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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.
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