Genealogy Chat

I have sent several emails to members who dont reply but I see the green envelopes has been opened am I wasting my time

However frustrating it may be, no you're not wasting your time.

It could be that they are away from home or don't have the time at the moment to answer you properly.

Try sending another message explaining a bit more about the mutual person and their immediate family. If you've used the generic 'Can I see your tree' you'd be more likely to be ignored.

Thank You for the reply perhaps I dont explain enough how we are related but I have found several members who want to see my tree and I look in their list and found only three surnames the same as mine

I once received a reply 2 years after sending my message.


Chris

I've waited a number of months. It turns out the person being asked about had been adopted in. They were in a quandary as they'd promised never to let him know.

O well Ill have to wait a while then Thank you for the rep;ies

I would wait a couple of weeks then send a gentle reminder. It may be that they needed time to seach through files for the info you have asked for. Or as previously said, picked up the message whilst on holiday and away from the info required.

I could wait if I see the green envelope has been opened, but I have 7 unopened all sent over the last few months and longer.
. I would like to know if that member has left the site . do their names stay on site for some time, or do members just not check inboxes for months on end ,

Members accounts are never deleted by GR. They can only be deleted by the tree owner or someone who has their login details.

There are various reasons why dormant members don't reply.

They've died
They are too ill or frail to access the internet
They are caring for a family member
They've changed their email provider/email address but not updated it on GR
They've lost interest
They've consigned all emails from GR to junk-mail.

Don't despair. You may eventually get a reply. Some active members say they've heard back after a year. The person only checked their account once a year.

Check their membership number. The fewer the digits, the longer they've had an account. Although there are still some active members with 5 digit numbers, there is a greater chance that they've completed their research.

In my case I have just responded to a message - SEVEN years late!!
I have restored an old hard drive and out of curiosity recovered the data and there it was.
I hope the person gets it although its a long shot.