They've been around a long time - probably as long as the Internet itself - but do you use message boards in your online genealogy search? They might seem passe, but they do have information you may want to review before giving up at a "brick wall" (or, at least, before purchasing genealogy services). Wading through the messages can be daunting, especially with some websites archiving their traffic since the late 1990s. But there is valuable data on those boards (surname discussions, family reunion information, transcribed text from original sources, etc.). Best of all, you may even find other people who are researching the same lines that you are. Here is a short list of some of the major boards still in use:
Ancestry
Genforum
Rootsweb
Remember, a lot of folks have changed their email addresses over the years. You may find a great piece of information someone put on the board in 1998 - but you probably won't be able to discuss it with the poster. Don't be discouraged: at least you found something new! Besides, there is a chance that the person could still be posting on the board with a different login or email. Browse around a bit to see if their name appears somewhere else in the site. If you are good with Google, you can even use it to narrow results: when you search, add the text "site:______" next to the keyword (e.g., site:boards.rootsweb.com). This should identify specific messages and keep you from having to browse the entire message board site. If you want to know when the boards are updated, you can sometimes join a mailing list. That provides you with new information and will only be sent to you and other people with current/viable email addresses. To locate Rootsweb's lists, visit Find a List Search. Happy Hunting!
No comments:
Post a Comment