Facebook for Genealogy: Posts, aka Queries

There are now several thousand genealogy groups on Facebook. Some are for commercial enterprises and some are for researching in a specific locale or for a specific topic or surname. They are all community forums in which we can participate and help one another with our research. Social networking on Facebook is a great way to meet others, to teach others, and to help others. In order to make it a productive and helpful tool for our research, there are several things we should all put into regular practice.

Today's Topic: Posts, aka Queries

Facebook posts for genealogy currently run the full spectrum from exceedingly poor to perfectly terrific. A well-written query has been a challenge to genealogists for years, long before using the Internet. Genealogical magazines, journals, and newsletters often published queries for genealogists who were hoping to connect with someone else who had an ancestor or topic in common. Many of those publications had specific guidelines that had to be followed in order to publish a query. With the advent of home computers and the Internet, genealogists began to use technology to publish their research questions. Bulletin boards, online forums, chat rooms, mailing lists, message boards, and now social networking forums all give us the opportunity to reach out and ask for help. Many of these technology-based tools also include guidelines for posting queries. However, people often do not read them and do not follow them. 

Writing a well-crafted post or query is important in order to receive a well-crafted answer. If the question is important enough to you to ask in the first place, it should be important enough to ask it well. A quickly written sentence with a name and no other information won't cut it. It is important to include the details of what you already know, what you have already done, and what you want to learn by asking your question. There are many different types of queries you might write based on what sort of research you may need help with. And each one will have important details you should be sure to include.

Types of Posts and Queries

• About an individual
• About a family group
• About research in a specific locality
• About research with a specific record type
• About research for a specific topic
• About research for an ethnic group
• About research for a religion
• About research methodology
• About help with technology for genealogy
• About help with photos, letters, diaries, Bibles, and other mementos
• And many more

Common Rules for Posts and Queries:

The following are guidelines to help you write the best query you can. Provide whatever information you have whenever possible.

1. Limit each post to one query. Asking multiple questions within a post can make it hard for others to answer you. It can also mean that you may receive answers for some of the questions, but not all of them. One question per post fixes that.
2. Choose the appropriate Facebook group or fan page on which to post your query. There are many different groups for many different genealogical topics. Posting on the correct group can get you the help you need. See Katherine R. Willson's "Genealogy on Facebook" list here: http://socialmediagenealogy.com/genealogy-on-facebook-list/
3. Posting a vague query with few details won't get you the answers you need. Be sure to include as many pieces of information as you can in order to help direct those who might be taking the time to reply to you.
• Include a person's full name, including given, middle, nickname, and surname(s).
• Include a person's birth, marriage, and death information including dates and places.
• Include the names of a person's parents, siblings, and/or spouses.
• Include all the details you already know.
• Include details that indicate what you have already done.
4. Don't assume that the reader will know what you know. Explain thoroughly.
5. If your query involves a document or a photo, include a scanned copy for others to see.
6. If your query involves a web site, include the URL (address) for the web site and/or the web page that you are referencing.
7. To separate blocks of text within one post use the Shift+Enter keys at the same time to insert a soft return that won't trigger the post function before you're done writing your query.
8. Don't type in all UPPERCASE letters. Online this is considered shouting. And it is very difficult to read. The exception is when typing surnames. They should be in uppercase letters to help them stand out from the rest of the text.
9. Don't use any abbreviations in your post. Remember that the Internet is global and you might receive answers from people elsewhere in the world that aren't familiar with abbreviations used in your area.
10. Be sure to proofread your query before you post it. Check it for accuracy, spelling, and clarity.  
11. Make a log of where you posted your query, including the date and the name of the group. That way it is easier to remember where and when to check back later.
12. If you have taken the time to post a query, stick around a while to participate in the resulting discussion in order to answer questions, make clarifications, or just follow along as the conversation grows.
13. When someone takes the time to reply to your query be sure to carefully read their reply. Follow up with replies to their questions and with more questions of your own if you aren't clear about their answer(s). 
14. Thank people for helping you. This seems like a no-brainer, but it is often overlooked.
15. Check back over the next few days to see if anyone has replied or added to the conversation for your query. 
16. Keep a copy of your query and the entire thread of conversation that took place after that. Put it in your research notes to help you down the road. Note the date and the Facebook group on which you asked your questions. 

