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granny
we helpers assume that anyone who posts asking a question requires help
the problem is making sure they post those requests on the "proper" board.
To me, that basically means, that General Chat is not the "proper" board.
But, as jax says, it matters not how you "train" the helpers ............someone will always ignore their training.
and anyway, I object to the word "train"
I think that is insulting!
Tell me please why I was able to use the boards correctly the very first itme I tried?
I'll tell you .................... I found the Boards the very first day I joined the site. I looked at every Board, and worked out what was going on.
It was obvious that General and Chat were not the places to ask deep questions, and Tips and Record Office just made sense.
There were not any GR "Tips" etc back in April 2004 ............... I just used common sense.
and I was not an expert on the web. I had only had internet for a year, and until joining here and FR, had used it only for emails. So these two sites really were my education into what could be found.
But it really is the people asking questions who need to know where to ask the questions ....... ie, be educated on how to use the site .............. not the helpers who need to be trained in how to "offer suggestions".
sylvia
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Ermm, hasn't the 'specials' been tried - and failed? (the help clinic) trying to limit the number of helpers chipping in.
Maybe instead of trying to educate the posters, the helpers should be trained, when to offer suggestions of where to look, or when to step in for the really stuck.
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I suppose you're right and I wouldn't want to stifle the enthusiasm and generosity of those very helpful members (who have been a blessing to me in the past). It's just that I think people get lazyminded about the boards which could actually be detrimental to them in the long run.
If I have time to help someone then I would only search the relevant board and (for example) ignore genealogy chat in preference to Find Ancestors.
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It is a good idea but there is always someone who will give the info they are after. because they can !!!
I have seen it many a time when I have given instructions how to use freebmd so the poster can enjoy finding info for themselves.
Ten minutes later someone will post the said births ect.... Why?....because they can!!!
so good idea but probably will not work
jax
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Following on from JaneyCanuck's comment about her being a traffic cop wannabe, how about we take the view that while GR are the PCs of the site, the more experienced users could adopt the role of "specials"?
If someone posts on an incorrect board, the first person to pick up the fact that it is in the wrong place simply replies "Sorry, wrong board, try posting this request/information on ........."
The next person to read the posting would see the notice and, hopefully, the line would stop there.
Gradually, people might get the overall message and think carefully about where to post their request.
It's only a suggestion and I know that sometimes knowing where to post can be a tricky one - I've made the mistake myself in the past.
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The best thing the helpers could do, (and sometimes do), is not to answer the questions put on the wrong boards, just put up a message 'if you post this on the find ancestors board, one of the regular volunteer helpers will quickly come to your assistance'. No other message, nothing suggesting they have done wrong.
That way, the threads will quickly move down, the OP will hopefully post correctly, and any newbie having a quick look round might work out which is the correct place to post.
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There are no instructions on the main "Genealogy Chat" board page, or in a pinned post as there is at the top as on Find Ancestors, to explain what this board is for and how to use it.
"Genealogy Chat" has immediately turned into just another look-up/trying-to-find board.
This is exactly what happened with "Records Office" and "Tips" in the past -- they had been assigned particular functions, but nobody paid any attention, and where requests for help were posted depended largely on what crowd regular users hung out with, as far as I could tell.
New users, which there do seem to be a lot of, are posting randomly on the new boards. There are ancestral hunts on General Chat as well.
The old boards, some time ago, did have notices at the top saying "trying to find" posts would be removed from boards other than the ones for that purpose.
The boards need *clear* capsule descriptions/discussions at the top -- both of what they are for and of what they are *not* for.
Why? No, not because I'm a nitpicking traffic cop wannabe.
Because when people post the "find ancestors" type of request on boards that are not intended for the "find ancestors" type of request, there is that much more chance we are going to find them duplicating their request on another board.
And because when people post trying-to-find type requests elsewhere than on Find Ancestors, there isn't even the minimal chance they will have read the instructions pined on that board that there is if they post there -- all about offering detailed information, etc., and especially about not posting duplicates.
The functions of the boards as they are now organized are really quite clear (with some exceptions, like where records look-up offers belong).
Could we get some effort from the site management to make the functions of the various boards clear to users, by posting clear descriptions and instructions at the top of each?
And how about a function where users can request review of a thread on the plainly wrong board -- like an ancestor search on General Chat or Genealogy Chat -- and the site management would *move* the thread to where it belongs?
(I use other internet forums where this is done quite regularly by moderators, leaving behind a standard-form notice with a link to the new location ... which of course can't be done here because this dinosaurus of a site still denies us html capacity in posts ...)
Please, before this just becomes another free-for-all with messages posted randomly around the site and duplications appearing regularly.
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