General Chat

Hi Donna, good to see you on here. Yes I am sure facebook was the start of the decline when people started chatting to each other and spending time on there, but mostly they drift back. It does of course date back to the big problems of a few years back when we had the big split and the other site took so many of our respected members, that was sad, but we still have some great people on here, both those who post and those who just read, if we can only get them all posting again we can still have a chat and a laugh. We need people to put up some good topics to keep the A-Zs at a minimum.

I am sure that your Mum would want you to go on with your tree though, she was so keen wasn't she?

And you were on the panto thread Catie so we have met, but welcome anyway. I have been on here 7 years and for about the past five there has been the threat of 'trouble' brewing. I have to say I have never been personally 'attacked', I try to steer clear of names I recognise as having caused problems in the past and am still enjoying spending time on here. (& I am old enough to be your Gran!!! (69).

Hello Ann (and everyone)
I pop on here now and again, but like many, I dont enjoy the A-Z threads and the battles.
Since Mum died I must admit to bowing out of family history as well, my new year resolution is to get back into it.

Do you think maybe face book also has some thing to do with it? It seems to have become very popular.

Wishing you all a Happy Christmas and I hope 2010 is kind to us all.
Donna x

Hello Ann and Everyone.

I'm really glad that you raised this topic. I've not been here long and like Sylvia, was vey hesitant in making comment. I think this was largely due to the 'trouble' which always seemed to be bubbling. Having said that, I'm glad that I plucked up the courage and joined the throng lol. In so doing I've spoken with some lovely people and joined in some interesting chats. I hope in 2010, more people will decide to do so.
I haven't introduced myself either. I'm Catie and live in SW London. I'm 24 and as I'm self employed and work from home, manage to pop in daily. I enjoy the opportunity to talk with people of differnt ages and opinions from my own. I've also received help with my tree, which was great.

Catie x

Uggers, I agree we wont get it back as it was but we can try to make it a more friendly place (OK I know there are people who appear to want nothing but strife but we don't have to feed their egos by letting the boards disintegrate), there are still quite a few threads on Gen which are like the old chat threads where we have a good relationship with others on the thread.

Liz, I realise you do your best but because youa re adding your threads in the middle of the night by the time the rest of uis come on they are once again swamped by the blessed A-Zs.

Hello SylviaG, how lovely to have somebody new post for Christmas. Goodness that is a lot of mince pies, they must have a good reputation. But then you are no doubt used to cooking in bulk with four hungry children to feed, 6 Grandchildren, that is one more than me (aren't they a blessing? Love them to bits!)

Everybody who is a member belongs, we try not to make it a closed shop but inevitably people who have been posting on here for a while will seem as if they know each other. A few of us have met up but there are still many I chat to who I haven't met.

SylviaG I am a retired Civil Servant, have a lovely OH also retired, (I have been retired for 9 years now), I have two children and my eldest (girl) is 48 and the youngest (boy) 42, eldest has three boys and the youngest a boy and a girl. The three older boys are 17, 20 and 21 and the two youngest 13 and 7, there is only one girl among that lot and she is the youngest of the lot.

Sylvia in Canada and SylviaG I hope that means you feel you know more about me now and that you will continue to come on Gen and chat, on this thread if you like, it is nice to have threads to chat on. If you have any craft hobbies there is also the scrapbooking thread and you are welcome to post on there.

Ann
Glos

Morning all..... morning Sylvia G and welcome.... any chance of a couple more mince pies on your order list, lol.... I used to do them, but haven't for a long time....

I haven't anything to add (yep, Ann.... all talked out, lololol ;¬))).... just thought I'd pop on and say Hi!! Cos it is a beautiful day, it is nearly Christmas, and I get to be smothered in snuggles in a couple of days time when littlie comes to stay, lol......

Love

Daff xxxxx

Good Morning Sylvia G, and welcome. I am doing the usual Monday morning laundry at the moment, so please forgive this short message. I will come back later in the day and have a 'chat'.
Good Luck with the Mince Pies.
Julia in Derbyshire

Good Morning All,
I read your messages everyday but have not felt as if I belonged and was very wary about adding any comments. However, having read that you would like more of us to add to the conversations, I thought I would give it a go. So let me introduce myself first.
My name is Sylvia, I have added the G as there are a few of us with the same name etc.
I am retired, ( single now) and used to work for the railways. I have 4 children, 2 boys , 2 girls, the oldest will be 46 in January and the youngest is 30. I have 6 grand children.
Both parents deceased, have 2 sisters ( 1 living 1 deceased ).
Have worked very hard on my family tree and am very grateful for all the help I have received from you wonderful people.

