FAQs
(Frequently-Asked Questions)
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FAQs (Frequently-Asked Questions) |
Here is a list of the frequently-asked questions concerning www.GenQueries.com. If you do not find your answer here, please contact us. We will (1.) try to answer your question and (2.) consider your question for addition to this list of FAQs so that others may find the same answer quickly in the future.
Questions:
What is the purpose of this site?
What is the fee to use this site?
How come I cannot see the text in the queries in Firefox?
Can I read the queries in an RSS newsreader?
What is an RSS newsreader?
How do I answer a query?
How do I write a query?
My query doesn't fit a geographic area. How do I do that?
How long do queries remain online?
When I click on the verification email message, I receive an "invalid address" error message. Why?
I found a spam ad or an obscene message! How do I report it?
I am a professional genealogist. May I advertise my services here?
May I post information about a Society?
May I post information about my genealogy web site or blog?
I wrote (or I publish) a genealogy book. May I promote it here?
Who posts information about events on this site?
Who owns GenQueries.com?
Who owns the copyrights for the information on this site?
Why am I not receiving email messages from GenQueries.com?
I have a question that has not been answered here, how can I contact you?
What is the purpose of this site?
The GenQueries site is a free service that provides an online database for genealogy queries and for advertisements for societies, professional and amateur genealogy researchers, authors, publishers, genealogy web sites, adoptee searches, and more.
For years, genealogy magazines and newsletters have published queries for their readers. These serve as public notices of "I am looking for..." Such queries have always been valuable but suffer from several shortcomings:
- Limited life expectancy - The printed listings are typically effective only until the next edition of the magazine or newsletter is published. Then they are forgotten.
- Limited audience - Printed queries are visible only to those who subscribe to the magazine or newsletter.
- Abbreviated length - The printed queries are limited by the amount of space available in the magazine or newsletter.
- Difficult to establish contact - The person with possible answers typically has to write a letter or use some other manual method of contacting the person who posted the query.
- Privacy issues - The person posting the query must also reveal his or her contact information, either a mailing address or an e-mail address.
In contrast, queries posted on www.GenQueries.com are:
- Visible to everyone for 365 days (that number may be increased or decreased in the future as more experience is gained). Once the query reaches the end of its life, the person posting the query is invited to post a new query.
- Visible to millions on the World Wide Web - genealogists anywhere in the world can view the queries with a web browser and an Internet connection.
- Longer length queries - Queries can be several pages long, allowing the genealogist to post all known information about the person or couple in question.
- One-click contacts - Anyone with possible answers may contact the poster by one click on a link in each ad, then entering the information.
- Private - The person posting the query (optionally) does not need to reveal any contact information. Your private information does not need to be revealed to anyone.
- Available as RSS newsfeeds
We are most proud of what this site does NOT have:
- No fees! You can post as many queries here as you like, free of charge.
- No spam! We do not share your personal information with anyone.
- No invasion of your privacy! Nobody ever sees your name or email address unless YOU post them in the queries. Your privacy always remains under your control.
- No account required! You do not need to create an account in order to post queries or events.
- You even control what you see! If you see an inappropriate ad (spam or profanity), simply click on "Report Abuse." If four other people do the same, that ad is deleted. You and the other users of this site can "vote the spam ads off the island!"
What is the fee to use this site?
Zero. The base charge is FREE. However, there are options to pay for featured ads in which your ads are highlighted as bold text and are listed at the top of the list for the section(s) in which the ad appears. The featured ad option costs $1.95 for 90 days or $4.95 for 365 days. However, there is no need to pay for that option, if you do not wish to. The plan is to always offer FREE genealogy queries to genealogists and then to offer OPTIONAL extra services for a small fee. Both the free and the featured ads last the full 365 days.
How come I cannot see the text in the queries in Firefox?
Are you using the AdBlock Plus plug-in for Firefox? If so, turn off the plug-in. That is a known bug in AdBlock Plus. A workaround is shown on the AdBlock Plus web site at https://adblockplus.org/en/faq_basics#disable.
Can I read the queries in an RSS newsreader?
Yes. The RSS feed is at http://www.genqueries.com/feed/posts/.
