Welcome "Newbie"

Welcome to an exciting hobby! Since I started my quest in 1962, a lot of things have changed. Now, with the Internet, some things are easier than before. And more people are researching their families. This is great. The downside is that more sloppy work is being done. So here are a variety of tips for those new to Genealogy. And my personal philosophy is that the goal isn't in finding every last relative back to Adam, but in the quest itself. Learning history, social issues and about the people themselves - putting flesh on those bones.

Tips for Newbies:

  1. E-Mail etiquette,
  2. E-Mail requests for info or assistance,
  3. Commonly used "Net" abbreviations,
  4. Documenting your sources, and
  5. Odds & Ends.
Other sites to visit:

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Guidelines for Electronic Mail Etiquette

With thanks to Ed Harris, author of Pegasus Mail, New Zealand

Here are some simple guidelines for electronic mail etiquette.

Addresses and personal names A "Personal Name" is a text string that most e-mail packages allow you to define as an option. It is attached to your e-mail address as an identifier. Always provide a personal name if your mail system allows it - a personal name identifies you better than your e-mail address can on its own. You may find that using your real name is a legal requirement either of your business or where you live. Use a sensible personal name: "Cyber Geek" or other such phrases are annoying and prevent the recipient's quick identification of you and your message.

Example: The address skippy@techy.com conveys less information than if it were written as "Charles S. Smith" <skippy@techy.com>

 Some e-mail packages also support an "Organization" field where you can put your firm name.
 Subject lines The key to getting your e-mail read quickly is the subject line. Always include a subject line in your message. Almost all mailers present you with the subject line when you browse your mailbox, and it's often the only clue the recipient has about the contents when filing and searching for messages. Make the subject line meaningful. For example, sending a message to a Rootsweb mailing list with the subject being the list name is practically as unhelpful as having no subject at all.

If you are replying to a message, but are changing the subject of the conversation, change the subject too. Better still, start a new message altogether. The subject line is the easiest way to follow the thread of a conversation, so changing the conversation without changing the subject can be confusing and can make filing difficult. And if people have lost interest in the subject, they could ignore your message.
 Message Length, Content and Format
Match your message length to the need of the message: if you are only making a quick query, then keep it short and to the point. In general, keep to the subject as much as possible. If you need to branch off onto a totally new and different topic then it's often better to send a new message, which allows the recipient the option of filing it separately or replying only to the one needing an answer.

Don't type your message in ALL UPPERCASE - it's extremely difficult to read (although a short stretch of uppercase may serve to emphasize a point heavily). Try to break your message into logical paragraphs and restrict your sentences to sensible lengths.

Use correct grammar and spelling. Electronic mail is all about communication - poorly-worded and mis-spelled messages are hard to read and potentially confusing. Just because electronic mail is fast does not mean that it should be slipshod, yet the worst language-mashing I have ever seen has been done in e-mail messages. If your words are important enough to write, then they're also important enough to write properly.

Avoid public "flames" - messages sent in anger. Messages sent in the heat of the moment generally only exacerbate the situation and are usually regretted later. Settle down and think about it for a while before starting a flame war. (Try going and making yourself a cup of coffee - it's amazing how much you can cool down even in that short a time, besides which a cup of good coffee is a great soother).

If your mail program supports fancy formatting (bold, italic and so on) in the mail messages it generates, make sure that the recipient has a mail program that can display such messages. At the time of writing, most Internet mail programs do not support anything other than plain text in messages, although this will change over time.

Be very careful about including credit card numbers in electronic mail messages. Electronic mail can be intercepted in transit and a valid credit card number is like money in the bank for someone unscrupulous enough to use it.

Treat all material that you receive as if it were copyrighted. Don't forward material willy-nilly just because it is cute or insightful. The author may want to preserve their rights in court.

When posting a question to a discussion group, request that responses be directed to you personally. Post a summary or answer to your question to the group.

 Replies People are proud of their names. If you use a person's name in an e-mail, make sure you spell it correctly. Don't put "Jack" for "John" or "Janet" for "Janice", or, in my case, "Lois" for "Louis". It shows that you aren't paying attention to details.

Include enough of the original message to provide a context. Remember that E-Mail is not as immediate as a telephone conversation and the recipient may not recall the contents of the original message, especially if they receive dozens of messages each day. Including the relevant section from the original message helps the recipient to place your reply in context.

Example: > I don't think there are any National Monuments that move.
>
Yes, the San Francisco cable cars are National Monuments that move.

 Include only the minimum you need from the original message. It annoys me to have my original 5-paragraph message quoted back in its entirety, with the words "I agree" added at the bottom. Quote back only the smallest amount you need to make your context clear. You may need to learn how to cut and paste.

