Suggestions

Hello Estelle.

I guess it's really hard for you and the team trying to please everyone.

People join this site for different reasons eg...building family tree; tracing ancestors; finding living rellies etc.

Many are more advanced pc users than others.

There is a high percentage of 'older' members.

Then you get those who use the site and Community daily and those who have never looked at the boards.


A nightmare indeed.


In my humble opinion, a Home Page should be as I have described it before....Attractive, Bold, Clear and aimed at potential new members.



As you have noticed, many of us go straight to the boards. Personally, I go straight to My Threads and then I may browse through the boards to see if there is anything which particularly interests me or any good discussions taking place.


Each afternoon I then go through the FA and GC boards to help those who have not replied to their threads from the day before.


Now and again, I work on my tree as the mood takes me - but it is only occasionally.


I rarely look at my Hot Matches and certainly don't want updates from my contacts as I have over 20,000 of them......18,500 being absolutely no connection at all :-S :-S :-D


I had a look at your FL blog and find it hard to believe that people are asking for information on the blog and not posting on the FL board as advised........... :-S :-S


Hope this helps a bit.

Cx

Well I'll get howled down by everybody except I guess Estelle.

The look n feel of the new FriendsUnited site is the way to go not fusty dusty heavy in text specialist FH sites.

The "boards" as they are are not very important - the views / postings figures say it all. The reality is that the typical user is interested in the tree first and foremost and then expanding it out to somewhere between 100 and 1000 records, rarely more. Once that is done the tendency is to let it go...

In that context the current broken state of the "new" tree view and some important aspects of the "old" view is an unmitigated disaster.

Improving the UI along the lines of FRU would give some product consistency and moreover be much better for "newbies" who are the lifeblood of the product. It would also help ad revenue. I am mystified why GRU ignore the obvious potential for GRU/FRU and TV tie ins. If that was not the intention why on earth make such major changes to FRU ?

While going off topic to FRU (as it now is) not having an iPhone/Android/Chrome app for it is brain dead and one sure way to ensure the site remains moribund. It would also be good for GRU - AY have a really fantastic app with a tree program much more fun than the web site!

In any case tt is def. not a good idea on commercial web sites to have the same people developing code and designing the site. Developers always think they can design software UI and look n feel. They can't.

In any case classic browser internet site is basically obsolete though like most obsolete things it will soldier on. Why are Apple the only people to understand this? HTML5 is the classic web's last dance and GRU have not got past page 2 of the manual.

I have now used the new tree twice. No problems........... except.........

IT'S TOO SLOW

The 2nd page (details) - WHY are some entries so pale? Makes no sense, and they are hard to see.

I zoomed in and out, but with big families I still can't see all the children at once. There is no "slider", only up/down/left/right arrows.

again - IT'S TOO SLOW!!!

Scozz, doesn't your setup let you drag & drop? That makes the slider bars redundant and is much faster.

Hi everyone,
again, thanks for your feedback. I can assure you that it has all been passed on. The comments you have all made have been really constructive and very useful.
The tree is being worked on by a separate team. They are continually working on the bugs and making sure everything is fixed.As I have said before, if you do ever come across bugs they must be reported to our customer support team. We have a system where bugs are tested and then reported via our own system. They are then picked up by the development team.
Kind regards,
Estelle

howls Rollo down re FR. FR is a total mess, it no longer does effectively what it says on the packet IE reunite one with friends..it has followed FB into the realms of 'cartoon comics for the criminally deficient in levels of concentration when faced with words of more than one syllable which don't come with pictures'...imo.

'Dumbing down' in other words.

I completely agree Rollo - you will get howled down!
FR is awful now!
It is no longer user friendly or about reuniting friends.

I agree that Rollo will get howled down!

FR is now the most incredible mess!

It is not user friendly, I do not find it attractive but incredibly messy and unattractive, and it most certainly does not help to unite friends.

It might be helpful if all you want to do is steal photos from millions of others and add them to your "memory box" .......... I have deleted most of my photos from on there.