You might want to read "A Really Simple Explanation of Really Simple Syndication (RSS)" at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/a-really-simple-explanation-of-really-simple-syndication-rss.html.
When reading the query or any other advertisement, fill in the "Contact this User" section at the bottom of the query or ad. You will need to enter your e-mail address (which will only be seen by the person who posted the query, no one else). Next, enter the text of the message you wish to send. You may optionally even attach a file, such as an image of a census record. Finally, you must enter the letters and numbers shown in the CAPTCHA to prove that you are a human, not a "spam robot." Then click on SEND NOW.
The message will be sent to the person who wrote the original query or ad. You will not see that person's name or e-mail address, unless he or she replies to your message by normal e-mail.
All information is private between you and the person who posted the query. Your personal information will not be exposed to anyone else.
There is no single answer. However, queries should be brief and to the point. We suggest you start with a title of Last Name followed by a comma and then First Name. For instance:
Smith, John
Please note there is a field for location. You might enter a state or province, if known. Even better, enter the county or counties, if known. For instance, a query for an ancestor in Maine might be titled:
Smith, John, Penobscot and Aroostook Counties
If asking about a married couple, use both in the title:
Smith, John and Jones, Mary
In fact, for a married couple, you might post TWO queries: in this case, one under "S" for Smith and another under "J" for Jones.
The one under "S" (for Smith) might be:
Smith, John and Jones, Mary
while the one under "J" (for Jones) might have the names reversed:
Jones, Mary and Smith, John
If you have dates, add them into the title or into the text, as you think best.
Add as many details as possible in the text of the query. (The maximum allowable text size is so large that you will probably never exceed it.)
Here is an example of how NOT to write a query:
Wilson
Looking for all Wilsons in the U.S.
A query with few details is going to result in one of two responses: (1.) it will be so broad that many people will ignore it or (2.) you might get flooded with lots of answers that have nothing to do with your family. Do you REALLY want lots of answers about people of the same name all over the country? Then again, if it is an unusual name, perhaps you do want lots of responses from all over the country. The choice is yours to make.
Click here to read a typical query. It is the first query ever posted to www.GenQueries.com and serves as an example of a typical query.
Please note that you do not need to reveal your name or contact information. The system will forward all e-mail messages to you without revealing your e-mail address to others. If you wish to remain anonymous, do not enter your name or email address or street address in the text of the query. As always, the decision of how much personal information you wish to reveal is yours to make.
My query doesn't fit a geographic area. How do I do that?
Many queries do not fit geographic areas. For instance, you might be interested in a one-name study regardless of where each person lived or perhaps studying a group of people. If your study covers a small area, such as two or three states or provinces, post separate queries in each of those states/provinces. However, if your study covers an entire country or a large part of the country, select a geographic area of "All of US" or "All of Canada." Others will find your query by clicking on the appropriate surname category (such as "E Surnames") or by using the SEARCH box to search for surnames of interest.
I found a spam ad or an obscene message! How do I report it?
You don't report it, you delete it!
One of the reasons this site works so well is that the site's users can control the information posted here. There is no need to wait for a system administrator to take action, YOU take the action instead.
Click on "Report Abuse." It is in the upper right corner of every listing.
Once five users click on "Report Abuse" in the same listing, that listing is removed. We find that is usually faster than waiting for a site administrator to handle it.
NOTE to would-be spammers and con artists: You can post junk messages here but it won't do you much good. If five users agree that your listing is inappropriate, that listing will be removed. If our users don't like your message, it disappears. Experience has shown that spam and obscenities don't last very long here.
The decisions of our users are final. If they do not like your ad, it will disappear.
How long do queries remain online?
365 days (this may change in the future as we gauge system growth and usage), assuming the queries or ads are not objectionable for some reason.
When I click on the verification email message, I receive an "invalid address" error message. Why?
There are three possible causes of this:
- AOL users: make sure you are NOT using the AOL browser. Other people have reported problems with that. The AOL browser is known to be buggy. The site will work perfectly with Netscape, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome, Camino, Safari, Opera, and other web browsers but we cannot guarantee operation with the AOL browser. Actually, the AOL browser seems to work well for some people and not for others. We have no idea why.
