If you're already posting messages to message boards, good for you! If you aren't posting messages there yet, you should consider doing so. This week's "Along Those Lines . . . " column focuses on creating an effective message board posting.

What Message Boards Exist?
There are literally thousands of genealogical message boards on the Web. There are message board for surnames, for countries, states and counties, for ethnic groups, and a variety of other topics. They can be found at many sites in the electronic community. In my own research, I use the message boards of the Genealogy Forum on America Online, at Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), at RootsWeb (http://www.rootsweb.com), and at a few other places. I have made contact with and exchanged information with many other researchers over the years and have extended my own research considerably.

Once at a message board, you can read the messages there and/or you can post a message yourself. In order to use the boards to your best advantage, you need to post an effective, meaningful, and communicative message, one that will pique a reader's interest and provide enough information to elicit a response.

As a frequent user of message boards, I am continually amazed at some of the lousy messages are posted on them. Let's talk about the three components of an effective message board posting, and let's use a surname message board as our example.

Good Subject Line
First and foremost, you want to capture the readers' attention. In message boards and in E-mail messages, an effective, specific and informative subject line is the key to successful communication. I have seen messages posted with the following actual subject lines:

JONES

John Smith

ATTENTION: OHIO Wilson Researchers!!!

STILL LOOKING FOR CONNECTIONS

HELP!!!

These are not good subject lines. They tell the reader nothing to help him or her determine if the content of the message is of interest to them. An effective subject line for surname research contains the following:

1. Name of the individual, with the surname in all capitals--such as Isaac WILSON;
2. The location where you are seeking records, such as NC or Mecklenburg Co., NC; and
3. The time period, such as 1850-1885 or Late 1880s

This information provides readers with many details in a brief subject line that allows them to determine if they want to read the posting. Here are some examples of good actual subject lines:

MORRISON, HARRIS b. 1846 m. Rosa Havner

Susan Elzie MORRISON b 1857 AR

Whitfield, Thomas 1806 TN

John Ball b. abt 1767 m Rachel King

John McKnitt ALEXANDER - 1733-1817 - MD>NC

The use of the > character in the subject line above indicates that the person moved from one place to another and is an excellent way to briefly communicate movement between locations.

Good Message Content
The second important component of an excellent posting is the content of the message. You should indicate the name of the person you are researching (one person per posting is a good rule of thumb). You should state exactly what information you are seeking. Finally, you should include as much pertinent information as possible for the reader to determine if they have information that will help you. The following is an example of an effectively constructed message:

"I am seeking names and vital dates about the parents of Lydia Lenora PATTERSON, b. 13 November 1833 (place unknown) and d. 28 August 1914 at Davidson (Mecklenburg Co.) NC. She married Joseph McKnitt WILSON on 8 April 1856 in Mecklenburg Co., NC, and they produced at least nine children but there may have been as many as twelve. I would also be interested in names, dates and spouse/family information about these siblings."

In this example, the subject's name, vital dates, location and additional information about spouse and children are listed. The message is concise and contains enough details for the reader to determine if he or she has information that might assist the researcher who posted the message.

You might also include additional information that might induce a response. An additional paragraph for the above message might look like this:

"I have information about all of Lydia Lenora PATTERSON's children, their spouses and children and would be willing to share this information with others interested in these lines."

Signature
Finally, include your signature and information about how to respond to you. It is generally assumed that any responses will be posted to the message board. This is very helpful to other researchers. However, if you wish to receive a private reply via E-mail, mention this fact and provide your E-mail address. (Any information received this way that is not posted on the message board should probably be posted there as well.)

Summing Up
Consider for a moment the E-mails and message board postings you see every day. Which ones will capture your interest first? Which ones are you most likely to read first? Do some of them provide insufficient information for you to make a decision? Do you even know what is being asked?

As you can see in the examples above, a thoughtfully constructed message board posting that includes a meaningful subject line and detail-rich content is more likely to elicit responses. Invest a little time in creating better message board postings and chances are you will expand your research and achieve some new successes.

Happy hunting!

George

Copyright 2000, MyFamily.com. All rights reserved. George G. Morgan is a proud member of the Council of Genealogy Columnists. He would like to hear from you at atl@ahaseminars.com but, due to the volume of e-mail received, he is unable to answer every e-mail message received. Please note that he cannot assist you with your individual research. Visit George's Web site at http://ahaseminars.com/atl for information about speaking engagements. George is also the author of The Genealogy Forum on America Online which is available in the Ancestry Online Store.