Using a forum like this, is always a new experience for somebody that joins, and while I like to think I cover the basics in the FAQ, I know ya'll will have questions I just didnt think to cover. So feel free to ask them here!!!

Have a suggestion? Feel free to make it, but keep in mind it might always be feasible, or it might be something we have already decided against, so please dont be offended if the suggestion is taken

We want to make this the best message board experience you can have, but we can't do that if we don't know what you need...so dont be shy!!

shannifaye,
I am new to this list. I don't know how to post a message. I can on this by accident can you help me please.
cookiejar25

sure

for example, if you wanted to make a post to introduce your self, on the main page of the board you would click on the words "introduce yourself" and it would take you here

http://ancestrallychallenged.com/forum/ind...hp?showforum=17

on that page you would click the red new topic button on the top right

on the page that takes you to, you would fill in the white box next to "topic title"

then you go the the big white box and post whatever you want to say, when you are done scroll to the bottom of the page and click the post new topic button and you're all done!!

Just curious if it was possible to make the names your searching for clickable. It would make it easier to find people working on the same family, but I realise that it might not be offered by the site.

Ugh, sorry about that awful font.

no, Im sorry I cant make them clickable, but you can use the search function at the very top of the board under the banner and it will bring up any post that has the name in it that you're looking for

Hi! I found you googling for "free genealogy forum". I just joined, but I already have a couple of suggestions that I think would make the board easier for people to navigate and use.

I noticed you said there is an 'about' page on your other site. It would help newcomers who don't have time when they first arrive to guess where that 'about' page is, to link to it from the top menu.

I also got very frustrated trying to find out how to get to the forums, and a "Forums" link somewhere at the top would take frustration out of a newcomer's experience.

I also find it very confusing to have our surnames lists at the top before our posts. I personally would find it much less confusing to figure out the posts if that was at the end of the post, maybe after the signature. It may appear somewhere else in IE, but I am using a text browser.

I am excited about this board and look forward to watching it grow. Thank you for providing it for us!

tc

Im not sure I understand what you mean about the surnames list at the top of the posts?

The surnames list isnt in the post at all, its under your user name next to your posts.

I am not familiar with a "text browser" I code all my stuff for IE, Firefox and Netscape so Im not sure how you're seeing the forum.

There is a link to the main page at the top of every page on the forum just under the banner it says Visit the Ancestrally Challenged Blog!!!

Ah! Okay, I guess the Surname list location is a browser issue. Text browsers AFAIK typically render tables so that the leftmost column is displayed first (i.e., on top), followed by the next column, with the rightmost column being displayed at the very bottom. I haven't downloaded the html but would guess this is set up as a table. Us rare folks who use text displays will probably have to just make due, but it is a point people writing webpages should be aware of for maximum accessibility. I pretty much have to forgo viewing data sites that are set up as tables as they are so garbled.

About the link to your blog, that may be where you explain the site, but I would guess I'm not the only person who doesn't want to wade through a blog to find the link for your "About" page. It would be a lot more user friendly to also provide a clear link on the Forum page to the About page. Also, for those of us who aren't savvy, or don't have time to click on every strange link on a page while they are surfing for a forum, maybe putting something next to "Shoutbox" saying it's online chat would make it less of a guessing game.

I guess it depends on what kind of membership you want to cater to...I personally tend to try to make things less confusing to people so I don't scare them off, since many people I know doing genealogy (like my relatives) get overwhelmed by their computers, and I want to minimize that. I would hope this forum might be a place they could come as well, without getting confused.

The forum is fine as is for me, I'm just thinking about the little guy. I believe you want them here too, and that's why I'm suggesting these things. I wonderr what other people think?

Thank you for your suggestions, as stated above all suggestions are considered and discussed. I have spent many an hour in thought and consideration of how this pre-made software package can be utilized for the best and while I do not wish to drive anyone away, it is made for the "general masses". Everyone is different and there is no way I can cover every need (for example, there is an option on this board to take it to a text version only, but all you can do with that is read it, you cannot contribute....I didnt write the software so I cannot change it, if you wish to do that, you can click the lo fi version link on the bottom of any page).

There is no wading thru anything on the main page of the website, our purpose is right there, nothing to look for. Members also get a PM when registration is approved that gives them an idea about the site and instructions, so I feel I've pretty much covered that. I also send an email to new members from my personal email telling them to let me know if they need assistance....I have found THIS particular communication is the one that works the best, as a lot of people just dont understand what a discussion forum is, and mistakingly think they are signing up on yet another mailing list.

People are going to be confused about things, there is no 100% way to do things that will prevent that, my job as the website owner is to let them know that I will answer any question they have and work with them until they understand how this operates, and I do this in various forms from providing step by step instructions to chatting with them personally online until they figure it out.

I think any regular, contributing member here will agree on the above.

Please let me know what text browser you use so I can look into this kind of browsing more indepth, the only one I can seem to find was only written up to Windows version 98, which I do not use so its of no help to me in researching this

Ok I have found a text browser that works with XP....and I am sorry to say I do not have the knowledge to recode anything to do with this prewritten software to make it work in this kind of format. If you are wanting to view the site with a reduction of images (if for example you're using a text browser to reduce load time) you can always set the preferences to not show images

Or, like I said you can view it with NO images but all you can do is view/read

Oh, gosh, I'm sorry I didn't say what browser I use. Sometimes Lynx and sometimes Links. If you want I can track down their home pages.

I use them because they are much, much faster for me everywhere than regular browsers on dialup, even turning images off, because I'm using a PDA with very limited memory and browser options. I had to have images turned on to sign up and use Opera for that, but the site loaded very slowly and I'm glad I don't have to do that again.

I do actually like this particular forum software you are using, I use it at several other boards which is why I got the idea links could get added. But I do understand the limits, and it's more important to do genealogy than mess with forum settings if it's working for most people.

I am sorry about the hassle...I really didn't know it was one of those things (the surname list) that the board software wouldn't let you move, plus I understand most people not doing the forum on portable devices with small screens will find it just fine.

You can PM me if you want to explore the portable device/text browser issue further as I'm figuring it's not a topic of interest to most users, huh?

Now, off to read the fun parts of the forum...

yeah I finally found a version of Lynx that was for XP....lol I honestly dont see how you navigate that. I checked with my forum mod comrades and they say there isnt any way to modify the php to work "right" with what you use. They suggested the same thing I did, if you want to "read" it easier switch it to the lo fi version, then if you want to make a post switch back to the regular to be able to add a reply

Im very sorry... I did try

Oh, yuck...I just tried "Lo-Fi" and that's much much harder to read because it does away with all the links that separate the posts. "Hi-Fi" works great. I much prefer reading surnames than going without formatting in LoFi.

But thanks for trying...