General Chat

Stephen, Thank you for writing this article. Please don't try and please everybody. If you only please half the people you are doing well. There will always be people to moan and groan. Democracy, we may say more or less what we like. Sometimes we upset people, but often not meant. Keep up the good work. Sylvia

even though you have changed the name i still class it as genes connected.it's not to be petty but have become used to this.it's just me i don't like change.

The name change has certainly had some effect.........we have TRYING TO FIND's now on the SUCCESS board....... confused? you certainly Will be...........

Stephen, Don't know if you're still reading this thread - need help that support don't seem to be able to offer. Trying to search the dutch FR, it keeps giving error messages. Dutch support do not reply, and UK FR say it is not their problem - even tho the error message says to contact FR UK!! Hoping that someone can help fix this problem. Thanks

Having been a member for only a couple of months, I must admit I have not become overly attached to the name of GC but I can understand why people have got upset. Being part of a community means being affected by what happens to it, whether as an individual or a group. Membership of a group defines in some ways who we are. That said, I have only just started straying from the Tips and Records boards onto the General, and found this thread tonight! Perhaps some bright spark can think of a way to flag up this kind of general interest thread on the other boards. I think GC/GR is great. The people are fantastic, the help they offer is invaluable and all made possible by Steve! Have I had any success? Well, I've found out my grandfather might not be my grandfather, but I haven't yet worked out how to prove it one way or another! My grandmother's family has been researched by another member, a certain 2nd cousin I didn't know I had! And that's why I joined - to discover more about the family I had never met and make connections. So thanks GC/GR and thanks too to Wendy for her help. Jan

dear steve,the name is of no interest to me,its the contents,that really matter. but why,oh why do you have these video type advertising banners,they are turning on some flash player on my pc,and its making my pc really slow,in fact it totally freases sometimes...surely you dont need the money that bad. best wishes....bryan.

Hi Steve, I think it is a good site whatever it is named. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR HELP AND SUPPORT and long may it continue, Jim Weatherall

I don't care what you call the site. My husband registered on my behalf a while ago, and through the site I have contacted a previously unknown 2nd cousin researching the same family. That alone is worth the registration fee, I thoroughly enjoy checking the site and message boards regularly, so please keep up the good work. If it changes, so what, so long as I can continue to use it I don't really mind. Thank you for the site. Wendy Cummin

I'm sorry if this ticks a few people off, but seriously, I have just found this thread and can't believe the fuss being made over ONE WORD! I have been a member of the site for two years, have had huge fun with it, and discovered new family, all of which I am very grateful for. I can also see the faults--deleting a relative can be incredibly complicated at times, and the responses to queries could often be a little more helpful. However, I cannot possibly understand what difference one word in the name of the site makes to how the site works. Presumably, everything else will stay the same, and any changes will only be improvements. To me, Genes Reunited is a tidier name than Genes Reconnected, fits with its' sister site of Friends Reunited, and personally, I feel like I HAVE 'reunited' with my new family members, even if it is the first time I've 'met' them--we all did come from the same gene pool after all! Let's be honest, I can't be the only one who didn't even notice the name change til I spotted all the threads about it?! There are such HUGE things going on in the world right now, do people really have nothing better to do than complain endlessly about something which isn't actually going to hurt anyone? Mind you, I have now become one of those people complaining....sorry!

Steve, thank you for responding again. it is appreciated. You said "This research showed that there was a barrier to non members coming onto the site because of the name - ie. because it didn't include Reunited it wasn't seen as as a member of the FriendsReunited group. Getting more people and names onto the site is what makes the site work." I believe that the majority of family historians are not after reuniting but connecting. It seems from what has been said to me that since the name change, more people are looking for missing people on the boards ie living people. Generally speaking, I understand this is not the intention of family historians. Also, on the 'trees' it is stated that living people's names should not be inserted unless permission has been given by the people concerned. It does worry me that the aim of the site is changing and possibly that new members are thinking it is solely with the purpose of finding living people. I have read elsewhere that new members do not have to pay. Is this correct, please? By the way, several emails have not reached the intended contact. I look forward to the newsletter. Thank you. Joy PS I have just noticed on the success board a thanks to 'friends reunited', and most of the postings on that board are about finding living people!!