Use some kind of visual indication to distinguish between text quoted from the original message and your new text - this makes the reply much easier to follow. ">" is a traditional marker for quoted text (see example above), but you can use anything provided its purpose is clear and you use it consistently. Some people like to bracket extracted text with the words "-snip-"

Example: -snip-
> My family came over on the Mayflower.
>
-snip-
What a co-incidence! My family moved from Chicago with the Mayflower Moving Co.

 Learn the difference between Reply and Reply All. Don't send "I agree!" messages to everyone on the original distribution list (or a list service). These are annoying. Send these only to the originator.

Pay careful attention to where your reply is going to end up: you can embarrass yourself if a personal message ends up on a mailing list, and it's generally annoying for the other list members.

Ask yourself if your reply is really warranted. Too many messages are sent that have no informational value. If you don't know, don't guess.
 Signatures A "Signature" is a small block of text appended to the end of your messages, in which you put your contact information. Many mailers can add a signature to your messages automatically. Signatures are a great idea but are subject to abuse; balance is the key to a good signature.

Example: + From Mortimer Mowpat of Western Australia
+ Voice: 44-12-8779, Fax: 44-12-8780
+ visit my web site at: http://www.itsbroke.com.au/~mowpat

 Always use a signature if you can: make sure it identifies who you are and includes alternative means of contacting you (phone, alternate e-mail addresses are usual). In many systems, particularly where mail passes through gateways, your signature may be the only means by which the recipient can even tell who you are. (Gateways often use a single e-mail address for Internet e-mail like: gateway@mail.bigco.com).

Keep your signature short - four lines is a handy guideline for maximum length. Unnecessarily long signatures waste bandwidth (especially when distributed to lists) and can be annoying. On archived services like Rootsweb, long signatures take up database space.

Some mailers allow you to add random strings to your signature: this is well and good and can add character if done carefully. You should consider the following basic rules though:
Keep it short. The length of your quote adds to the length of your signature. One-liners work best, but a 50-line joke of the day will not win you many friends.

Definitions of "offensive" vary widely: avoid quotes that might offend people on the grounds of religion, race, politics or sexuality.

Avoid topical or local quotes, since they may be meaningless to recipients in other towns, countries or cultures. Remember, too, that humor is often cultural. I don't "get" German humor, but they are polite enough to smile at my jokes.

Variable signatures are usually best if they're cute or amusing. Outbursts on politics or other such topics will turn most people off, but a one-liner that brings a smile can make someone's day.
 Courtesy Electronic mail is all about communication with other people, and as such some basic courtesy never goes amiss. If you're asking for something, don't forget to say "please". Similarly, if someone does something for you, it never hurts to say "thank you". While this might sound trivial, or even insulting, it's astonishing how many people who are perfectly polite in everyday life seem to forget their manners in their e-mail.

Don't expect an immediate answer. The fact that you don't get an answer from someone in ten minutes does not mean that he or she is ignoring you, and is no cause for offense. Electronic mail is all about dealing with your communications when you are able to do so.

There is no such thing as e-mail privacy. In the US, courts have held that e-mail is a document that can be siezed and used as evidence. Never send very personal or sensitive information by e-mail unless you encrypt it using a reliable encryptor. Remember the recipient, too - you are not the only person who could be embarrassed if a delicate message falls into the wrong hands. If you wouldn't want your mother to read it in the newspaper, don't send it.

Include enough information: if you are asking a question to which you expect a response, make sure you include enough information to make the response possible. For example, sending the message "My spreadsheet program doesn't work" to Lotus Technical Support really doesn't give them very much to work with; similarly, sending the message "What has happened to my order?" to a vendor is virtually useless. When requesting family history data, include a short bio of the person(s) you're researching and the places they lived.

If you lose interest in a newsgroup or list-serv, unsubscribe from it so that the postings or messages do not clog up the server at your ISP.
 "Smiley faces" (Emoticons) Electronic mail has the immediacy of a conversation, but is devoid of "body language". The Internet "counter-culture" has had an answer to this problem for years - "smiley faces", or groups of ASCII (text) characters that are meant to look like a face turned on its side.

The most common smiley faces are probably these:
:-) or :) A smiling face seen side-on; generally used to indicate amusement, or that a comment is intended to be funny or ironic ("<g>" or "<grin>" is also sometimes used).
:-( or :( An unhappy face seen side on; generally used to express disappointment or sorrow.
;-) A winking smiley face; usually indicates that something should be taken "with a grain of salt".
;-> A mischievous smiley face; indicates that a comment is intended to be provocative or racy.

There are hundreds of others, some more recognizable than others. Do an Internet search on "smiley" to find more.

Using the common smiley faces carefully can markedly improve the clarity of your message, since they convey nuances which approximate "body language". Like any embellishment, however, overuse of smiley faces destroys their value - use them sparingly.