See also: Facebook for Genealogy: Threads

Facebook for Genealogy: Threads

There are now several thousand genealogy groups on Facebook. Some are for commercial enterprises and some are for researching in a specific locale or for a specific topic or surname. They are all community forums in which we can participate and help one another with our research. Social networking on Facebook is a great way to meet others, to teach others, and to help others. In order to make it a productive and helpful tool for our research, there are several things we should all put into regular practice.

Today's Topic: Threads

A thread in an online forum refers to one conversation: the initial question or post followed by all the replies, comments, and answers to that post. On Facebook after a certain number of replies, the thread will "collapse" which means it will show up as a shortened version with only the most recent comments displayed. At the top under the original post it will state "View previous comments" and show the number of current comments on the thread, such as "11 of 112."  This means that it is showing the most recent 11 comments out of a total of 112.

When participating in a conversation, be sure you first read the entire thread. Doing so means you will know what others have already said and how other answers were shared. Quite often people do not read an entire thread, but they go ahead and reply, answer a question, or ask another question in their comments. This almost always means there will be duplication in the answers received or assumptions made about the depth and breadth of the conversation.

Common Rules to Follow in a Thread:

• Read the initial post carefully to be sure you understand the comment or the question.
• Before replying, be sure to read the entire thread first so that you don't repeat something that has already been said by someone else. Unless, of course, it is something that bears repeating.
• Be thorough in your reply if you are offering advice or answering a research question.
• If you are stating a personal opinion, offer some reasoning to back up your statements.
• Do not assume that the reader has the same knowledge-base that you do about the topic or about genealogy in general. 
• Remember that the reader of the thread isn't just the person who wrote the original post. Everyone who belongs to the group can read what your replies contain. This is always an opportunity to keep in mind that you may be sharing information with new genealogists and you might be helping them to learn new ways to do their research. You might also teach the veterans a thing or two.
• If your reply includes a reference to something found online, be sure to include the URL (web address) for the reference. Copy & paste it from your web browser directly into your reply to be sure it is accurate and will work properly.
• If your reply includes a reference to a specific work, online or offline, be sure to include the complete title so that it will be easy for others to track down.
• Stay on topic. If the topic strays from the original post, it might be time to start a new thread.
• If the thread becomes more of a personal conversation between you and another person, it might be time to move it to a private message conversation instead of using the public forum.
• Respect the opinions and advice given by others. Have a thoughtful conversation with others, encouraging a good-natured exchange of ideas and research methodology tips.
• Mind your manners. A public forum isn't the time or the place for anyone to do or say something that they wouldn't do or say in person, face to face. It's sad that I have to include this bit, but I've seen tempers flare far too often. Treat others with the same courtesy you wish for yourself.

See also: Facebook for Genealogy: Posts, aka Queries

You're Probably Not Even Reading This

Remember the Carly Simon song "You're So Vain" and the lyrics "you probably think this song is about you?" Well, this article is for you too. You probably think I'm talking specifically about *you* when I actually mean the collective *you* instead. So, don't take this article personally unless, of course, this really is about *you*.

You don't read. You skim your incoming e-mails, Facebook, Twitter and G+ posts. I don't know if you skip every other word or every other line, but you definitely skim. And once you skim-read something you quickly jot a reply and hit send without reading what you just wrote. Your reply doesn't make sense and it is studded with inaccuracies or misspelled words. All because you don't read.

Three times this week I've sent you a message with details in the body of the message. And you quickly replied asking me for those same details. Seriously? Why don't you read?

Dozens of times each day I reject new links you send me. Some are inappropriate and many are just repeats of what I already have. Why do you do this? You ignore all the guidelines I have in place. Because you don't read! And when I write to ask you not to do this again you reply with something sarcastic or flippant. You need to read and then absorb what you just read.

Because you don't read you end up wondering why no one ever replies to your messages. You wonder why some replies you do get aren't all that helpful. You need to read.

Because you don't read you are missing valuable details and little nuggets that might extend the branches of your family tree even further. You need to read.

Because you don't read, and especially not with any care, you are missing out on so many important topics, so many helpful threads, and so many potential tips and tricks that might be just what you need.

Who am I kidding? You're probably not even reading this.

A lesson in broken links

Recently someone submitted several new links through the form on Cyndi's List. There are several guidelines for submitting new links. Three of the points read as follows:

• First verify the address before submitting it.
• Type the address carefully for complete accuracy.
• For error-free submissions, use the "copy & paste" function on your computer to highlight and copy the address from your web browser window and paste it into the text box below.

