June 2002 Genealogy Forum News

Forum Tour

Submitted by: HOST GFS Cindy@aol.com

You know how you feel when you get new neighbors? You wonder if they have kids, and how many? Do they have a dog? Do you think to yourself, "Now I've got to break in another new bunch. Are they aware that the city ordinance allows only so many dogs?” You can bet they haven't been told, so at some point in time, you'll have the pleasure of letting they know.

Every community has rules to follow, and the Internet and each forum online has its own, too. The Genealogy Forum isn't any different. I'd like to take a few moments to take you on a virtual tour of the place that many of the HOSTs call home and to give you some of the “house rules” to make your visits here more enjoyable.

To find our main Genealogy Forum page, you can do one of two things:

Go to Keyword: ROOTS

When you get there, click on the heart in the upper right corner and put us in your Favorite Places. Next time you want to visit, open up your Favorite Places and click on Golden Gates Genealogy Forum -- Favorite Place Us.

On the main page, you'll notice that the Feature Buttons (the pictures on the right of the page), change every day. That's our way of announcing what chats\SIGs (Special Interest Groups) are being featured that night. There will always be a link included, to take you straight to the room where the chat\SIG is being held. On the left of the main page you'll notice 10 subjects:

Beginners, Messages, Surnames, Resources, Reunions, Search the Forum, Chat, Chat Schedules, Library, and Columnists.

In the middle of the main page, you'll see Features & Events, below that is a scroll box. When you click on the arrow on the scroll box, you'll receive a drop down list that has the Member Center folder, GenealogyForum.com, the latest GFNews, Shoppers Guide, Genealogy in the News, Genealogy Conferences, Genealogy Classes, and Telephone Search Facilities. If you select the Member Center and click "Go," you will find the Forum's Welcome Center, where you'll be able to learn more about the Forum's history, its team members, and other interesting tidbits.

I'd like to give you a brief tour of the areas on the left side of the page, since behind those doors are where all the Forums treasures are hidden. :)

Beginners:
When you click on that section, you'll be transported to the Beginners section of our forum. You'll find all kinds of help and suggestions about how to start your genealogy. If you haven't visited there yet, I'd highly recommend that you do. A team of great people have worked hard to construct the Beginners section, and have worked extra hard to keep it updated and easy to use. If you ever have any problems, or questions, about anything you find in the Beginners area, please don't hesitate to contact one of the Beginners HOSTs, or visit the chats to ask your questions.

Messages:
When you click on that section, you'll be taken to our Message Boards. There are six sections to our boards: Computer & Genealogy, United States, International, Surnames, Ethnic & Special Groups, and Internet. Each section holds a variety of message boards related to the title of the area. If you haven't been there, or it's been a while, then please visit our boards. While you're there, please post a message about the surnames you're researching. When you return the next time, you'll be able to read your own post and any replies. Depending on how you set your preferences, once you read a post it's automatically marked as "Read," but to reread any posts click on "List All." No posts are ever "deleted," so you can always reset your preferences up to 999 days and go back that far to read the posts.

Surnames:
When you click on that section, you'll be taken to our Surname page where you'll find: Message Boards, Share your Website, New GEDCOM Uploads, Surname Areas, Top 100 U.S. Surnames, and Mayflower Surnames. Each section here holds information or posts made by other genealogists.

Resources:
When you click there, you'll be taken to our Resource page, where you'll find: Addresses, Other Resources, Ancestral Seasoning, Regions of the World, Ethnic Resources, and Vital\Other Resources. There's a wonderful wealth of information in each of these sections: from where to write for documents, to recipes that are tried and true, to finding out what vital records are available.

Reunions:
When you click there, it will take you to the Reunion Center on our website. The main page will introduce the section to you and share a list of reunions that are scheduled. Anything and everything to do with family reunions will be found here.

