Genealogy Chat

I have been contacted by 2 people today both saying sorry but they don't think we are connected. I replied to the first person, saying would they please enlighten me as I don't recall contacting anyone, either that or I'm losing the plot! They replied by saying I had shown up in their Hot Matches so they thought they should reply to me, which was very nice of them. What does it all mean? Carole xx

It's probably just people who don't understand that ''Hot matches'' is just a different version of ''my tree matches'', but where GR has matched names & dates (but not places). Christine

Carole, Sounds to me as if the person who contacted you doesn't know how to use Hot Matches. Most of GR's Hot Matches are well wide of the mark - they are only suggestions and you don't have to contact anyone you don't think isn't a match. Obviously these people who contacted you don't realise that. Cheers, Horatia

Poor things, hope they aren't contacting all their Hot Matches, they will be at it till Doomsday! Maybe I should tell them. Carole xx

I'm gald you've explained - I had two yesterday, just saying something like 'Sam, my Mary Jones is not the same as yours' and I've spent ages racking my brains trying to work out if I've contacted someone about Mary Jones! Sam x

I think there's a very simple solution the Hot Matches problem - don't go into that area. I use the My Tree Matches and get on fine with that. I occasionally look at the Hot Matches, but if it became a problem, I'd just not bother with that page. It doesn't stop me using other bits of the site. Christine

Michael - perhaps if you send a message to GR saying why you think the hot matches system is useless, they may consider changing it? I am hoping as many people as possible will ask them to change it, because when I sent them a message asking when it was going to work properly, I got a reply which seemed to say that as far as they were concerned it was fine. Until then I thought they were just trying to get it going and it was in its initial trials!! I have just sent them a suggestion for an improvement, but I think they need to be told that members aren't happy with it by as many people as possible so they will decide to improve it. Kate.

Ok we have paid our subs but.. if you dont like hot matches DONT GO THERE - i'm not keen on the chat board so i dont go there. You dont HAVE to look at the hot matches, do you? Dont bother then if all they cause you is irritation. Jess x

Hot Matches. Agree that Hot Matches are mostly PANTS! Agree that you DON'T have to look at them! However, out of the hundreds of Hot Matches GR have sent to me 95% have been well wide of the mark - but 5% haven't. GR actually send me an e-mail informing me of these Hot Matches and I feel obliged to trawl through them to find the odd 5% that MIGHT be a match. If GR could refine the system, we could use the Hot Matches without getting irritated. They should at least have the right country if not the correct county! Cheers, Horatia

For one thing, Hot Matches is paid for out of our subscriptions, so why shouldn't we ask for it to work properly? For another, you can't avoid them altogether by not looking at them if you are going to get loads of messages from people who have you in their hot matches and don't understand what it means. Kate.