Guidelines For Using Message Boards & Submitting Queries

Posts to message boards, mailing lists, and newsgroups are great ways to connect with researchers with similar interests, to seek information, or to locate family members and can yield great results if they are written to gain the attention of potential cousins, or someone in a position to help you.

Resist impulse posting. Taking a few moments and care in writing a query will give your request a better chance for gaining someone’s attention rather than ending up being skimmed over on a message board or in their e-mail trash bins.

Be specificin the subject line. Use a name "DOE, John" instead of something vague like "Looking for" or "Family history" or "Help needed".

Post detailed informationrather than something that reads like "Looking for all information on John Doe". More information lessens confusion about what it is you are after and lets the reader know what you have. If your message is detailed, it will lend itself more toward attracting positive responses.

Separate your information into paragraphs:

Who Who are you looking for and what information you do have. Include: Full name, including any middle names or initials Birth, marriage, and death dates Places where the above events occurred
Residence and migration details Names of their children and / or their parents

WhatState what specific information that you are seeking: Need parents, wife, husband, children etc. of What is the maiden name of Or need obituary of etc.

When Narrow it down to a specific time frame if possible. If you don't known an exact date, make an educated guess. Use circa or aboutso readers will get an idea of what time period is indicated.

WhereState the area, as close as possible, that you are looking in.

Avoid abbreviations. Write out words like born, died, married, daughter, month, city, parish, county, state, etc.

Write out datesin standard genealogical format - Day, Month, Year (21 Sept 2004).

Limit your queryto a single surname or question. Too many requests will decrease your chances of a response.

Read your queryat least once before posting it. Make sure all the necessary information is included.

Successful queries should:Give information on a specific individual or research problem Give specific information without overwhelming the reader Have surnames in capital letters If you don't know a date, estimate the time period.

Thank anyone who responds to your query, whether you found the information helpful or not. If they tried to help you they deserve to be thanked.

These are merely my points of view and not a rule of thumb.