docs.google.com

Dennis J Yancey

Question:

I have a question about genealogy in a specific area of the world.

How do I best ask the question so that the right people with the right expertise will see and answer the question.

Answer:

Although there is nothing saying you couldnt ask the question there in this "General Questions Group" - you are often much better often - submitting your question to a specific group that has been created for a specific subject/country/region

 

Here is a list of of all the current Groups in the community.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DvKTrKyH3mxMzKFPxLxqVG5wikZ1TDeR7qYiOIp_jUs/edit#heading=h.23pp0gjg7hkw

 

Note that in the next few weeks there will be a major chnage in the community

but the same principle that there are various groups for various topics/areas will continue to be the same going forward.

 

also note on each group home page there will be a link where by you can JOIN / UNJOIN

a group in the upper right hand corner.

 

NOTE however - you do NOT need to join a group - to be able to ask a question in that group - and even if you dont join - you will still be able to see repsonses to your question in such group.

 

If the topic in general is an on going interest to you - indeed it may make perfect sense to join - but what happens is sometimes people just have a speicifc question they want answered and they think they have to join the group - and then they get tons of emails of other people posting other questions to the same group - and they never realized all these posts that they would be getting by joining the group - when all they wanted to do was to get a question answered.

 

If you want to join the group - GREAT

if you just want an answer to a single specific question - you dont have to join the group - but you can still post a question to a specific gropup and get it answered in that group.

 

@How to Use FamilySearch Community​ 

@How Things Work​ 

@Yancey/Yancy Family Genealogy​ 

@Surname Specific Family History Research​ 

@Community Group Leaders​ 

M Hardee

I know I see in my own group that when a question is asked in the General Question Group they tag a more specific group to help answer. Say you asking about South Carolina they tag both groups Southern States and South Carolina to help assist. Did that answer your question?

Dennis J Yancey

I wasnt really asking a question

I was giving BOTH a sample question and the corresponding answer

pointing out that a person doesnt have to join a group to be able to ask a question in the group.

Dennis J Yancey

Here is a classic example of a user getting upset - becaue of the inundation of messages that they didnt expect - when maybe all they needed was an anwer to one speciifc question. (certain groups can generate a ton of messages)

 

https://community.familysearch.org/s/question/0D54V00005FPNZaSAP/i-do-not-want-to-be-apart-of-the-community-groupi-just-want-to-index-please

Melissa S Himes

This is confusing because the attached post is the users first post ever. She wouldn't have gotten inundated with messages. I think it might be that when indexers click on Community from the indexing side to ask a question, they are directly sent to Indexing Chat. Then they have to sign into the community before asking a question and the join group tab is right there. I don't get a ton of messages from Indexing Chat and as you know am very active in the group. But, I have my settings so as not to get a bunch of messages from any group.

Dennis J Yancey

. . . it depends how you have your notifications configured

 

Dennis J Yancey

yes as soon as they join the group - I would think they get all the messages (even if they never asked a question)

but again it depends how they have their notifications configured.

 

Melissa S Himes

I just joined General Questions for the first time. It shows the notifications will be the weekly digest. I also joined another group that I had never posted in and got the same notification bar. I could change it to get more posts.

Dennis J Yancey

im not sure the current default has always been there.