This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/IFB.2ACE/1121 Message Board Post: Dear Readers of the Alpena Message Board, Recently, RW Message Boards underwent a tidy little upgrade of the old search system. Its not fully complete yet, but I wanted to point out a few things you might see: -Extra results: now your searches are NOT case-sensitive, so a search for the surname LaCrosse will work with LaCrosse, Lacrosse, LACROSSE, LACrosse. So this means a previous search for LaCrosse might have gotten 20 results, now it might get a few hundred results since all of them have been compiled together. -Random Scripting Errors: you may see some funny codes pop up instead of graphics and boxes occassionally. That's okay, RW is working on fixing it ASAP. Just go back and try loading the page again. So what does this mean to you, IT IS ABSOLUTELY IMPERATIVE THAT YOU USE THE SURNAME BOX CORRECTLY. Why? More people are going to be able to find more results now. I'm appending the message from my Links & Announcements about how to use the Surname box, since people still aren't using it totally correctly yet - and don't forget to put ALL of the names mentioned in your message in the box - you never know what kind of connection might crop up somewhere. Concetta Franco Your kind, but sometimes cranky Alpena County Message Board Admin Here's that message I was talking about: "1. USE THE SURNAME FUNCTION CORRECTLY. Only use surnames if they are actually quoted in the message. Not your name - but the subjects of your message. And NOT the surnames that you are looking for overall - just the ones in your message. <br> So if I was posting about John Hazelton Graves, I could put Graves into the surname box. <br> Now, if I was posting about John and his wife Mary Jane (Bonner) Graves, I could put this entry into the surname box: <br> Graves, Bonner <br> This will enable anyone searching for Graves or Bonner to find my message. NO OTHER WAY WILL WORK. So don't use -, all caps, /, etc or anything other than the names. It will negate your entry and what you are trying to achieve. And if you put a boat name, business name, etc into the Surname box - it won't be there for long. As Administrator, I will change your surname list to make it more appropriate if necessary (but I get cranky about doing that all the time)."