How do I respond to this

Message received on Ancestry:
"hello, am looking for connections for x / y"

I don't know off the top of my head of any such connection, and I don't want to trawl through all the x and y in my tree trying to hunt it out

 

Just tell them that.

 

Just say at the moment you really don't have much information on that person as they aren't immediate family. ( I'm assuming here!) " Sorry, I can't really help"

 

How rude!
People seem to be losing the skill of communication - too much abbreviated text messaging. (emoji needed for Grumpy Old Woman!)
But it's equally rude to not reply ...

Suggest you either ask them for more detail or, as Sue says, tell them you can't help.

Jane

 

I agree with all of the above - put the ball back into their court, or tell them you can't help

 

"Do we have a common link here?"

Or

"What is your connection to them?"

Could produce some interesting or valuable information? (Glass half full and all that stuff )

Otherwise, of course, "Can't help without more detail"

(Or "Pffffft - sorry")

Good luck whichever way you decide to go, Mugs.

 

They haven't even given me a name of a connection, just two random surnames ...

So, I said:
"Sorry, I do have xs and ys in my tree, but not aware of a connection. Was there a particular person you are interested in?"

 

Excellent answer Mugsy

 

Well, now I know who he is looking for, and I do have two persons with that name (though different spelling of the surname), but not a match to his