Do newcomers expect immediate replies?

[Christopher]

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. 

[Berlin-Bob]

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 ...." 

[Christopher]

Thanks Bob,

That's a great answer.

I agree ... all RootsChatters deserve a pat on the back.

Christopher

[Sisterjane]

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

[LizzieW]

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

[kiwihalfpint]

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

[MarieC]

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!     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

[Nick29]

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 !)   

[Paul Caswell]

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