That seems straight-forward to me. The links are automatically added to a waiting area page on Cyndi's List (What's New) and they are sent to me to be forwarded to the mailing list. So, if links are submitted I assume the submitter is following the guidelines. I also assume the submitter cares about the link(s) they are submitting, thus the reason they submit. Well, you know that old saying about why I should never assume anything.

Links are often submitted to my site without much care. Incorrect URLs (addresses), no descriptions, poor descriptions, misspelled words, lack of punctuation...you've heard some of this from me before. But, that isn't what this message is about today. Today it is only about the incorrect addresses that cause broken links.

I don't normally pick on specific people or instances, but this one is still haunting me today, over a month and a half later, with dozens of e-mails coming to me to report the failed links. On November 15th someone submitted a link for each US state to a site called iMortuary.com. 51 new links (don't forget DC). Of those 51 links, 43 links were submitted with bad addresses and are broken. Further, the submitter didn't use consistent descriptions, so they obviously weren't merely doing a copy and paste (if so, the description would probably have been the same over and over again). 43 broken links, newly submitted, means extra work for me to now fix them on my What's New page for November (http://www.cyndislist.com/new1107.htm); 43 links are forever broken in the mailing list archives (http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/CyndisList/2007-11/1196067888); there are numerous wasted e-mails back and forth reporting the broken links to me; and a bunch of wasted time for all of you who tried to use those links. In the end, the broken links defeated the purpose of submitting them to my site in the first place--to get visitors to that site.

Now to the lesson in broken links. If you encounter a broken link you might be able to find the correct address yourself by looking carefully at the URL. In this case, the broken links resulted because the submitter put the first letter in the name of the state in uppercase instead of all lowercase letters. For example, they submitted this:
     http://www.imortuary.com/cemeteries/Ohio/
when it should have been this:
     http://www.imortuary.com/cemeteries/ohio/
Another issue with the link for New York was easy to spot. It was uppercase, but they also left off the hyphen used in the two-word names for other links. For example, they submitted this:
     http://www.imortuary.com/cemeteries/New York
when it should have been this:
     http://www.imortuary.com/cemeteries/new-york/

Another thing you can do is break down the address and move up directories to the main directory. In the examples above, just backtrack through the address, removing first the state name:
     http://www.imortuary.com/cemeteries/
In this example you are taken to a page which is an index of all of the links to each state page. If this example hadn't worked we could just backtrack more through the address and go to the main homepage at:
     http://www.imortuary.com
If you haven't already learned these tricks, start looking at URLs for web sites to see if you might figure out broken links that you happen upon. I'm off to fix the links on the What's New page.

Successful surfing!
Cyndi

Catch-22 E-mail

This is one of the most common problems I have with AOL e-mail addresses, and the most frustrating to me. I have a lady AOL user who is writing to me. She is getting more and more frustrated and angry with me because I am not responding to her and will not subscribe her to my mailing list. The problem: every time I e-mail her I get a bounced message:

----- The following addresses had permanent fatal errors -----
lady's name@aol.com
(reason: 550 lady's name IS NOT ACCEPTING MAIL FROM THIS SENDER)

What this means is that my e-mail address is not in her address book as an acceptable sender, so I can't e-mail her. And the messages on my mailing list are now shown as being sent from my personal address, rather than the old server address that previously worked for her. So, I'm not sure what to do. I hate to disappoint her. But I also hate getting e-mail from people who are annoyed with me when it isn't under my control. Catch-22. Nothing that I can do to fix this....that I know of.

I'm not a spammer!

Grrr. Suddenly, everyone thinks I'm a spammer. All e-mails I send to Comcast, MSN, and Hotmail addresses are bouncing back to me:
"...sender was rejected.Remote host said: 550 Your e-mail was rejected for policy reasons on this gateway. Reasons for rejection may be related to content with spam-like characteristics or IP/domain reputation problems." and "...BL004 Blocked for spam"

I have not spammed anyone. This is another instance of technology failing us. Something in a software program somewhere is "detecting" behaviors and taking action based on that. So, I can't e-mail several of my friends or web site visitors tonight because of that software. Grrr.

