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The Magic of Internet
Message Boards
The increasing popularity of the internet
has offered many new chances for people to exchange information
from all over the world. Message boards are one way this
information is exchanged in everything from sports to medicine.
However, it can also be a way you can increase your genealogy
research. They allow you to communicate freely with people from
all over in a public forum so that you can have the maximum number
of people possible looking at the information you are requesting.
This is a great way for you to be able to make contact with others
that are interested in genealogy like you.
First of all, if you are going to post on a message board for any
reason you should understand the consequences of what you post.
Remember that information on a message board, no matter what kind,
is essentially public. What you print there can be read by anyone
and can be quoted then to anyone. So make sure that everything you
write in any message you are going to post only has information in
it that you are comfortable having anyone read or share with
anyone else. In addition, keep in mind that with most message
boards, the post is permanent once you hit the submit button. So
you want to make sure you have no embarrassing typos or
information you think you might regret. It is always going and
worth your while to add that extra few minutes so you can review
the message before you hit submit.
So once you know you want to post to a genealogy message board for
information exchange, you need to make sure your posts are
effective. It is important not to make your posts long and bogged
down with a ton of information. When it comes to a message board
post, more is less and less is more. Make sure what your post is
detailed and concise rather than rambling and general. With a more
specific and concise message you are more likely to get specific
and helpful responses from others. If you are general with your
post you will either get no responses or a ton of responses that
may or may not have anything to do with the information you are
after. If you are looking for a specific family member in your
post, make sure you put in full names, birth dates, marriage
dates, and death dates. Put down specific locations that you may
have and even the names of parents or children. The more of this
you have, the more likely you are to get actual meaningful
information
It may seem either obvious or silly, but good
grammar and spelling are going to be important. People are much
more likely to respond to a post that seems to have been put up by
someone who is serious. In addition, if you use good grammar and
punctuation, you are less likely to be misunderstood. You always
want information to be precise and that is just one way to make
sure that your information is indeed clear. Also, check for typos
before you hit submit. Again, a typo, a misplaced comma, or just
bad spelling can cause a real problem with your post if you are
not careful. So just take a little extra time to make sure you are
saying what you want to say.
Lastly, make sure you always write how you would want to be
written to, which is sort of the golden rule of message boards no
matter what the topic is. Make sure you always check your post
regularly for replies. If someone does reply to you, acknowledge
them in a timely fashion. If you don't have time to write back in
detail right away at least drop them an email "thank
you" to acknowledge receipt of their information. Courtesy is
generally appreciated very much in any message board environment.
If you enjoy genealogy, then you probably already know that the
internet is an invaluable resource. However, you can also use the
internet to get in touch with people who may be sources for you as
well. A good genealogy message board is a great way to get in
touch with people that may be able to help you find information
you are missing or to simply form a support system. Just make sure
you are courteous and concise with your information and polite to
your fellow message board members so that you will have a positive
experience with genealogical message boards.
About the Authors
Paul Duxbury and Kevin Cook own
www.amateur-genealogist.com and www.our-family-trees.co.uk two of
the leading Genealogy Websites. In addition Paul owns a wide
range of exciting websites which can be viewed at
www.paulduxbury.com
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