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General => Ancestral Family Tree DNA Testing => Topic started by: jillruss on Tuesday 20 October 20 12:35 BST (UK)
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I'm just interested to know if others think the new messaging system is working okay.
I know its common for messages to go unanswered at the best of times, and, for that reason, I don't send that many. I only now contact people if I think it would be really helpful to my research or to theirs to exchange info.
So I've only sent 3 since the new 'wonderful' messaging system was introduced and - not a murmur of a reply from any of them. I'd take it on the chin, as usual, if it wasn't for the fact that the latest one I sent was to a lady with a very big tree (private); who, like me, manages a few other accounts, and who actually states in her profile that she's happy to answer messages (i.e. she's obviously a serious researcher). But I've heard nothing.
I'm just typing these messages in a cramped little box that opens at the bottom of the screen and then clicking 'send'. My outbox seems to signal that the message has been sent but I'm now wondering if I'm missing out an important new step in the process! ???
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It is not the best communication system.
I only contact people if they have been on Ancestry within the last month yet responses are hit and miss.
Yet some keep in semi regular contact and one distant Cousin DNA Match of my Wife is in regular contact and they are now Facebook friends as well.
Mutual help also works from time to time but mostly it is that they are seeking info.
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It’s working fine for me, I sent a message a couple of days ago, I received a reply this morning.
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There are two ways of sending messages one in a speech bubble from shared * dna page
One from when you go on tree owners profile
I get mixed up which is which but think the metthod which doesnt give you the format with a title gets better responses
Could be imagining it but maybe one method gives email alerts and the other just adds a green number to the envelope on home page
ive definitely had a lot of responses recently....even from relatives who dont have very active accounts .
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There are two ways of sending messages one in a speech bubble from shated dna page
One from when you go on tree owners profile
I get mixed up which is which but think the metthod which doesnt give you the format with a title gets better responses
Could be imagining it but maybe one method gives email alerts and the other just adds a green number to the envelope on home page
ive definitely had a lot of responses recently....even from relatives who dont have very active accounts .
Sorry, I'm probably being a bit dense but what did you mean by "in a speech bubble from shated dna page"? I've been looking everywhere for a speech bubble!!
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On DNA shared matches page
Click on someone who matches you
You see the big bubbles and options of seeing their trees ethnicity or shared matches with them but in top right corner there's a speech bubble for messages
That's the one that gives option of titling your message
If you click on their big bubble to see their profile you get an option to send a message
Hope that's clearer and pls excuse typos
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Oh, I see - I was literally looking for bubble shapes but my 'Message' in top right hand corner is in a rectangle! I was being dense!
I've used that method before but I think all three messages sent under the 'new' system were sent through their profile so I might go back to the former and see if it makes any difference. I'll give the lady who vows she always replies another few days and then send her another polite message via the 'bubble' method.
Thanks for your patience.
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Considering now you can see if the person has read your message or not I would suggest checking what it says underneath your sent message. If it has a read receipt then you're being ignored or they are coming up with a particularly long response.
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Considering now you can see if the person has read your message or not I would suggest checking what it says underneath your sent message. If it has a read receipt then you're being ignored or they are coming up with a particularly long response.
or - possibly - they've read and thought 'oh yes, I'll reply to that' and then got occupied doing something else and forgotten to do it......
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Considering now you can see if the person has read your message or not I would suggest checking what it says underneath your sent message. If it has a read receipt then you're being ignored or they are coming up with a particularly long response.
I'm obviously having a very dense day! I didn't know that I could tell if my message has been read. I've checked my outbox messages and it says when each message was delivered (which is good news) but I can't see anywhere that says its been read. How would they know?
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Ancestry doesn’t seem to be sending an email to Mailbox to alert you that you have a message.
The last few replies that I’ve had, I’ve happened to find, but no alert.
Perhaps that could explain why so many people aren’t responding?
Romilly.