For heaven's sake, you can't even post on any of the threads on any discussion board UNLESS you were posting on them before the changes were made! So the subjects are still there, but the contributors cannot increase



Please, please, please do not attempt their look for GR.

It is not in the least conducive to serious research!



Estelle ..............

to answer one of the questions you asked in a posting on p.1

What do I use the Home Page for?


Literally .................... nothing!


I have Board Summary in Bookmarks, and thus go directly to that page. I only see Home Page when I have to sign in .......... and I do not look at it even then. I click immediately on Community, and then on Boards Summary


So, for me, Home Page is unnecessary.



What about the idea of using the Home Page to direct people to other areas of GR?????


eg, To work on your family tree click on ......

To enter into Discussions on family history research, click on Community

To search records, click on .....


Keep the page clean and attractive, with little patterning to distract ....... I've actually come to like the plain pale greenish background, it's restful and type is easy to read on it. The wallpaper has the completely opposite effect for me.




sylvia

Civility costs nothing, RolloTheRed.



In my opinion the friends reunited site is now utterly unfriendly to the user, irrespective of whether or not he or she is a novice to the internet.

Hi Sylvia, that's a really good suggestion. Again, I'll pass it on. I realise that most of you on these boards are quite heavy users of the site, so you know where you are going. However, we still have many users who probably do visit the homepage and so we do need to make it as helpful as possible. I really appreciate the constructive feedback you have all given here.
Kind regards,
Estelle

Hello Estelle,

This is really what we said earlier on.........those who use the site regularly do not need anything from the home page.....it would be much more helpful to make user friendly for new people.


I very much like Sylvia's idea but would add... 'if you would like some help' to the Discussions on family history research bit.





:-D :-D

Yes Kense, I do have that, but like I said...... with big families you can't see all the children at once. Couldn't do that with the old tree either, but I found it easier to use a slide bar than click from one to the next.

Thank you, Estelle



C

that's a good idea to add "if you would like some help' to the Discussions on family history research bit. "


I just threw out some suggestions, thinking that others would have ideas as well.




sylvia

One of the things that keeps cropping up time and time again at the moment with people who I am trying to help is that they really have no clue how to use 'search trees' so it seems that the guidance on how to do so is either not specific enough or is not being seen at all?

I get messages from some members, along the lines of "I also have a "Joe Bloggs", check out my tree"

So I look at their tree and find their "Joe Bloggs" was born in a different place.

I've replied with the fact that our Bloggs names were not born in the same place, but often get messages from the SAME members, about the same people.

Now I ask for more details........ that might get them thinking!!

I've also had requests to view my tree from total strangers! No covering message with any names or other details. I used to respond asking who they were looking for, now I don't bother replying to such rude people.

Scozz, it's quite common to get tree requests from unrelated people.


Many new members seem to think that anyone who helps them is related to them! You will see that several long-time helpers on here have added the fact that NONE of us are related to those we help to their profile.


I get a lot of tree requests from people to whom I have sent a message re how to find their replies. They click on the first button they see which, in many cases, happens to be the tree request one.


There is a fairly high percentage of elderly members using these boards and they are not always fully conversant with a pc.


I either ignore them or send a polite message back saying that we are not related but please look at the message I sent you!

It seems that people just aren't reading what is put in front of them sometimes....... :-(

Cx

Cynthia - what I meant was the ONLY message is a request to view my tree.

That is SO rude :-P

Scozz


that is what Cynthia means!


We either get a request to view our tree, or they send a message saying "I have opened my tree to you"


Both are automated messages from GR ................. and don't have any other information


I know that if I am lucky, I can remember the name and recognize it as someone I've helped on the boards within the last week.


If not .................. I either go searching or just plain ignore it, figuring that they will re-send if it is important, and possibly give me more information.




sylvia

I'm bewildered now Scozz :-S


Is it my posting you consider to be rude or the fact that people just send you the automated message? :-S

Cynthia,I read it that Scozz is saying that the people who send just an 'open your tree to me' demand, are being rude. not you :-)