Mecklenburg
Co., NC; and
3. The time period, such as 1850-1885 or Late 1880s
This information provides readers with many details in a brief subject line
that allows them to determine if they want to read the posting. Here are
some examples of good actual subject lines:
MORRISON, HARRIS b. 1846 m. Rosa Havner
Susan Elzie MORRISON b 1857 AR
Whitfield, Thomas 1806 TN
John Ball b. abt 1767 m Rachel King
John McKnitt ALEXANDER - 1733-1817 - MD>NC
The use of the > character in the subject line above indicates that the
person moved from one place to another and is an excellent way to briefly
communicate movement between locations.
GOOD MESSAGE CONTENT
The second important component of an excellent posting is the content of the
message. You should indicate the name of the person you are researching (one
person per posting is a good rule of thumb). You should state exactly what
information you are seeking. Finally, you should include as much pertinent
information as possible for the reader to determine if they have information
that will help you. The following is an example of an effectively
constructed message:
"I am seeking names and vital dates about the parents of Lydia Lenora
PATTERSON, b. 13 November 1833 (place unknown) and d. 28 August 1914 at
Davidson (Mecklenburg Co.) NC. She married Joseph McKnitt WILSON on 8 April
1856 in Mecklenburg Co., NC, and they produced at least nine children but
there may have been as many as twelve. I would also be interested in names,
dates and spouse/family information about these siblings."
In this example, the subject's name, vital dates, location and additional
information about spouse and children are listed. The message is concise and
contains enough details for the reader to determine if he or she has
information that might assist the researcher who posted the message.
You might also include additional information that might induce a response.
An additional paragraph for the above message might look like this:
"I have information about all of Lydia Lenora PATTERSON's children, their
spouses and children and would be willing to share this information with
others interested in these lines."
SIGNATURE
Finally, include your signature and information about how to respond to you.
It is generally assumed that any responses will be posted to the message
board. This is very helpful to other researchers. However, if you wish to
receive a private reply via E-mail, mention this fact and provide your
E-mail address. (Any information received this way that is not posted on the
message board should probably be posted there as well.)
SUMMING UP
Consider for a moment the E-mails and message board postings you see every
day. Which ones will capture your interest first? Which ones are you most
likely to read first? Do some of them provide insufficient information for
you to make a decision? Do you even know what is being asked?
As you can see in the examples above, a thoughtfully constructed message
board posting that includes a meaningful subject line and detail-rich
content is more likely to elicit responses. Invest a little time in creating
better message board postings and chances are you will expand your research
and achieve some new successes.
Happy Hunting!
George
Copyright 2000,
MyFamily.com. All rights reserved. George G. Morgan is a
proud member of the Council of Genealogy Columnists. He would like to hear
from you at atl(a)ahaseminars.com but, due to the volume of e-mail received,
he is unable to answer every e-mail message received. Please note that he
cannot assist you with your individual research. Visit George's Web site at
http://ahaseminars.com/atl for information about speaking engagements.
George is also the author of "The Genealogy Forum on America Online," which
is available in the Ancestry Online Store at:
http://shop.myfamily.com/ancestrycatalog/product.asp?pf%5Fid=1101046&...
id=10102000 (be careful, this entirety will need to be copied and pasted)
Have a nice (and warm) one!
Scott Caron
SCaron0911(a)aol.com