Introducing GenQueries.com - The Online Database of Genealogy Queries

I am pleased to announce a new genealogy service on the World Wide Web. I have been building this service over the past few weeks and it has been in a limited beta test for a while with about 100 beta users. The beta testers helped point out needed improvements and most of those are now in place. Now I believe the new web site is ready for everyone.

GenQueries.com is a FREE service that provides an online database for genealogy queries for individuals as well as advertisements for societies, professional and amateur genealogy researchers, authors, publishers, genealogy web sites, adoptee searches, and more.

For years, genealogy magazines and newsletters have published queries for their readers. These serve as public notices of "I am looking for..." Such queries have always been valuable but suffer from several shortcomings:

• Limited life expectancy - The printed listings are typically effective only until the next edition of the magazine or newsletter is published. Then they are forgotten.
• Limited audience - Printed queries are visible only to those who subscribe to the magazine or newsletter.
• Abbreviated length - The printed queries are limited by the amount of space available in the magazine or newsletter.
• Difficult to establish contact - The person with possible answers typically has to write a letter or use some other manual method of contacting the person who posted the query.
• Privacy issues - The person posting the query must also reveal his or her contact information, either a mailing address or an e-mail address.

In contrast, queries posted on www.GenQueries.com are:

• Visible to everyone for 365 days (that number may be increased or decreased in the future as more experience is gained).
• Visible to millions on the World Wide Web - genealogists anywhere in the world can view the queries with a web browser and an Internet connection. The queries can also be found with Google and other search engines.
• Longer length queries - Queries can be several pages long, allowing the genealogist to post all known information about the person or couple in question.
• One-click contacts - Anyone with possible answers may contact the poster by one click on a link in each ad, then entering the information.
• Private - The person posting the query (optionally) does not need to reveal any contact information. Your private information does not need to be revealed to anyone, not even your e-mail address.

I am most proud of what this site does NOT have:

• No fees! You can post as many queries here as you like, free of charge.
• No spam! We do not share your personal information with anyone.
• No invasion of your privacy! Nobody ever sees your name or email address unless YOU post them in the queries. Your privacy always remains under your control.
• No account required! You do not need to create an account in order to post queries or events.
• You even control what you see! If you see an inappropriate ad (spam or profanity), simply click on "Report Abuse." If four other people do the same, that ad is deleted. You and the other users of this site can "vote the spam ads off the island!"

GenQueries.com is available now for your use. Again, it is available free of charge. I suggest you check it out and perhaps enter a few queries of your own. You also might want to enter information about your society's upcoming events and meetings.

GenQueries.com can be found at http://www.GenQueries.com.

Comments

[Jean-Yves]

Really great idea! But I can only read the title of the queries :-( Can you please help?

[Robert]

Dick, "Adblock plus still blocking ads" seems to be a known problem with that script (see the www.xzeroscripts.com forums, issues and bugs). I can't see the contents of those messages (as I'm not a customer of theirs), perhaps they mention a work-around.

[Jean-Yves]

It's a known issue. They have fixed it in the 5.0 release of XZero Community but it seems that the latest version of AdBlock Plus cancel that fix. See http://www.xzeroscripts.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3693

[Shirley]

Great idea, like the old Genealogical Helper but better. But when I click on a country, say Ireland, or a state (making sure there is a post) nothing comes up.

[Margaret Williams]

what a wonderful site looks to be most helpful THANKS

[Robert]

The biggest problem with using an off-the-shelf classified ads script like this is the search.

When searching for the surname "Ody", I get one good hit and a couple for "Dunwoody". Not a problem when there are so few ads, but the lack of any search options (such as "whole word", phrase, etc) will make the search essentially useless within months.

[Martin]

Dick, why not make the logo on the FAQ page clickable (return to home), so that it is consistent with the behaviour elsewhere in the site?