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Not dense jill
I didnt know yoi could tell if amessage has been read or not
It would be very useful to know there's a note that says delivered when sent but I cant find the read sign either
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When the person reads it the word "delivered" changes to "read."
So if your messages currently say Delivered at the bottom, the other person hasn't read them yet.
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Thanks Albufera found it now .
Learn something new everyday
Not necessarily ignored tho some people think they can't answer if their subs have lapsed because they can't send new messages .
It's sometimes worth reminding them that they can .
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So. 8 of my last 10 messages have been read
4 have replied ...1 will probably reply when they get more information we.ve corresponded before
I answered with one of those polite messages wishing me luck but sceptical about our potential link
Oh and one is typing now ...
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I must admit to getting more and more confused by this.
I looked up the last two people I have messaged and both were last on RC either today or yesterday, yet both messages are still being marked as unread,
If they'd been marked as read but I'd had no reply, I'd just shrug my shoulders and add them to the long list of people who don't bother to reply. But, as they're shown as delivered (so presumably not read) I'm seriously wondering if the system is working as well as it used to. Why do these people insist on changing something that wasn't broken??? Do they no longer send email alerts? Are people just meant to notice the little number by the envelope sign at the top of the screen? I had a figure 1 on my 'envelope sign' for months but it was indicating a message I'd read and dealt with ages ago. No matter how many times I went into it in order to try and 'convince' Ancestry's system that it had been read, it took weeks before it finally disappeared of its own accord.
There doesn't seem much point wasting my time contacting people if they're not going to receive the message! I think I might email Ancestry with this , though that will probably be a waste of my time as well. They'll probably blame covid - everyone else seems to!!
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The whole thing seems to have a mind of it’s own. A few weeks ago my little envelope was showing 53, they are all old read and replied to messages going back several years.
In the past few days I have exchanged messages with a couple of people, each time I have received notification and the number on the envelope has gone up to 54, dropping back to 53 as soon as I read the new message.
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Messages do seem to be a bit hit and regarding displaying that we have an unread message in our Inbox.
The last incoming message we had sat there without us seeing it for a week or so, yet the previous one displayed an unread message icon on the main menu bar.
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Recently I've found new message notification to be hit and miss, also that newly received messages from someone that I replied to previously may briefly appear at the top of my list of messages, then disappear. If I have remembered the name of the person who sent it, I can search and find what was the latest message has been shifted down to wherever the thread is chronologically when I last replied to it.
The new messaging system is much worse than what it replaced.
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The last lady I messaged is in Oz. My message to her is still showing as received rather than read. However, the little green dot indicating she was online was showing yesterday when, due to the time lapse, it would have been the middle of the night over there. Yes, she might well be an insomniac/night owl, whatever, but I think the system ain't working.
I've emailed Ancestry and spelled out the problem as I see it but I'm not holding my breath. I'm sure they'll reply in good time but it will probably be one of those stock answers they, and other firms, churn out these days which never really answer the question as posed.
I was thinking of getting another relative to take a test but I don't think I'll bother now. There seems little point if you're left up in the air as to whether your messages are actually getting through.
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Hopefully it’s a glitch that will be resolved soon... My theory is that the people you’ve messaged aren’t getting an email alert, and so don’t know that you’ve messaged them!
I do think it helps encouraging other relatives to test... I’ve run out of willing participants:-(
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Once again finding that I'm not receiving any notifications of messages - had two waiting on my Ancestry inbox and definitely no emails informing me (also checked spam filter etc). Really not sure why the system is so hit and miss?
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I just noticed today, so I'm not sure if this is a new feature or I was just too unobservant to notice it before, but in the list of people I have messaged on the left hand side of the screen, if the last message was sent by me, if the person has read the message there is a tick beside their name.
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Because of Albufera32's comment, I went to look at my messages, to see if there were any ticks - and there were. However, even better there was a new message, the first unsolicited contact for many months probably 6 months any way. I spent some time answering the query ( I did have lots of info I could give to the sender), and unbelievably I noticed I had another new message.