In some past instances my e-mail address was blocked because I was sending out the RootsWeb mailing list posts to the CyndiList mailing list each day. Every once in a while RootsWeb mailing lists get tagged as possible spam, but this is the first time that my personal address has been tagged that way. I'm a bit irritated. I can't figure out how to resolve this. I've e-mailed my ISP. I've tried to e-mail Hotmail. I posted a request on Comcast. But I wonder if those are the right things to do. We'll see.

Punctuation: It Isn't Just For Breakfast Anymore

At what point did it become acceptable to avoid using punctuation? And since when can you enter a long series of surnames with commas between them, but no spaces? And why is it okay to write complete sentences without using one uppercase letter? I may have failed the 8th grade spelling bee because of the word "scenario," but I do know that spelling is a lot easier these days with a spellchecker. Use it!!

I do not take e-mails seriously when several words are misspelled, when no punctuation is used, or when consonants and vowels are added or dropped randomly from words. Call me picky, but that is that. So there.

Cyndi
(who is overly fond of the comma and misplaces it regularly)

Follow the Bouncing E-mail

This is one of the things that really drives me crazy: bounced e-mail because of bad addresses, filters, or blocking services.

On average I receive about 200 e-mails a day. My ISP filters spam and viruses. My e-mail software (Eudora) then filters spam and junk one more time. Each day I go through both my ISP and my local junk boxes just to be sure that they didn't mistakenly identify something as spam. Periodically I find one that shouldn't be there. Following the junk filters my e-mail software then filters and sorts specific types of messages such as new link requests, broken link reports, blog posts, etc. Once all that is done my daily e-mail is whittled down to the daily odds and ends.

On my web site I clearly state that because of the huge load of e-mail and work on the site each day I don't have time to answer personal research questions. But that doesn't stop people. I get e-mail from them asking for help, advice, etc. Now, that makes me a bit irritable, but what is worse is when I actually reply to those types of people/messages only to have my e-mail bounced back at me with "no such address" "doesn't like recipient" or "not accepting e-mail from this sender" messages. Aaargh!! First, they ignore the fact that I say I can't help them, then they make it impossible to reply to them at all. That makes no sense! And their messages are usually full of "help me!" and "I'm desperate" and other such urgentness. I also get new link requests submitted with bad e-mail addresses, which means I can't contact them if I need further information and I can't send them my usual replies.

Hey folks, if you are going to e-mail someone with a genealogical query, first be sure you do a few things to make the correspondence successful.

1. Add that person's e-mail address to your non-spam/junk filters.
2. Add that person's e-mail address to your "It's OK, I like this person" list or whatever it might be called in your e-mail options.
3. Check and double-check your own e-mail address as you supply it to them for a reply. If you can't correctly spell your own e-mail address you've got problems.
4. Don't make the receiver go through one of the spam-blocking services by making them reply to an automated message first in order to be added to your list of acceptable addresses.

I've become pretty darned grumpy about that last one. When someone writes to me, I reply. When I get back the automated "please reply to message so that you can be added to my list of acceptable e-mail addresses" message I put my foot down. I don't reply. I delete. It really makes me grumpy because they wrote to me first.

Because e-mail is so easy to send it has also become easy to use to intrude on others without thinking first. Please be sure you use your e-mail wisely and think about the person at the receiving end. Especially if you hope to have a successful correspondence with them in the future.

RE: RE: FWD: RE: FWD: Replying to the Wrong Topic

If I walked up to you and said, "I'm taking my son to the movies today," would you then reply to me with, "Do you think hamburgers are better with cheese?" Not likely. Most likely your reply would be something about the movies, thus staying on topic. And if you wanted to talk about cheeseburgers you would change the topic and we would move on.

So, if you wouldn't do this in face to face conversations why is it OK to do in e-mail or online conversations? It isn't. Following are several examples of where I see people doing this exact thing in day-to-day online conversations.

