RootsChat.Com
General => The Common Room => The Lighter Side => Topic started by: Christopher on Wednesday 08 October 08 16:12 BST (UK)
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How long should a new member expect to wait before they receive a reply to their initial query?
I may be mistaken but feel that since RootsChat has such a large membership today a reply to an initial query should be fairly prompt and am surprised to see that there are members who have been waiting more than a couple of months.
I realise that there are a number of members who take the time and trouble to look for posts which have not received one answer and do their best to reply so that the newcomer feels part of the RootsChat community.
It's great to see a number of newcomers replying to posts from other newcomers to the site. I hope this means that some of these new members are related somewhere along the line.
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This topic crops up now and then, and my feeling is that there is no specific answer to Christopher's question.
Replies depend on the areas involved, the times, the online data available, the off-line data available, etc. etc etc.
and above all, on the willingness and interest of those prepared to do look-ups of all different kinds of data.
I feel things will carry on as usual:
- some queries get answered fairly quickly,
- some take longer,
- some get "forgotten" for a while until new resources suddenly become available
- and a few just stay unanswered, as no resources are available for that particular question.
All in all, a very large proportion of queries and requests do get answered, so a big pat on the back to all concerned :)
Bob
ps under "resources" I mean all kinds of databases, books, articles
or even someone new joining RootsChat and saying "I remember that well ...." :)
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Thanks Bob,
That's a great answer.
I agree ... all RootsChatters deserve a pat on the back.
Christopher
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Hi Christopher
I think another reason why some posts go unanswered especially newbies is like Bob says its all about who has what data..time..etc and another thing is that if a newbie posts and it looks like its been ignored is because if you reply to the post saying " Hi welcome to Rootschat..Im sorry I cant help you but Im sure someone will be able to " then when a potential looker upper sees the post on the board it looks like someone is dealing with it as it has had a reply so we go on to the next one assuming its been dealt with.
Jane ;)
Jane
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On the other hand Jane, I've often replied, saying sorry I can't help, but welcome to Rootschat just because I think it must be awful to be new, put in a request and get no response at all, and within minutes, someone else has joined the thread who can help.
Lizzie
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On the other hand Jane, I've often replied, saying sorry I can't help, but welcome to Rootschat just because I think it must be awful to be new, put in a request and get no response at all, and within minutes, someone else has joined the thread who can help.
Lizzie
I have done the same as Lizzie ..... and I have noticed that it does get the board moving.
Cheers
KHP :D
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Yes, I agree with Lizzie and KHP - that has been my experience also. Sometimes I try to offer some limited information, and then someone else comes along with much more expertise in the area and posts an excellent response! :D I really don't like to see newbies' posts unanswered for any significant period of time - it seems to go against the Rootschat spirit of friendliness...
MarieC
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Hi Christopher
I think another reason why some posts go unanswered especially newbies is like Bob says its all about who has what data..time..etc and another thing is that if a newbie posts and it looks like its been ignored is because if you reply to the post saying " Hi welcome to Rootschat..Im sorry I cant help you but Im sure someone will be able to " then when a potential looker upper sees the post on the board it looks like someone is dealing with it as it has had a reply so we go on to the next one assuming its been dealt with.
Jane ;)
Jane
Yes, it's nice to see that, but the problem is of course that after about half a dozen "Welcome to Roots Chat" messages, with no help, the whole thing may get a little frustrating for the original poster. I always like to help when I can (with my very shallow knowledge of genealogy), but quite often I'm torn whether to reply and just say "Sorry, I don't know, but welcome anyway", or just ignore it, because I don't want to give the impression that I'm trying to boost my post count so I can become a Marquissate (or whatever it is !) :)
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I think the answer is a resounding NO!
RootsChat is one of a very few family-history related sites where an immediate, or a very quick response is pleasantly common. Its accuracy and correctness is usually excellent, and if a welcome is thrown in then that's nice too. This is by no means the norm in my experience and therefore not 'expected'.
However,
Do newcomers enjoy immediate replies?
Yes! Definitely! I think this is one of the things that make RootsChat so excellent.
Do newcomers enjoy 'welcome to RootsChat' comments?
Yes, but just one or perhaps two without pertinent information would be sufficient.
Paul
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RootsChat is one of a very few family-history related sites where an immediate, or a very quick response is pleasantly common. Its accuracy and correctness is usually excellent, and if a welcome is thrown in then that's nice too. This is by no means the norm in my experience and therefore not 'expected'.
By and large this has also been my experience and given the often vague nature of new posters questions it is much to the credit of those RC members who go out of their way to carry out the necessary research and provide the answers.
It is the generally welcoming nature of the majority within Rootschat that make it the place it is.
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I'm an newbie :) so feel like I can answer. I was really pleased to recieve answers very quickly, with a lot of information I could use to help me. The boards are really friendly, and the chat room is brilliant too.
I understand that some posts may not be answered straight away but for the most part, Rootschat is one of the best forums on the net for welcoming new posters. :)
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Although I can't answer for anyone else and am not presumming they have the same reasons as I but the other night I decided to look through all the old unreplied posts. Some I were able to answer, the ones I didn't reply to were the ones that had a very common name and/or hadn't a clue where they landed or settled in NZ. Quite common, but I'm just not experienced enough to help out on that scale.
lil
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lil's answer is pretty much how I feel.
I am always extremely grateful for the help I receive from members here - I've learnt an enormous amount too and I often spend time deliberately searching for posts to which there have been no replies - particularly in those areas I too am researching - in the hope that I can perhaps repay the kindness shown to me.
However .. in the last few minutes I've looked at 5 unanswered queries in 'The Common Room' alone and have quickly concluded that my knowledge just isn't sufficient to even begin to answer. Personally, I don't see any point in posting something along the lines of 'I have looked at your query but can't answer it' - that surely is of no help at all? At the same time, whilst no replies may have been posted, I notice that one query has been viewed 107 times, which suggests to me that people (probably far more experienced than I) have obviously tried to help.
I often dip in to other sites where I've left posts (I'm mentioning no names here) but from one in particular, I'm still waiting for a single viewing of something I posted in 2003! I may have to wait occasionally for an answer from kind souls here, but in those rare instances it usually means that the right person just hasn't come along yet - or that everyone is equally stumped!
As to whether people 'expect' a reply, well I can only speak for myself - Roots is so full of knowledgeable people that when I'm hitting a brickwall I am guilty of thinking 'I expect a Rootchatter' will know', but I never expect someone to spend hours searching on my behalf .. the fact that they seem to do so is often overwhelming and I thank each and every one of them.
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Hy ,i am a new commer ,i only joined tuesday of this week & i cannot believe the fast response i got from a lot of helpful kind people who responded to my request almost immediatly , i would like to take the opportunity to thank them all , a very grateful first timer & old timer :D
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An interesting point arises from the delay existing between the time a new member opens a thread and the date when they receive a reply. They may, or may not, have logged on several times from the date that they made their first post but not posted messages. There's no way of knowing if members who've not logged on for some time are reading the threads that they started. If they've nothing to add and have not been asked for further information what's the point of logging on?