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Newcomer observations

Debbie and crew,

It is exciting getting acquainted with GW and its knowledgeable guides and members. I have a few observations to share:

1. As a GW newbie I have encountered a new situation. When I post more than one message, my correspondents always evince a desire to be helpful, but don't seem to have read some of responses before they message me again. This leads to my questions: Is there a most efficient way to respond to a person-to-person message? To a posting made to my Wall? To a posting made on someone else's Wall? To a posting made to the Group Wall? What is the most efficient way to conduct a 2-person back and forth message conversation, wall, discussion, blog, or what?

3. Also, is there some way to include in a user's profile to what databases s/he has access? My accustomed reference to PID's in the newFamilySearch FamilyTree would only maks sense to those who have access or have even heard of it.

4. If there are any orientation files or pages, including GW etiquette, please refer me to them.

Thanks.

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Permalink Reply by Johnny on August 25, 2009 at 2:21pm

Juan,

For the first part of #1, I believe you have identified a human defect. Some people just are too quick to reply, and don't read the whole message, or all the messages.

As for the second part of #1, the best way to communicate person-to-person, its going to depend on what you want from the communication and who you want to see it.

A wall post directs your message at that one person, but allows everyone to be able to see the message.
- If you use the reply link for a wall post you have received it will create a threaded message. Only you and the person you are conversing with can see the replies in a continuous thread; but everyone can view the individual messages.
- Someone else can comment on your wall to add to the discussion, but they will not be included in the existing reply thread.
A group wall post just kind-of throws out the information to the group, usually good for announcements or one-liners; not really conducive to conversation.
The messages using your GW Inbox or the "Send a Private Message" link allow you to communicate directly with a person, and works similar to email where only those people you send it to can view it.
- Note that you can only send messages this way to your GW friends.
A blog post is typically used more for feature, story, or diary/journal type things; people can reply to them, but the replies are not formatted for an easy running-conversation.
A discussion (in the forums or in the group discussions sections) provides a better place for running-conversations with multiple people.
- These conversations have nested threading, so you can see when people replied to a specific comment.

For #3 I would recommend the "Text Box" feature located on your profile ("My Page").

By default it is located about half-way down, in the center. You can click the edit button on the right, and can then enter plain text or HTML, as well as embedding video, pictures, or other widgets.

For #4, I know we're working on a welcome page; but in the mean-time there are some "How-To"s and tutorials in the Member-2-Member help group that you might find useful.

Newcomer observations

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