• Mailing Lists: There are more than 30,000 genealogy mailing lists devoted to specific topics, localities, or surnames. People frequently join mailing lists and participate incorrectly. Sometimes messages are sent that are off-topic. Sometimes people reply with unrelated questions or comments to messages for specific topics. And people often send new messages to the mailing list by replying to a pre-existing message, so that the "RE: Subject Line" appears in their new message. Solutions: Find a mailing list for the topic you need and post your message there instead. Don't reply to messages unless you're actually replying to *that* topic. Start new e-mail messages to begin a new conversation and topic.
• Message Boards: Ditto the points made above. Message boards (some call them "forums") have the same issues as mailing lists. The difference is that you receive mailing list posts by e-mail, but you have to visit a message board to read and participate.
• E-mail: Sometimes an e-mail message, especially a genealogical query, will contain numerous topics or questions. Often, replies to such e-mails will address one or two of the topics/questions, but not all of them. As the replies go back and forth between the correspondents threads of conversation are lost, points are not made, and answers are not given. And sometimes an e-mail message is sent about the movies and the reply comes back about cheeseburgers. Solutions: Before you reply think about what you read and be sure to read it carefully—more than once if necessary. When writing an e-mail query stick to one topic per message. Or if you have three questions about an ancestor, separate them into three paragraphs that stand out and indicate separate replies for each would be best. And when you start a new conversation, start a new e-mail with a new subject line. If your conversation has changed topics it is okay to change the subject line to reflect the new topic.
• Blogs: A blog is a personal online diary. Some people use them to post articles, to post genealogical findings, or as a substitute for a traditional web site. But the original concept is the same—messages on the blog are posted by the author. The nature of blogs allows for readers to post comments on blog entries. Blog authors can allow or reject those comments if they like. A blog is not a place for people to post comments on unrelated topics. A blog is not a place to ask unrelated questions. A blog is not a place for a reader to post a new topic. Since I started this blog I've rejected several messages that were attempts to contact me rather than actual comments on the topic the comment was attached to. Hey, if you want to e-mail me, then go through the web site and regular e-mail. If you have a comment on the topic, then use that blog feature. Otherwise, look for another more appropriate way to communicate with the author or find an answer to your question.

Overall, the theme here should be one of courtesy and common sense. Before you post a message anywhere ask yourself these questions:

1. Is my question relevant to the topic?
2. Am I sending my question/comment to the correct person or group?
3. Is there a better place I should take this conversation?
4. Should I start a new topic or separate topics?
5. Does my subject line and conversation thread reflect the intent of the original conversation or the purpose of the mailing list, message board, e-mail , or blog?
6. If I were at the receiving end of my message would it seem appropriate and would it make sense?

All that said, this is my official rule for this blog: if you comment on my posts make sure that your comments or questions relate to the topic. If you post a comment that doesn't match the original topic I will reject the post. As simple as that—let's stay on topic folks!

Cyndi

Why I Shouldn't Have Started a Blog!!!

Yep. Now I know why I was so slow in getting around to doing a blog. Because it gives people one more way to not read what I write. Sigh. I'm afraid this blog might start to show my snarly side. That would be the side I show when I growl at my son, my niece, or my nephew---after which they promptly laugh at me. No one takes me seriously.

I've received a couple of messages here with requests for me to add links or fix links on Cyndi's List. That isn't what this blog is about. That isn't what any of my previous messages on this blog have been about. This blog is a place for me to talk to all of you. Share my thoughts. Share my ideas. Rant.

The web site has everything you all need to submit new links. There is a "Submit a New Link" link on EVERY page of my web site. In fact, there is a "Submit a New Link" link in the right column of this blog. -------------->LOOK!! LOOK over there! See it?!! grrrrrr

OK, Drew. Stop laughing at me.

And, every page on my site has a "How to Update an Existing Link on Cyndi's List" link in the left column under FAQ. And at the bottom of every category page there is a link to "Update a Link" on that page.

So, why do people still attempt to write to me about new links or updates for links at the read-only newsletter mailing list address? Or through this blog? Stop it. Please!

I'll tell you why I think this happens. The Internet, computers, and our instant-gratification lifestyle these days, have all made us into click, click, click, SEND people. We pretend we know how to speed-read by skipping half the words in a message, then promptly reply and hit the SEND button without really stopping to digest what we just read or what we just wrote. No one reads instructions. No one reads "about this web site." People just half-skippity-dippity read part of what is on the screen and then form an instant opinion or put something into action immediately. Then they toddle off to fix dinner or watch their favorite show. And what do I do? I spend several hours every day or evening reading, dealing with, fixing, or replying to the more than 200 half-skippity-dippity e-mails, mailing list posts, and now blog posts. As I am doing right now. And I should be fixing dinner.

I'm starting a campaign right now. Pass this on to all your genealogy buddies. This is the "I Promise to Carefully Read and Carefully Write Everything I Do Online" Campaign. Oh sure. That will work.

Really, Drew. Stop laughing at me. Get off the floor.

Cyndi