Search the Forum:
This is one feature we have that is as dear to my heart as the chats. If it wasn't for this option, I'd be so lost sometimes. If I need something real fast, or need an answer to a question that someone has, I try here first. I feel that our Search button is like an antique store sign: "If we don't have it or you can't find it, then it doesn't exist." :) I have yet to type in anything that has to do with genealogy and not get an answer. Like a cereal ad we've all come to know and love, "Try it, you'll like it."

I am going to skip over the Chat Button for just a minute.

Chat Schedules:
When you click this section, it will take you to our main schedule page which has links to click for specific areas such as: Beginners, Root Cellar, Canadian, etc. I've found it very helpful to print out the schedule so that I don't miss a chat\SIG that I want to attend. Part of my job is to keep this schedule updated so you'll know when a chat\SIG is, which room it's in, the time it begins, and the HOSTs that are available to help you. If you see a chat\SIG that has DIH beside it, that means the chat\SIG is a "Drop In Hour" which means it's not hosted. Just because some of our chats are DIH doesn't mean that there aren't chatters in them trying to get help or find a potential cousin.

Library:
This is where we store our "Treasures." This area is also very dear to me. If I ever need to find something, then this is the place I go. I sometimes refer to it as our "Treasure Box" or "Gold Mine." In the Library you'll find: New File Uploads, Logs, Newsletters & More, Software & Tools, Ancestors, History & Culture, and Records. I can't begin to list all the files that are stored in our Library, and the additions just keep growing every day. You've just got to spend some time in there to see what we have available. There are hours and hours of hard work put into the Library, both by those who share information and those that maintain the Library.

Columnists:
When you click this section, you'll be taken to our Columnists screen. There you'll find: the Genealogy Forum News; Dear Myrtle's Daily Column; Bits of Blue and Gray; Pilgrims, Pioneers and Aliens; Adventures in Genealogy; and Starting from Scratch. The people who are behind these wonderful sites have worked endless hours to share their information with all of you. You'll find everything from tips and tricks, to a sense of humor, to even a look into their obsession: "Genealogy." Enjoy yourself as you visit their sites and let them know how much you appreciate what they've done.

Now for the final button:

Chat:
This is the area that is dearest to my heart, as are the HOSTs you'll meet. Our hosts volunteer their time week after week to help you learn the ins and outs of genealogy, both on the Internet and in the specific areas in which you're doing research. While all of the HOSTs are very knowledgeable, they can't do your genealogy for you, nor do they have the answer to all the questions that you may have. If genealogy was that easy, then we'd all have our complete lines back to Adam and Eve.

When you click on the Chat button, you'll be given a page that explains the Forum's Chat Guidelines. The guidelines are pretty well self-explanatory and you will get a brief outline of what the chat rooms are all about. At the bottom of that page is our Forum's logo, click there to go to the Chat Center. In the Chat Center you'll see: Chat Schedules, Ancestral Digs, Root Cellar, Beginners, Golden Gates, and Family Tree House. Other than the schedules, these buttons are the names of our chat rooms. When you click on any one of them, you'll be given a page that briefly describes what each room is about. In the lower right corner you'll see "Daily Line Up." Clicking there will give you the daily schedule in every room for each day of the week.

When you enter any of our chat rooms during the hosted hours, you'll be greeted by our HOSTs. Hosts can be recognized by the HOST GFS at the beginning of their screen name. Our HOSTs in training will have the prefix LDRS GFH. All of our hosts have gone through a rigorous training through AOL and the Genealogy Forum. We hope that your experience in our rooms is a pleasant one, and only ask that you feel as comfortable here as you would in your Grandmother's home ... which means no unkind words, and no arguing. Our rooms are considered to be public rooms so we have to follow the same rules that AOL has set up for all public chat rooms.