To answer a few more questions:- Maureen- about spam and viruses (I'll repeat an answer from earlier that will help) To clear up any confusion about viruses and spam. We get thousands of spam and virus emails sent to us every minute - they get filtered but this has an obvious overhead on our mail server. A few weeks ago a new worldwide virus started and this increased the amount of rubbish we get and sometimes its flipped over our mail server. We have been working our socks off to get an upgrade to work (you should see the guy who installs the software at night times!!) and are now looking at other options. Its not something you can do overnight as it takes a bit of time. It will get fixed and everything is still working fine - it just needs an upgrade. We never have had a virus and there is no danger to anyone else. I just thought our mail server problems might be the cause of a few lost support emails but the technical guys would know better. Joy - there hasn't been a newsletter for a couple of months but one is being worked on now and we hope it will go out this week or next - also, our marketing guys will never do any research on less than a 2000 people, thats the point where market research becomes statistically valid. I haven't got the exact numbers but it will be in excess of 2000 people. This research showed that there was a barrier to non members coming onto the site because of the name - ie. because it didn't include Reunited it wasn't seen as as a member of the FriendsReunited group. Getting more people and names onto the site is what makes the site work.

Hi Steve What's in a name? An onion by any other name will still make your eyes water. For an Octgenerian like me it is an easy site to use and I have 100's of new friends from every where. Keep up the good work WE All apprecite it. Best Wishes Jim C.

Hi Steve What's in a name? An onion by any other name will still make your eyes water. For an Octgenerian like me it is an easy site to use and I have 100's of new friends from every where. Keep up the good work WE All apprecite it. Best Wishes Jim C.

Steve, on 4 June you said:- "Added by Stephen Pankhurst on 04/06/2004 21:19:39 Joy Not sure on the numbers but I'll try and find out." I look forward to hearing from you, and, please, an explanation why I have not yet rceived a newsletter. regards Joy

I believe in free speech and am glad to see people's views. However, Steve, if you had to describe a certain emotion, I'd have thought surprised would have been more appropriate than shocked!!! Still waiting for reply, and newsletter, Joy

Hello Stephen, Thank you for facilitating this site in the first place and for your response to the members' real grievances. I was shocked that you were shocked! I have not read of anyone saying, in recent threads, that their opinion was sort in your recent market research. How many "regular contributing" members were asked? Market research isn't all it's cracked up to be anyway! I will certainly be joining the other sites, but as you've done the decent thing and now talked to the members, I'll resubscribe here too. I hope you feel you haven't been shot down in flames on this thread. Happy researching and connecting. John.

Hi Steve, well done for facing the crowd. My opinion is "a rose by any other name is still a rose." (can't think where that came from. ) Anyway, I have found lots of CONNECTIONS by blood to relatives but not been REUNITED with any of them! Have been on Friends Reunited and have been reunited with some of them! Call yourself what you like but don't stop the good work.

Steve I love GC/Grrrrrrr ! Call it what you wish, for the record in the past I have seen people useing the term GenesReunited, in the success boards. I know what they mean, you know what they mean, we all know what they mean ! I have gone back to the early 1800's with branches of my family, all due to this site. I have found 4 cousins ( & more) in the last year alone. I love this site whith whatever name you choose. To me this site is priceless. & I am staying put. Elaine x :o)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Steve, I among many thank you for having started this site, but having put your "head above the parapet" should have anticipated the back-lash, from the fully paid up members, in that there was no consultation or prior warning as to forthcoming changes. I agree with many other contributors to this thread and will remain a "fully paid-up" member provided it continues in the manner for which it was intended, searching for connections to passed genes, hopefully present but not "lost". I think the new name will cause more confusion than there is apparently at the moment.

Steve, Thank you for your putting this thread on the board and taking time out of your day to reply to us as members. This site has been in my favorites box since day one. The only time I take notice of the name is when I click onto the folder that houses this site. Being in control of my own comptuer I can change the name of the link to suit me. If you have as many favorites as me, then you choose a easy name to remember what the site is. Like wise I feel as an original site constructor you have the right to name the site. I joined in April 2003. I have only started one thread of my own. I had a positive response. I have contributed by adding to the threads of others. I found my half sister after 42 years via this site. It wasn't the reason I joined, but it is the "bonus" I have gained from using the site. My tree has been shared with other members with distant connections. My only problem has been when I came to renew. After 3 emails to support with a problem of not being able to renew and getting a standard reply saying that the site was running OK and that the problem lay with the company taking my credit card details (unable to enter my details) I took matters into my own hands and removed my tree and lost all my contacts. I rejoined as a first time user and uploaded my gedcom tree and started again. My only regret from this is the loss of my contacts and their trees with links to mine. I have tried to help others by looking up details on sites which Genes have links to, members who have no family connection at all. It's a great feeling to help others, and again the choice is with me if I wish to help. We all get something differant out of the site, I will continue to contribute and use the site. I feel lucky that my problems have been few and very far between. All the best to ALL of the team members behind the scenes partically those experts who deal with the computer working ie: upgrade/software updates etc. Brummie Dave