CyndisList-L Archives

From: Cyndi Howells <>
Subject: 2003: Time for some patience, kindness and teaching
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2002 16:19:37 -0800

Hello all -

Happy New Year!

Each January we see a huge influx of newbies joining us online because
Santa was generous and left a sparkling new computer under the tree. There
are also many after-holidays sales which offer people the opportunity to
purchase a snazzy new computer or new high-speed Internet connections. Many
people get online for the first time and enthusiastically don their
cyber-bikinis, hitting the surf with gusto. They are excited to be here and
they are (much as we "oldbies" were) rightfully overwhelmed by all that
there is to see and do. The language here is foreign to them. The
technology is newer, fancier and zippier than they may have used in the
past. And the way that we all participate in our giant, online genealogical
society, while being very similar to offline groups, is still a bit
different than they may be prepared for. In other words, it is a brave new
world to them.

I would like to put out a call to each of you to show these newbies that we
are a friendly, welcoming and helpful group of online genealogists. To do
so we all need to pitch in and show patience, understanding and kindness.
We also need to put on our teaching caps and be prepared to show them the
ropes.
1. Don't make assumptions.
2. Explain things in detail, include URLs and give them
complete instructions.
3. Verify details and addresses before you send them
to people.
4. Offer to help people privately via e-mail, off of the
mailing lists.
5. Be prepared to explain things more than once, in more
than one way.
6. Keep in mind that we were all new at one time.
7. Keep in mind that we all learn something new every day.
8. Reach out to your fellow researchers and set a good example.
9. Remember that the Internet is a global community, with
participants from every continent, speaking numerous
languages, from a variety of cultures.

There are several places online to which you can point newbies in order to
help them learn about this new research venue. I have tried to make these
easy to locate by setting up links on my site:
Internet Stuff You Need To Know
http://www.CyndisList.com/internet.htm
Beginners (to genealogy)
http://www.CyndisList.com/beginner.htm
How To ~ Tutorials & Guides
http://www.CyndisList.com/howtotut.htm
Software & Computers
http://www.CyndisList.com/software.htm

Also be sure to point them to these basic starting places online:

Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet
http://www.CyndisList.com
Genealogical card catalog on the Internet

RootsWeb
http://www.RootsWeb.com
See the RootsWeb Help Desk:
http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/

FamilySearch Internet Genealogy Service
http://www.familysearch.org/

Genealogy Resources on the Internet - Mailing Lists
http://www.rootsweb.com/~jfuller/gen_mail.html
Complete list of all genealogy mailing lists online

Good luck and successful surfing to everyone online - both newbies
and online veterans,

Cyndi Howells
http://www.CyndisList.com

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• 2003: Time for some patience, kindness and teaching by Cyndi Howells <>