Tift County, Georgia

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Message Board System

Important!

If you've never used the message board system, please read before visiting.  

Several years ago, GenConnect Message Boards, hosted by Rootsweb, were merged with those at Ancestry.com and FamilyHistory.com.  The message boards were created for your use and the benefit of the genealogical community, and may be used free of charge.  Below is a listing of some of the changes in the board's format.  Other changes and/or modifications can be expected.  

Changes in Format 

• All the messages are viewable on one screen, rather than separate boards for Queries, Obits, Bios, etc.  You may search this board, all boards, or use the Advanced Search feature.  With the Advanced Search, you have even more options, including a drop-down menu for Message Type (Obits, Bios, Marriages, Births, Deeds, and many other choices).  With the Advanced Search, you have the option of searching just the Tift County board or all the boards.
• You may view any and all messages, post new messages or reply to messages on the message board without having to log in to the system. However, to use some of the new features of this message board, you will have to create a login identity (which is also FREE). The best part of this login feature, is that when you change your email address, you can quickly and easily change the address of ALL of your postings to ALL of the message boards at one time. No more wondering if you've "missed" any postings.  It is important to know that if you have posted to any of these boards previously, you must use the email address you used at that time or the universal change will not work. 
• Email addresses on this new system have changed so that internet spam robots cannot scan the message boards and harvest addresses. The way they've done this is to translate the addresses to graphic images. This is good for the protection of privacy, however, it means that you can't "copy & paste" the email address to your email program. There are currently 2 ways of getting an email address for a poster. For new messages, where the poster has logged on to the system, their names will be underlined. Clicking on their name will bring up a screen with a list of all the posts that person has made to the system. Next to their name is their email address. The second way, which should be used if it's an "old message", and the name of the poster is not underlined, is to click on the "Print Message" link (it's visible only if you're looking at the message posted). It doesn't print anything, just puts it into a printable format. When the message is formatted for printing, the email address will be visible.   
• Save Message Board in Favorites and Notifications.  My Favorites. (This option is only available to you if you've created your login id, and are logged in) Once you've found a message board that you're interested in returning to, you can place that board into your list of My Favorites. That way, they'll all be there for you to just "click" on and go to.  My Notifications. This is the same thing as under the GenConnect message board where you subscribed to receive the posts to the board you were interested in. Note that you don't have the option to receive only obituaries, you will receive all the various classifications within a board. Also note, that this option is only available to you if you've created your login and are logged in. It is believed that you will receive one email with all the posts for the day.
• Links & Announcements. Clicking on that option "pops up" another window with a link back to the Tift County, GAGenWeb site, and my contact info.
• Edit and delete.  In the past, I could delete inappropriate posts or edit for clarity.  Any message which, in the administrator's opinion is deemed obscene or contains offensive language will be deleted.  The administrator will have limited edit capabilities but not to the message content.  The writer of the message will be able to delete their own messages by using the Report Abuse feature while looking at the message.
• Posting messages allows more options.  There are a few differences to posting a new message. Most of them are self-explanatory. There is still the same Surname box. However, in this box, you should type your surnames (ONLY the surnames that are mentioned in this particular post ... NOT all the surnames you're researching) separated by commas. For example: SMITH, JONES, GREEN. The Classification box is new. Here is where you would classify your post as a Biography, Obituary, or whatever type it is. As in the past, with the GenConnect message boards, the different classifications are NON-QUERY boards. If you don't choose a classification, it will be classified as a Query.  
• Further help is available through Rootsweb's Help Desk at Common Questions.

Instructions that Remain the Same

• Read the instructions for posting.
• Do not post queries about people who may still be alive. If yours is a search related to adoption issues, go to Cyndi's List - Adoption or the Adoption Message Boards for assistance. 
• Be sure that the message reflects the ancestor's that lived in Tift County. Those that do not will be removed without notice.
• List only the surnames relevant to the county in the surname box, not all the surnames you are researching.
• Messages posted at this board will be copied to GATIFT-L mailing list.

Questions & Answers:

• Why can't I find a list of the most recent obituaries? This option is available under the Advanced Search feature. You can do the following:
       1) Click on Advanced Search
       2) Make sure 'Search Within:' shows the Tift Board is selected
       3) Posted in the last: select whatever period you are looking at
       4) With Message Type: Obituary
       5) Click on Search
  This should give you a list of the obituaries posted on the Tift County message board.
• What is "expand" and "collapse"? Expand and collapse pertain to the way the message board is presented. Expand will show you the "contents" of the messages on the screen. A "collapsed" screen will list the subjects of the messages, and to see a particular message, you will have to click on the subject.
• What is the difference between Post New Message and Post a Reply? If you're viewing a message, and wish to respond to that message, you should use "Post a Reply". That way, all the messages about that particular subject will be together when viewing the message boards in "threads" order (as opposed to date order). If your message is going to be about an entirely different subject, then you should use "Post New Message".

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR CONTRIBUTING!

Click on this link to access the new system

Message Board System

If you have comments about the system, please email me.