Genealogy Chat

There is a message on the G R records office to this affect - Please note: members who do lookups do so out of a desire to help and are not paid or endorsed by GR. It it quite clear - So a simple thank you would not go a miss. I really appreciate all the help i get on this site and i don't think i would have got quite as far in my search as i have.. without all the help i have recieved from all the people who were willing to help.. so a big thank you from me- you are all stars. Julie

Hi Jo, If it's a while after the thread has been used then there is nothing wrong with a pm. It's just that some people use pm's instead of putting replies on the thread at all. Kath. x

I agree. A thank you costs nothing. Id actualy just personaly pm'd Linda G for doing a passenger look up for me and the thread is now closed (I thought she might not see it otherwise) when I spotted your thread.

I agree with you about the GR adverts on tv. They make it sound so easy to 'find out all about your ancestors and their lives', so that many new members expect to find all sorts of information at the drop of a hat. Some people even get a bit 'stroppy' if you point out that some of what they are asking just can't be found online and they will have to do a bit more digging elsewhere. On saying that though, I find the vast majority of people are polite and do say please and thank you. The one thing I do wish that GR would do is put something on the homepage to tell new members how to use the message boards. So many new people reply to threads using the messaging service which isn't what it's there for. Kath. x

There were several threads along this same line a few weeks ago ........ mainly because several of us (yes, I'm another!!) were fed up at the non-response. At that time it was noted that it seemed as though an unknown number of people (we guessed newbies) thought that all this work was done by paid staff of GR working on their behalf. They didn't know we were all volunteers, other members, doing it out of the goodness of our heart and .................. let's face it .......................... for fun! Part of the reason of course is GR's advertising which I believe (I'm not in the UK so I have never seen an ad for them) implies the research is all ready waiting for you if only you will join! Since then, I've noticed that a number of people are posting thank yous on the Success Board! Mind you ..................... in my own humble opinion, even the fact that 'paid' staff are doing the work for you does NOT mean that Thank You (and Please) should be forgotten! Sylvia (in Canada)

No matter what people do for me even a none result I always say please and thank you, It's only polite to do so, after all these people are putting them selves out for me of their own free will. Paul

oh don't get me started !!! i've even had then come back for a 2nd look up without acknowledging the 1st......... they then go on my ignored list, and funnily enough nobody has ever asked me why i ignore them !!

Completely agreed. A month or two ago Reggie made exactly the same point. Even when the answer is from knowledge rather than look ups I still think a Thanks is not out of place. C

Does it annoy you when you do several lookups, or other research for people and they cant be bothered to acknowledge it? Or do you take it in your stride. Obviously people can't be glued to their PC all day and may not have realised they have a reply, but I was thinking if they don't reply at all, or if you've sent a personal message and they don't.