Over the life of the World-Wide Web (since circa 1995) and before (USEnet, FidoNet, AOL, Prodigy, GEnie, CompuServe, and various bulletin board systems), genealogy researchers have found ways to share with each other.

For many years, the TNGenWeb Project had a query-posting system and Web-based bulletin boards, but those became difficult to maintain in the face of relentless spammers. Most of those query files are archived off-line; we hope to one day make them available in read-only form. (Please remember, we are volunteers!)

The explosion of social media as a sharing forum has taken the place of most message systems; however, it is important to remember not everyone participates…and social media posts belong to the for-profit corporations that house them.

RootsWeb existed for several years as a free option for genealogists to share their interests and discoveries.  However, Ancestry (its owner since about 2008) dismantled the RootsWeb mailing lists in April, 2023.

The mailing list archives are accessible via the Internet Archive, but you can only browse page-by-page; the search function was disabled with the dismantling.  Click here to view the RootsWeb mailing list archives for Bradley County as of February, 2021.

Likewise, Ancestry purchased and closed the GenForum message boards about 2008.  Tennessee messages are viewable (though not searchable) via the Internet Archive.  Click here.  Note the messages are not divided by county.

Ancestry’s message boards remain on-line and free to use, but they have become less popular over time.  Click here to search and post queries for Bradley County.