Rootschat

Rootschat is a free online genealogy forum concentrating on local and family history research in the United Kingdom. As of February 2007 there were over 41,000 members with over 1 million postings in 182,000 topics.Since its creation in December 2003, RootsChat has maintained a policy of using volunteer moderators working in close co-operation with the RootsChat members in an effort to keep a friendly atmosphere and welcome new visitors.The site handles every query from finding a relative called John Smith, to locating the remaining families of airmen killed during the second world war from just a photograph found at a crash site.

ite Organisation

The message posting area of the site is organised into various boards, some grouped together. As well as generic beginner and "common room" boards, countries and British counties all have their own boards to allow people researching in the same area to communicate and share knowledge. There is a strong ethos of sharing resources, with members frequently looking up census and parish records for each other.

In addition to these boards there are special Cornish, Irish, Gaelic and Cymraeg boards for postings in each respective language.

There are also several very active "Special Interest" boards, including
* [http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/board,298.0.html Photograph Restoration] board to help restore damaged family pictures.
* [http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/board,285.0.html Technical Help] board providing assistance with hardware and family-history software
* [http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/board,300.0.html Armed Forces]
* [http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/board,296.0.html Occupation Interest] for people interested in the history of a particular occupation

Friendship bonds created between members have led to the creation of two boards, the "Lighter Side" and "Totally off topic", and a chatroom for humorous and postings unrelated to family history.

ocial and Fun

Members have created various games combining the resources available to them, and their passion for genealogy. These include Censuswhacking, whereby people look through the English census indexes for a unique first name, surname or occupation; and a monthly challenge with an aim of discovering as much as possible about a randomly selected person

At irregular intervals "Meets" are organised, where RootsChat members can meet and get to know each other "in the flesh", and not just as anonymous contributors to the forum. These, and the numerous 'mini-meets', not just in the UK, all go towards building the sense of community spirit that many members value.

RootsChat hosted sites

In addition to the forums, RootsChat provides free webspace for members to host their family trees and other genealogical information. Two of note are:
* [http://www.rootschat.com/history/hastings/ 1066 Genealogy (Sussex)]
* [http://warwickshire-info.rootschat.net/ Warwickshire Baptisms and Marriages - Are They Yours?]

Three other sites organised and hosted by RootsChat are:
* [http://1901census.rootschat.com/index.php The 1901 Leftovers Site ]
* [http://surname.rootschat.com/ The Surname Interests Table ]
* [http://romany.rootschat.net/ Passing Through. Romanies and Gypsies ]

Rootschat in the News

In one case reported by the BBC [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4613829.stm] the members of the site were successful in closing a police enquiry dating back over fifty years. In another, through the help of RootsChatters, the relatives of airmen killed in a crash in 1942 were traced and were able to attend the funeral ceremony for the lost airmen. [http://www.raf.mod.uk/news/news_0608_16.html]

RootsChat maintains a list of its other appearances in the Media, which include:
*West Midlands Police Federation: Genealogists used in police inquiry [http://www.westmidspolfed.com/directnews/article.asp?articleid=8711936]
*BBC News - UK Edition: The kinship of strangers [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4552737.stm]
*Western Mail: New website where genes detectives take on other people's past [http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/tm_objectid=15636346%26method=full%26siteid=50082-name_page.html%22]
*Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter: RootsChat.com [http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2005/06/rootschatcom.html#more]
*Cleator Moor Crack: Photo sparks world wide hunt [http://1901census.rootschat.com/rc-media.php#whitehaven]
*Radio Merseyside: An Interview with Paul E (about RootsChat, Censuswhacking, etc) [http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,89527.30.html]
*Castle Combe Museum Website: Sampler Discovered In New Zealand [http://www.castle-combe.com/]

External links

* [http://www.rootschat.com RootsChat]
* [http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,23896.0.html Member hosted websites]
* [http://1901census.rootschat.com/rc-media.php RootsChat in the media]

*Scotlands People, the official government source of genealogical data for Scotland (http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/content/help/index.aspx?r=551&815) lists the site as a useful link
*The BBC Wales website also lists Rootschat as a useful source for family research (http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/mid/webguide/pages/family_history.shtml)
*http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4552737.stm - The kinship of strangers
*http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4938194.stm - Shortcuts to your family's past
*http://www.thegoodwebguide.co.uk/index.php?rid=3870 - The Good Web Guide