RootsChat.Com
General => The Common Room => Topic started by: Zaphod99 on Tuesday 19 August 25 23:30 BST (UK)
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I've been an Ancestry subscriber for 10 years but only just found these. Perhaps I'm the only one. But I doubt it.
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/boards/topics
Zaph
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I have used them for years but virtually given up now - nearly every query relates to the US in my experience.
Pheno
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On this very long list of occupations there are only four which are specifically American. Two for New York and two for the US generally. Oh. And one for Pennsylvania.
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/boards/topics.occupations
It's up to us to Anglicise it if you think otherwise. Anyway, many here would welcome a resource which is less parochial than English ones.
Zaph
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There are country specific boards.
Here's England: https://www.ancestry.com/boards/localities.britisles.england
The ancestry boards used to be much easier to find. They are kind of hidden away now in 'Community' evidenced by the large drop in people posting.
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If, as you say, there has been a usage drop, why do you think that is? Facebook?
Zaph
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It is accessible without a subscription. There are a few posts dated 01 Jan 1900, followed by 1998!
ADDED Note the England board contains all the historic English counties, except that Merseyside has crept in. We still have Rutland and Westmorland, not Cumbria thank goodness.
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They are utterly and totally a waste of time and effort for anyone not in the USA.
Have posted a few things and always had zero responses.
Drill down through the vast array of menus and you find that the most recent post can be a year ago or more.
You have a problem then RC is by far the best place to post the question.
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If, as you say, there has been a usage drop, why do you think that is? Facebook?
Zaph
Simple, because nobody knows it exists! far from obvious.
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If, as you say, there has been a usage drop, why do you think that is? Facebook?
Zaph
They are not easy to find anymore, which is why in some forums the most recent post is a long time ago. If you look back a few years they used to be much more active, because people could find them.
There used to be a heading 'Help' under which 'Message Boards' was found. Now there is a question mark in a circle. I'm not sure their target audience 'gets' that it means help.
It's a terrible shame I think, as among the many 'one person tree' folk on ancestry, there are some very experienced and helpful people.
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Given the number of promotional emails, they could also mention the Message Boards without any trouble, to get them active again.
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I joined in 2003 and at that time found message boards useful even if a bit American focus but suppose to be expected it was an American programme but must admit hardly ever look these days as few replies and I do have a number of other country rellies still its there and sometimes you can just be lucky. :)
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There are country specific boards.
Here's England: https://www.ancestry.com/boards/localities.britisles.england
Exactly, you don't have to look at any American boards at all.
You can make your preferred boards your "favourites"
And then go straight to them, and see them, in order of latest post, this would be the link
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/boards/favorites/boards
Of course the volume of traffic on those boards is greatly reduced. Other forums which once flourished are now extinct or virtually moribund.
I don't suppose that even Rootschat has the number of queries and posts that it had, say, ten years ago.
There are some really good people helping on the ancestry boards, as there are everywhere.
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The British Genealogy Forum (https://www.ancestry.co.uk/boards/topics.britishgenealogy) is there and has some recent traffic. Ancestry would have aquired it as part of Forces War Records which they bought a few years back and merged into Fold3.
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There are country specific boards.
Here's England: https://www.ancestry.com/boards/localities.britisles.england
Exactly, you don't have to look at any American boards at all.
You can make your preferred boards your "favourites"
And then go straight to them, and see them, in order of latest post, this would be the link
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/boards/favorites/boards
Of course the volume of traffic on those boards is greatly reduced. Other forums which once flourished are now extinct or virtually moribund.
I don't suppose that even Rootschat has the number of queries and posts that it had, say, ten years ago.
There are some really good people helping on the ancestry boards, as there are everywhere.
Are you saying that the Message Boards have been updated in the recent past. As I said I haven't been on for ages but I didn't mean the boards were American, just that the enquiries posted there were mostly of an American nature - very rarely a British query. However, if things have changed then I will take another look.
Pheno
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You may have been using the American 'Ancestry.com' version not the British 'Ancestry.co.uk'.
When I was a subscriber 10-15yrs ago I didn't see any US questions. I did find the board cumbersome to use and didn't use it that much.
I have visited it in the last couple of years and it is still as awkward to use now as it was then. I don't use it.