Today is the annual Mince pie making day.
We grand daughter Ella (9) and I make them every year .
We have orders from the family and from my friends at work. It has become a bit of a tradition, the date set in the diary is always the first available after school has finished for the christmas holidays.
This year its 156 pies.
Ovens are on and we are just about to get started.
Have a nice day everyone and stay warm, ( we will be ).

Regards Sylvia.

Hi Ann


I've been a member of GR since 2003, and have been posting on Records, Tips and TTF for almost all that time.

I did look at General and Chat occasionally in the early days ........ but every time I looked, it seemed as if there was some sort of "battle" and/or nastiness going on. I spent a lot of time on the parent site Friends Reunited ............. and there was enough of that going on over there that I stuck purely to genealogy on here! I knew who to avoid over there, I didn't know who to avoid on here.

It is only in the last few months that I have taken to looking on here every day and evening, reading the threads (never ever the a-z and lnking ones!!)and began posting occasionally .............. but you're almost all in bed by the time I get here!

And, of course, I find that many of the threads are talking about people I know nothing about ...... it's rather like being a new kid at school, trying to pick up clues so that I don't make a fool of myself when I do open my mouth!


But you're quite right ...... it would be nice to have a pleasant place to chat.



I do fear what will happen when the new company takes over ......... I hear that it has had to go to the Competitions Board because the sale means that two of the biggest genealogy companies in the UK (findmypast and GR) will be under the same banner.


If you think the changes in February were bad, you should have seen what has happened over on FR .............. and many of those happened round about the time the sale was announced.


I'm going away for Christmas, from the 22-28 .... but be assured you will see me again!!



Merry Christmas everyone


sylvia
xxxx

Ann I do agree with you, and with Uggers, believe it or not lol, (Happy Christmas Uggers) and also with Julia, when I used to come on here at night there would be around 10 pages to go through to keep up with what was happening and I would respond to any threads that I had something to respond with, and add an odd one of my own. Now I add lots just to try and make more interesting things to read, as I know a lot of people read the threads even if they dare not reply in case of being shouted down or bullied, or they have left for that reason so can only read and not reply.
There used to be such a warm and friendly atmosphere and altho it is very heartwarming lots of the time, and I do appreciate all the kind thoughts when I fell the other day, things aren't the same as they were.

Maybe we can encourage people to post again and get things better, who knows, we had better make that one of our new year wishes, resolutions even, to make sure we try and post when we can to encourage and cheer others.

Happy days everyone, Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year, a new decade for us all to try and make the world a better place.

love
Lizxxxx

I think the boat has sailed, Ann. I don't think this board or general will ever get back to how it used to be years ago, good or bad.

The problem is, if all the people who don't like A-zs etc put threads up on the boards about other things the A-zs would not dominate the boards.
And, if we all agreed to ignore trouble makers maybe we'd get back what we had before.

And if those that like A-zs just put up one or two instead of having loads of similar threads that too would help. Sometimes gen board is one long A-Z and it is getting mindless, quite good when they started but they must have gone 'round the clock' more than once now, surely no fun any more.

Hi

I do post on here sometimes but have NO interest in a-z or games.

I don't post that often,but I do come here everyday and read the new messages.
Merry Christmas to you all. Maureen

Lets hope so hun it used to be a great place to "escape" heres to 2010 and the return of the boards
Love and hugs
Rachxx

No ann its not you talking to your self ! the boards used to be a plesant place to have a good laugh and a natter but not any more ,theres always some sort of hassel going on the only time i come on now days is when I need infomation and help with my reseaching .hope your well Ann ? {Jean the one who shares the same anniversary }

I think that when you look down the list of threads and see nothing but a-z's and games, with no topics under dicussion, it tends to put new people off. Those of us who have been around awhile do trawl along until we find something to comment on.

Good to see you Brenda, I am sorry about your OH's condition and do understand. maybe when you look in you could just say hello occasionally so we know you are around.

Yes,Ann,I would post more,but when the boards started getting a bit nasty,I didn't post much,and lately I have been rather busy as my OH is needing more and more done as his condition is getting worse.(pulmonary fibrosis).I tend to look in before I go to bed ,or like now when I have our meal on the go,so I do follow a lot of what is going on.
I do wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy Healthy New Year and hope to be with you a lot more then.

Brenda x