From time to time you'll see a HOST ask for a "roll call," or ask you to share your surnames. In most Forums they don't allow CAPS to be used because it is considered yelling. We do allow CAPS, but only for surnames. By using caps for the names you are researching they stand out and will catch the eye of potential cousins. For example: SMITH, CONNERS, BROWN. All other conversations should be in lower case. You should also give the place and date when you post your names to make it easier for others to see if they might connect. For example: SMITH, England, 1800: CONNERS, Poland, 1825: BROWN, New York, 1930

You might want to have your genealogy files handy when you visit the chats in case another chatter asks for more info on your surnames. I know that I personally can't remember the exact the dates and places of all of my ancestors or their children, so I keep my files, or at least some family info handy. You can always share more detailed info with others via email if you make a connection.

Sometimes you'll see a lot of {{ }} in a chat, that's hugging. Genealogists seem to be the most friendly group you'll ever find. You'll also see a variety of shortcuts words like: "afk, brb, ROFL, LOL " or faces like: ;) or :D You can learn more about chat room abbreviations at: Keyword: ROOTS > Beginners > Chat Abbreviations

Most of our rooms have a limited number of chatters allowed to be in one room at any given time. Beginners is our smallest room. That allows people who are new to either genealogy, the Internet, or computers to have more of a one-on-one with the HOSTs. The Family Tree House is a general type of genealogy room. It covers anything and everything to do with genealogy, and sometimes moves at a really fast pace. The Root Cellar is designated mostly for our USA SIGs. Golden Gates contains many of our other SIGs, such as the overseas countries. Ancestral Digs is another one similar to Golden Gates.

You'll see, from time to time, someone will mention a "Bingo." That's our term for connecting or matching another person with the same genealogy line. You'll also hear the term "Cuzzie." That's our loving term for "Cousin," no matter how distant.

When you're in our chat rooms, you'll notice several conversations going on at once. Very much unlike what our Mothers taught us, we are allowed to all talk at once in the chat rooms. :) Because the rooms can be so busy, we ask that when you are having a conversation with someone, or want to speak to someone specific, that you address them by name so they will know you are talking to them. Not everyone types the full HOST GFS when addressing a host. It is OK to use their names, and most chatters will even shorten the names and use the first few letters to make typing a bit faster.

Beginners is set up to cater to the people who are new to genealogy, AOL, or computers. It's a laid-back setting, and a good place to get started. The Family Tree House is more of a faster pace, where many of the people are experienced in chat rooms, know what the Forum is about, and can carry a conversation with 5-10 people at once. Our SIGs are more structured in that they might have lectures from time to time, or will focus on a specific topic. As you can see, we have a place for everyone.

From time to time, when you're in one of our rooms, there might be a troublemaker. They are usually demanding attention, disrupting the flow of the chat, or doing some other unacceptable things. In the event that this occurs, we ask that you ignore the behavior and carry on with your genealogy. Our HOSTs are trained to handle situations that are against the Terms Of Service (TOS). If you so choose, you can put the member on "ignore" by double clicking on their name on the room list, and you won't even have to see them talking. The HOSTs in the room will handle the situations that arise, even if it is not obvious in the chat room. There are many situations handled “behind the scenes” to make your chat experience a pleasant one.

When you're in one of our chat rooms and HOSTs are present, please allow the HOSTs the chance to answer the questions (that's their job). After the HOST has replied, you can offer suggestions, or share experiences that you've had in doing genealogy. You could also email the person asking for help, but please don't appear to take over hosting the chat. It's just a common courtesy issue.

Once in a while, you'll see someone post their surnames and the list will go on and on. In the eyes of AOL, that could be considered "scrolling." Scrolling is a multiline posting that can disrupt the chat. I know one time that I posted my names and had too many lines; AOL booted me right out the door. So, our suggestion for posting your surnames is to do 5 or 6 at a time, and then wait a couple of seconds before posting more. If you post every surname you have at one time, those watching won't be able to actually read them all and you definitely want to catch a "cuzzie" if you can.

Another thing you might see in the chats is neat looking pictures, also known as graphics. While they're fun, cute, and take a lot of time to make, they're not really appropriate in the genealogy chats. When it's someone's birthday, you'll see a friend run a birthday cake, balloons perhaps or presents, but those times are far and few between. A note here too, sometimes the graphics run so fast or are so long that it's considered scrolling, as I explained above.

