General Chat

Hi Maud, When you think of the value you get for £10 per year,and you think nothing of spending pounds on your certs,and sometimes,they may not be a match,I believe the help you can get from other members is fantastic! I never used the Tips and Records boards for the 1st year,but was very happy with my hot matches,which put me in touch with distant cousins. When I started using the boards,I found,maybe not a direct match,but,a link to where to look,so sometimes you have to think laterally......ie:My O.H had a grandfather who was a mystery,and a bit of a rogue,who left his wife around 1912.All we knew was he was in Canada. I had a look-up by someone,and they found his death. Then we got on to the library in Vancouver,and they gave us lots more,like funeral directors,and now we are in touch with the solicitors who handled his will. I'm just explaining this to show you how one bit of info can lead you to whatever you are looking for. I have been fortunate enough to get 2 long lost cousins talking to one another ,and it's over 70 years since they have been in touch! So. yes,it is well worth keeping your membership going,because you never know what is round the corner! Most of us are here to help one another........even things not related to genealogy. Brenda x x

The recent justified complaints have been when a glitch in the system meant that, unknown to members, their trees containing details of living people were opened to other researchers without their consent. There is also an ongoing problem with contacts appearing agan after they have been deleted. I wish the hot matches were a little more detailed. I'm only interested in a John Jones born in a particular village or even a particular county. Not every John Jones born anywhere in the world in the same year. GR have removed useful features, such as when members joined and how big their trees are, and haven't restored them despite pleas from members. I've made a few useful contacts but the majority of my contacts have come from Members' Interests list from Family History Societies or from the County Surnames pages. Nevertheless, every week I do a surname search of my main names hoping to make contacts. Gwynne

For me this site has more than been worth it. I have 'met' many distant relations and shared information then some I've met in person too. I've made friends who aren't actually related but nice to chat to anyway. I've been able to research trees for some other family members and friends with the help of kind lookups from other members and I am sometimes able to help people looking things up myself. If I hadn't joined GR and actively done a search for shared ancestors I would never have found the link which took me back to the Normans and even earlier. Definitely worth the money. However I think in general members can't just sit back and wait for connections to happen. Hot Matches can be great but they are rather random and seem to go in batches. If you have a name on your tree which isn't too common then a search yourself and contacting others who look as if they might be connected often works better. Sue

Hi Maud....For 10 quid a year, I have managed to trace the lines of three of my grandparents further than I thought possible, via hot matches. Then there is all the help and advice freely given on Tips. To top that, you have all the nu....I mean really fabulous people on the General board!! (they are all lovely, seriously) We all like to have a bit of a whinge every so often, but I think it's excellent value for money. Love Daff xxx

hi maud,i think you get excellent value for money here.my hot matches have gave me loads of contacts.xxxxx

maud i was a member for 18 months befor i had contacts , im at a brick wall and just hoping when new people join i will have a match, to me that would be worth a lot more money , keep at it its getting more popular, there are the odd few trouble makers but the good ones just ignore them now .

** Just off to delete a contact ***

Maud I have found loads of contacts for my tree that has enable me to progress ..... What they maoning about ?

Hi I keep seeing on other sites, many complaints about GR are they justified? I must admit I do`nt visit very often now myself, nothing seems to get any results, so perhaps people are not bothering any more! I really only keep up my membership in the hope that one day I will have a result from the names on my family tree. However,I`m not holding my breath any more, and wonder if its a waste of money, seeing as nothing comes of it. Have many of you achieved anything from being a member?