- Your email mesage may have truncated the address to be clicked on. Hotmail does this and so do a few others. These email services or programs will look at the very long address to be clicked on and will then "word wrap" it improperly. Look at the line AFTER the address. Do you see a few "extra letters on that next line? If so, your email program "word wrapped" the address and cut off the last few letters.
- You can only verify it once. If you attempt to verify the query a second time, you will get an error of "invalid address." You may have clicked on the address and, for some reason, you do not realize that it worked. Then you click on it a second time and receive the error message. To verify this, go to http://www.GenQueries.com and see if your query is already visible. If so, that's the problem: you already verified it previously.
I am a professional genealogist. May I advertise my services here?
Absolutely! Such ads are free!
Please do write a mildly worded advertisement and make sure you list your specialties (ethnic, geographic, etc.). Please note that you do not need to reveal your name or contact information. The system will forward all e-mail messages to you without revealing your e-mail address to others. However, you might increase your business if you do post your name in the ad. As always, the decision of how much personal information you wish to reveal is yours to make.
With one exception, we suggest you do not post multiple ads here. The exception is if you research in multiple states or provinces. You then might post one ad under each state or province where you research. An example might be the six New England states or the three Maritime Provinces of Canada. If you research the entire U.S., post only one ad under "All of USA." Likewise, if you research all of Canada, post only one ad under "All of Canada."
Your ad(s) will remain visible to all for 365 days, assuming our users do not find the ad to be objectionable and delete it.
May I post information about a Society?
Absolutely! Such ads are free!
This web site accepts information about all genealogical and historical societies from anyone. There is no charge to post information here. When in doubt, post something! You will be helping others.
I wrote (or I publish) a genealogy book. May I promote it here?
Absolutely! We invite such messages. Please write a mildly worded announcement. (Do not use breathless prose that sounds like a late-night television ad by a used car salesman. If you do, your advertisement undoubtedly will be deleted by our users.) Include some description of the information contained in your book. If you wrote more than one book, you might post one ad per book. However, if you are a book publisher, we suggest that you place one ad with a brief description of all your publications and then add in a link to your company's web page.
Your advertisement will last 365 days, assuming our users do not find the ad to be objectionable and delete it. Please do not place duplicate ads on GenQueries. If frequent ads are posted, you can expect them to be deleted by our users.
May I post information about my genealogy web site or blog?
Absolutely! We invite such messages. Please write a mildly worded announcement. (Do not use breathless prose that sounds like a late-night television ad by a used car salesman. If you do, our users undoubtedly will delete the ad.) Include the URL of your web site or blog and some description of the information contained in the site.
Your advertisement will last 365 days, assuming our users do not find the ad to be objectionable and delete it. Please do not place duplicate ads on GenQueries. If frequent ads are posted, you can expect them to be deleted by our users.
Who posts information about events on this site?
You do.
All events listed here are posted by users of GenQueries.com. If your society is planning such an event, we suggest that YOU post information about. it. The information might be about a monthly meeting or about an upcoming seminar. YOU decide. Please include a URL for more information, if available.
This site is part of Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter, along with the Encyclopedia of Genealogy, RootsBooks.com, and RootsBooks.co.uk. All the sites are owned by Richard W. Eastman.
Who owns the copyrights for the information on this site?
The copyright for the "look and feel" of this site is owned by Richard W. Eastman but he makes no claims as to the content of the queries and advertisements. All the copyrights to information in the queries and advertisments on this site are owned by the respective individuals who posted those queries and ads.
Why am I not receiving email messages from GenQueries.com?
We have discovered that SBCGLOBAL.NET is blocking ALL email messages sent from www.GenQueries.com, apparently under the mistaken belief that www.GenQueries.com sends spam. That is absolutely not true! www.GenQueries.com has NEVER sent a spam message. We have contacted SBCGLOBAL.NET Tech Support but have not yet received a reply. If you are a customer of SBCGLOBAL.NET, please contact Tech Support or Customer Service and ask them to remove this block. We hope that SBCGLOBAL.NET responds to paying customers faster than they do to us.
I have a question that has not been answered here
If you do not find your answer here, please contact us. We will (1.) try to answer your question and (2.) consider your question for addition to this list of FAQs so that others may find the same answer quickly in the future.