This one was in reply to a message I sent. I sent it on 18/12/2019, and she replied 18/12/20. I never cease to be amazed, but it is true, don't ever assume you won't get an answer, just because the recipient doesnt reply straight away!
As it happens, it was a very short message but the sender did supply vital information about an NPE, confirming the biological father to be someone other than the surname given in their tree, and the same name I had given in my original contact. I think showing you have done your research (as opposed to just 'fishing'), helps you to get a response, even if it might be delayed for a year or so!!
Jane
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Messages on Ancestry DNA - this system is going from bad to worse - I 'sometimes' receive an alert that someone has messaged me, therefore there is a chance I miss messages.
But recently, Ancestry has started deleting 'white space' from any message I send, so I can't space my sentences or paragraphs - the member I am messaging just receives a solid block of text.
Have complained to Ancestry about this & received a complaint about the 'block text' from another member. No other message / text system I use does this, it must be down to Ancestry - or the block-text effect would happen everywhere.
Any ideas please?
Thanks.
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I have noticed this too. I usually split my messages into little blocks of information, to make it easy for the recipient to receive, understand & reply to. This takes much more time thinking and typing, rather than opening your mouth and splurging it all out.
It is annoying that all that thinking is negated, when the message is re-formated into one dense block of facts! Very annoying!
Jane
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Thanks Jane
So it's not just me?
Ancestry 'upgraded' their message service 2 years ago & it has been chaos ever since. Had a promising contact I messaged who didn't reply because they said - at length - the block-text message I was forced to send looked like 'spam' to them; so Ancestry is being actively negative in members' attempts to contact one another & discover more about our families.
This is infuriating - I rely on dna-testing & contacts because my family tree is so difficult to establish, Ancestry is just adding to the difficulty with their silly message programme, which is not fit for purpose I feel.
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This has been infuriating me too!
I prefer to split information up into paragraphs, as I personally find it easier to assimilate new information that way.
And now everything I compose is reformatted into what resembles a text message:-(
Romilly >:(
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Once again finding that I'm not receiving any notifications of messages - had two waiting on my Ancestry inbox and definitely no emails informing me (also checked spam filter etc). Really not sure why the system is so hit and miss?
Not receiving these alerts is frustrating for both sender and recipient. I can see why you wouldn't necessarily want to get an email for every message if you got a lot in one day. So I can see why an algorithm would have to be used to determine the right frequency of alerts. But having just one email per day, saying 'you have a new message, or messages' would seem to be absolutely fine to me. Whatever it is doing now, the algorithm isn't working.
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And now everything I compose is reformatted into what resembles a text message:-(
Romilly >:(
Have now formally complained to Ancestry about this & will update. I sent them a 'before-&-after' screenshot of my paragraphed, clear, draft message to another Ancestry member, which Ancestry then reduced to a block of dense text with all 'white space' removed.
:-|
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Reply from Ancestry - emphasis mine:
"Thank you for your prompt reply and for supplying the screenshot. I have checked the screenshot. You have typed out the message like it was an email/letter send to the other person. The message box will always reformat the paragraphs as it does not work like an email box/letter, like it previously was. It is more like a message centre now, where paragraphing is not going to work. Messages should be written now as a continuous string of words."
So they have wrecked their own message centre & people you haven't been in contact with before will take one look at "a continuous string of words" & ignore it as spam - this has recently happened to me.
I suggest everyone using Ancestry complain - this is the only way they may listen to members.
Thank you.
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Things seem to have gone from bad to worse with the Ancestry messaging system.
I’m no longer getting any ticks or notifications underneath messages to say they’ve been read... I emailed a DNA match in Australia who confirmed that he had indeed read my message and was replying to me by email, but why isn’t it showing as read on Ancestry?
Romilly.
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Have a lot of people I have messaged at Ancestry & never heard back from - did they ever receive my messages? Or did they reply & the message never came through? At least with Gedmatch you are given a contact email address for members.
