Hello Debbie:

Thanks so much for your interest and reminder on how to write a query. You've touched on two very important issues.

A) The importance of netiquette. Writing clear queries.

B) The importance of including pertinent information such as state, county and city in queries.

A) Postings or queries written in only in lowercase, or shouting at us in uppercase, with no punctuations and sloppy bad English are annoying. They show no respect for the Afrigeneas reader who's always ready and willing to answer a query. They also raise a red flag as to the true intent of the poster. Queries written in what is perceived as "our dialect" reveal a lot about the poster. As a result, these queries often go answered. The solution is simple. Use a spell check program. If it is one or two words that you are not sure of, plug it into Google. If it is misspelled, Google will tell you.

B) When we are focused on our regional search, we often forget that the names of cities or counties are found in many other American states. Adding the state into your query will help the Afrigeneas reader to identify and connect to a name, incident, or region that may be part of their research. Also, if we are not sure of the spelling of a city or county, Google will tell you if your spelling is correct.

We can certainly blame the Internet as the culprit who's helped to erase our sense of netiquette. But the solution lies with us. Researching genealogy is a precise science. Our words should be just as precise as our research.

Below is a link to the Afrigeneas Writers Forum, which discusses writing techniques.

Debbie, thanks for your very important post.

Sincerely,

Write Away