I agree with your comments, Alberta. There are members of the Forum who never cease to amaze me with their knowledge, their ability to use (often expensive) family history resources and their generosity in spending time in digging out and sharing invaluable information.
I think there's a further point of which new members need to be aware. Whilst the Forum is, for the above reason, a very good place to discuss family history matters and share research, genealogy is not the principal reason for its existence. Its main purpose is to add to, make available and preserve Birmingham history in the broadest sense - which obviously includes, amongst much else, the lives of individuals. So, when requesting information about ancestors, members should also try to give something in return - perhaps the reason for the query and a bit of background information about the person being researched, the life he or she lived, the where and so on ....... In that way the Forum's store of information is increased, many members will appreciate what is written and those members who might feel interested and generous enough to offer help are suitably encouraged.
It's these little courtesies that set us apart from other social media platforms whose name we shan't mention!
Chris