You can also use the asterisk to surround a word for emphasis. I am *very* happy... Or use capitals to shout: "NEVER forward my e-mail without asking..."
 The Bottom Line Above all else, remember that electronic mail is about communication with other people. When you compose an e-mail message, read it over before sending it and ask yourself what your reaction would be if you received it. Any time spent on making our e-mail clearer is time well-spent, so let's start taking the time.

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E-Mail requests for info or assistance

  1. Always identify yourself. See E-Mail etiquette, above.
  2. Tell the recipient how you got their e-mail address.
  3. Put surnames in CAPS and nothing else, except abbreviations.
  4. Limit abbreviations to accepted usage: State codes in the US, Canadian province codes or Chapman codes for British counties. The recipient may not be familiar with other abbreviations.
  5. Remember that genealogists are global. You don't know what part of the world they live in or come from. So keep the "Americanisms" or regional expressions to a minimum. For example, Americans say "I'm anxious to meet you," when the rest of world would say, "I'm eager to meet you."
  6. Ask for specifics. "I am researching Zeb TAYLOR, born 1813 in Whatsis, NJ. Do you have any information on his wife Zelda"?
  7. Do not ask for *all* data on anyone named TAYLOR. You can expect such requests to be ignored.
  8. Keep it brief, but include everything that you know to help the researcher identify the correct individual. After all, there might be three Zeb TAYLORs in that neck of the woods. Maybe you've only found one, so far.
  9. Do not request information on living persons. It puts many genealogists in an ethical or legal quagmire.
  10. Don't get offended if someone asks for specifics of how you are related and why you want the data before they give you information. Too many people have seen their data published in books with no credit and no reimbursement, often merged with other erroneous data.
  11. Before hitting that SEND button, proof read and spellcheck. It's soooo easy to type 1913 when you meant 1813. And who wants to get e-mail from a prospective relative who appears barely literate? If your e-mail software doesn't have spellchecking, copy the message to a word processing window and check it there.
  12. Don't expect an immediate answer. Not only does it take time to research your request, but also the recipient may only download their e-mail once a week.
Example:

Hi, I'm Byron MASON, son of Wentworth MASON, son of Richard MASON of Deal, Kent. I'm looking for information on Rudyard MASON, Richard's older brother, who went to South Africa in 1885, then on to Australia in 1888. Your listing at the Kent FHS said you were doing a ONS on all MASONs. What information do you have on Rudyard?

 Need more info? Go to: The Art of Writing Mailing List Queries

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Commonly used (in genealogy) "Net" abbreviations

A couple of other terms that you will see or hear:

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Documenting your sources

The most common mistake for Newbies is to take all the information they find and to add it to their family tree without documentation. Here are some thoughts on how to document:

  1. For each individual you add, indicate where you got the information. If you got it from Mom or Dad, it's OK to cite them as the source. If you got it from e-mail or the internet, cite that source. Give enough information so that another researcher can go to that source to verify what you've got.
  2. Don't be afraid to cite conflicting resources. In some cases, I have two or three different people who could be a particular ancestor. I list all the references, and why I think a particular person is THE ONE.
  3. Some software packages allow you to give preferences to documentation. It's OK to use that feature, but your notes should tell us why.
  4. If you speculate on a date, indicate that in your source information. "Presumed married in 1820 based on birth of first child."
  5. Don't leave an important date field blank. I'm particularly concerned about death dates because a lot of people say "I don't know when he died...", when the date should be, say, "Aft. 1850" since you knew from the census that he was alive in 1850.
  6. Don't feel threatened if someone challenges your work. Some people take this hobby far too seriously and like to point out the mistakes you may have made. Take the criticism with a grain of salt and see if you can learn from it. If you can cite sources, you can deflate a lot of these gas bags. On the other hand, recognize that some sources have high error rates. I've seen some people claim that the typical census has more than a 10% error rate.
  7. Humans are prone to errors. My step-dad celebrates his birthday one day off from the date on his birth certificate. And he didn't know the real spelling of his first name until we got a copy of that certificate.
  8. Use more than one source. Find the christening, the marriage registration and EVERY census. Don't be surprised if the ages don't always match. Women tended to under-quote their age. Men were often unsure (as I am, sometimes, unless I do the math).
  9. If someone gives you information, ask for their source(s). Anything you get without sources you should consider fiction until you've verified it.
For more information, see "Suggested Best Practices".

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Odds & End

There are a lot of online resources these days, but don't forget your best place to start is the local library. Get a book on genealogy and plan your research. Keep track of where you've looked and what you found. And have fun. Don't spend all day online in fruitless searches - a planned attack will make you feel more productive. And when you hit a brick wall, stop, research a different line for a month or a year, then come back to the brick wall and try a different approach.

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Contact Site Owner: Louis R. Mills
Last updated on 24-Apr-2000