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Much as I find Ancestry DNA by far the most informative of the genealogy DNA companies, primarily because of their sister company with its traditional records & trees, and multi million customers, their main aim is to control the business, and make as much money from it as they can! They want to be in control, in charge, and that is the reason they do much of what they do I am afraid. Simply controlling how you communicate with fellow customers who you might match, is done in a way to maintain that control. If they encouraged customers to display email addresses to allow communication, that might take them out of the loop. Customers might find ways to investigate that did not require Ancestry and its databases of records and matches.
I am pretty sure that is why they have never introduced a chromosome browser into their tools, it would encourage customers to collaborate outwith Ancestry, and possibly to not use their (chargable), services!
Well that's my view anyway!
Jane
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The system is a shambles compared to how it was a few years ago.
I've been in contact very recently with a DNA match & we've sent each other numerous messages i.e. my last 12 messages have been replies which have shown a 'tick' as read (I've always had replies) but when I want to reply (after finding more info.), when I click on my envelope (top of page, right side), his name isn't there!...
I have to open a message from top of the list (delivered a year ago), then scroll up to his last message ???
I have another I sent a message to, it's been 'delivered', no reply (we've corresponded before i.e. not a new recipient) & her 'green light' shows 24/7 although her profile states she last signed in 3 - 11 months ago ::)
Annie
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Am deeply critical of Ancestry - I use them because of their family tree graphics, which are good, & the access the give to census returns & so forth.
But my especial interest is in 3rd-5th great grandparents, this is when the dna matching starts fading away, in some instances down to '0'.
In this instance Ancestry is an absolute horror - I have a cousin match of 20.2cM on Gedmatch which Ancestry whittles down to 10cM! This means that many of my genuine dna matches never feature on Ancestry, never come up on Ancestry dna-searches, which is appalling.
With Gedmatch you are given a lot of control over how you search, you can raise & lower thresholds, for example. Ancestry, on the other hand, treats us like children - we are not allowed to vary anything, we are not allowed to see lower matching, we are only permitted to see what Ancestry wants us to see.
Members can still compare matches - a good feature - but it is still subject to the whittling down of dna matching, by over 50% in my case - that is just ridiculous, it's like being given a history book with over half the pages missing I feel.
But that's private companies - in general, a law unto themselves :-|
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The system is a shambles compared to how it was a few years ago.
I've been in contact very recently with a DNA match & we've sent each other numerous messages i.e. my last 12 messages have been replies which have shown a 'tick' as read (I've always had replies) but when I want to reply (after finding more info.), when I click on my envelope (top of page, right side), his name isn't there!...
I have to open a message from top of the list (delivered a year ago), then scroll up to his last message ???
I have another I sent a message to, it's been 'delivered', no reply (we've corresponded before i.e. not a new recipient) & her 'green light' shows 24/7 although her profile states she last signed in 3 - 11 months ago ::)
Annie
The last logged in time is definitely no longer accurate - I have many people that say they last logged in 3-11 months ago, who have just replied to me on Ancestry, which you can only do by logging in :-X ::)!!
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The last logged in time is definitely no longer accurate - I have many people that say they last logged in 3-11 months ago, who have just replied to me on Ancestry, which you can only do by logging in :-X ::)!!
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I agree with you, I've noticed quite a few new DNA matches whose profile says they became Ancestry members in January 2021, yet they too are recorded as having last logged in 3-11months ago!! A bit misleading.
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2 points here, firstly, the log in date etc. can relate ( if using computer, and not a DNA specific app), to your basic Ancestry account, which many people have for years before testing their DNA. On your DNA matches 'home page' the date relates to their DNA testing date or results available date, and not the date they first joined Ancestry.
Secondly, of course many, like me don't sign off regularly, so their last sign on/in date bears no relation to being signed in, in order to send a message, as you stay signed in to the service on your computer.
Jane