We request that you don't have personal or private conversations in the genealogy chats. If you need to talk to someone or share personal\private information, please do it via IM or email. You never know who is actually in the chats, and if you reveal anything personal, whether about yourself, your family or even friends, then you're allowing everyone in the room to know.

In some of our rooms there will be lectures given. During those events, we observe “protocol.” Protocol means that once the lecture begins, no one talks except the speaker. Usually at the end of the lecture, there will be a question\answer session. When that is allowed, you type "!" to make a comment or "?" to ask a question. Once you type the "!" or "?", then you must wait for your turn, until you're called on. This is necessary only to make sure that everyone's comments are heard and every question is answered. It also keeps the guest speaker from being overwhelmed with too many questions all at once.

Due to the large amount of problems that people have encountered with "links" being posted in chat rooms, we request that you refrain from doing that. While it's an easy way to share sites, it's a dangerous one too. If a stranger comes in, or someone you just don't know, and says: "Here's where you can get copies of Death Certificates free," and posts a somewhat believable link and you click on it, it could go to a site that you really shouldn't or wouldn't want to visit. Hackers also use this technique to "get you." If you have a list of really good sites you use and would be willing to share, I'd suggest you keep them near your computer and type in the whole URL to the chat.

If you ever have a lengthy question for the HOSTs that are in the chats, just as a courtesy, please email them. Our HOSTs need to keep their attention on the flow of the room in order to be fair to everyone and to be forever alert for troublemakers.

One unwritten clause genealogists have is to NEVER ask, in a public chart room, for personal information about living people. Now if you share information via email, that's a decision you alone can make, but don't give out names, dates, or places for people that could become victims. If someone is not as honest as you are, they might be on the lookout for information in order to cause trouble.

One thing you'll notice throughout the chats is that some people are afraid to ask questions or speak up. You'll also be told that there are no stupid questions when it comes to genealogy. Our HOSTs can get caught up in helping people, and look away from their computer to refer to a book or other info to help someone. Our hosts can become quite busy during a chat even if you can't see everything that is going on at the moment. If you ever ask a question, and it isn't answered right away, give it a couple of minutes and just ask again. Ours hosts will try to answer every question as quickly and thoroughly as possible. Please don't IM the hosts to ask your questions as this only distracts them from paying attention to the room.

As I mentioned before, our rooms follow AOL's guidelines for behavior, if you didn't read the "Rules of the Road" when you first signed up on AOL or if you haven't checked them in a while, please take a few minutes and go to: Keyword: TOS.

When you want to send information or email to someone, you don't have to ask for their "address." Your screen name IS your email address on AOL, and you don't have to put the "@aol.com" at the end. If you're emailing someone on another server, then you'll have to put the "@xxx" at the end. For example: look at the screen name of anyone that makes a comment in this chat. The name you see IS their screen name and their email address, just leave off the colon (:).

You can learn more about Chat Room Manners at: Keyword: ROOTS > Beginners > Unk Hiram’s Chat Room Manners

In closing, I hope your experience in our forum is a very pleasant one and that you'll come back often. You'll find that the majority of people feel like the genealogy community here is one big family. Here in the forum, we have two awards that is given out the first of each month, the "Pat On The Back" which is given by our "boss", GFL George, and the "Host Of The Month", which is given by me, so if you know a HOST who has gone that extra mile to help you, or they just make you happy, please let them know. You can even email GFL George or myself to nominate that "Special HOST." Whether you make a "cuzzie connection" or not, you'll learn many valuable lessons and gain many good friends.

© 2002 GFNEWS, a monthly publication of the Golden Gate Genealogy Forum, Inc. of Franklin, MA.
(America Online Keyword: roots.) The Editors welcome your ideas and articles,
success stories, favorite genealogy research tips, comments and suggestions.