Rednecks, Lil Italian Housewives, Sheep and Jaymakers

Adventures in Genealogy: The Chat Rooms
Or
Rednecks, Lil Italian Housewives, Sheep and Jaymakers

Some of yall might find it hard to believe, but when I first started coming into the Genealogy chat rooms I was very quiet and shy (Stop Laughing). I would sit and watch for hours (Lurking and Peeking), then ask permission of the hosts before running my surnames. I will admit I made a mistake when I first started. Instead of going through "For Starters" where the hosts have plenty of time to teach slow easily confused Texicans I jumped right into the Treehouse. It took awhile but I slowly learned the ropes and started making friends. The first one was this little Italian housewife (Name withheld to protect my neck) who I fuss with occasionally but helped me on my research in more ways than I can describe. (Side Note: She went on to become a very good host even if she don’t like waffles for breakfast.)

The more I relaxed and talked to folks the more friends and help I got. A crazy sheep herder from Pennsylvania helped me to understand English customs and find the right area to research my English ancestors. (Nice lady just don’t offer her any mint jelly.)

After trying the patience of my friends and various hosts for about 9 months, I started making real progress and to understand the "flow" of the chat rooms. In other words I learned how to carry on 3 conversations at one time. So after 2 ½ years of online chat and 9 months of hosting, I feel comfy enough to tell yall I did it the WRONG WAY. (bet that surprized ya)

What I should have done is take up Quilting. (GRIN) Just kidding. The best way to learn online Genealogy is to start in "For Starters". The hosts in that chat room are all especially patient (they wont even get mad if you ask how high a bee flies), Extremely helpful (some have even gone so far as to build Gen Home Pages aimed at helping Newbies) Cheerful (They even laugh at my jokes) and most important they remember what it’s like to be new.

SO if you are new to genealogy or new to AOL or just want some help, try "For Starters". They won’t do it for you but they might be able to help you break down that brick wall. I wont recommend a specific night because it don’t matter if your host is GFS Brenda (the Queen of the URLs) GFS RA (a little Italian housewife), GFS LadyJay (Jaymaker to the Stars) or GFS Cindy (everyone’s favorite Okie) you will be well served.

Adios and keep smiling

This Column written in 1998 really does not apply anymore. Genealogy Chat Rooms that I learned in were discontinued several years ago and I am not sure there are any active ones out there.