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This message was self-deleted by its author (seaglass) on Sun Mar 10, 2013, 05:38 PM. When the original post in a discussion thread is self-deleted, the entire discussion thread is automatically locked so new replies cannot be posted.
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Do you mean are there rules in the Genealogy world that you should be aware of or unwritten rules in this group that you should be aware of?
As far as "unwritten group rules", the only real "unwritten rule" is be civil to others. If you have issues with a particular DUer on other groups/forums, this is not the place to fight with them about it. Feel free to disagree with others about things, but don't call them names 
In the Genealogy world outside of DU - the only unwritten rule I've ever wanted to see enforced (and it never has) is don't be mean (I guess that's the same rule LOL). I once had a cousin tell me that my research skills were crap and that I got it completely f**king wrong. This from the same cousin that had a man fathering a child 27 years after he died (when he would have been 97 years old).
A lot of older records are open to interpretation and people do the best that they can. I wish that other genealogists knew that and could just say "hey... I think you might have this wrong. Calvin Neel could not have fathered this child. Are you sure he's not the child of William Calvin Neel?" instead of attacking you personally.
Above all, have fun and let us know what we can do to help!
Hard to add to that
you can run into some awkward moments, depending upon how the research develops. My Grandfather was something of a rascal it seems. He apparently fathered one child out of wedlock (about 1895 or so) was briefly married and then run out of town (probably by his Father), in Ohio ending up in Illinois, where he married my Grandmother (who turned out to be something of a mean drunk, but that's another story). They split in the 1930's and we believe he married again. The Granddaughter of his first & somewhat temporary wife found me through one of the research sites and we communicate as time permits.
His Sister also had a child out of wedlock & sent him off to an orphanage we believe as he ended up in Iowa while she married & moved to Detroit. The boy kept the maternal name as a last name, eventually shows up on a WWI draft registration, some church records and I was able to track the family down there. They had no idea of his family as he never spoke of them. I am not sure how much interest or happiness my contacting them created, but from my point of view history is history.
I have found in my research, Slave holders, Civil War Veterans (and deserters one of which was shot or hung), Possible Revolutionary War Veterans, A Car Thief, Alleged members of a charming group that starts with a K, Farmers, Blacksmiths, Harness Makers, Jewelers, Grocers, Shipbuilders and a whole bunch more. It's a whole lot of fun.....
And most of them aren't even related to me
A lot of the hints are garbage but some will save a lot of time. Problem with my lines is that most of the easy stuff was done a very long time ago.
Check online - I know the Family Search has been trying to set it up so you can order microfilm and other things online, pay for them to be delivered, and have them waiting when you go to the local Family History Center. I haven't made it to the local one yet - I had knee replacement in May and go back in late July for the second one. Because of my knees, getting places has been nearly impossible so that resource will have to wait until I am fully healed an mobile!
Please start keeping track of the documentation NOW! It's easy to be lazy but you will pay for it when your tree is larger and more complicated. I've found it easier to zoom in on the digital copies to read the old documents. I can put them into an editing program, play with the contrast and brightness and bring up faint or hard to read images. Then I can zoom in and make the part I'm trying to read larger on my computer monitor.
I've only had luck with my Quaker ancestors in Ireland and that is mostly from third party sources, such as an old source about the sufferings of the Quakers and how they were penalized for not being members of the state church. Even so, very few of my Irish ancestors have any documentation.
Canada is a pain - most of the provinces did not do census until 1861. I've got one ancestor who says in census that he was born in "Lower Canada" in 1817. There is an immigrant with the same name who arrived in Canada that year and I think that could be his father, but there are no parish or vital records to prove a connection. I'm still struggling with my Canadian branch and may never get anywhere with them.
I really hate when ancestors disappear at census time! Especially when they're in the same place the decade before and after. I've read through entire counties looking for missing ancestors and still did not find them. Sometimes they were just missed by the census taker or away at the time it was taken. 
Good luck!
Rosie
