Dear Baden-Wuerttemberg List Friends, We have welcomed many new subscribers on the Baden-Wuerttemberg Mailing List recently, and a few important points should be reiterated for the benefit of all list members. Please be aware of the following: 1. WHERE TO SEND MESSAGES FOR POSTING ON THE LIST For all subscribers: THE E-MAIL ADDRESS TO WHICH YOU POST A MAILING LIST MESSAGE IS DIFFERENT from that which you may have used to subscribe to or unsubscribe from the Baden-Wuerttemberg Mailing List. ALL messages intended for posting on the Baden-Wuerttemberg Mailing List MUST BE SENT *ONLY* to the following address: BADEN-WURTTEMBERG@rootsweb.com This is the ONLY message-posting address you will use for our list. If sent to any other list-related address, your message will instead be diverted to the List Co-Administrator, and not be seen be other list subscribers. * * * * * * 2. IS YOUR E-MAIL OUT LOOKING FOR YOU? *UNDELIVERABLE* LIST MAIL Did you know that your e-mail program MIGHT have a default setting which AUTOMATICALLY *BLOCKS,* or sends incoming e-mail that LOOKS LIKE 'spam' (or appears otherwise unwanted) to your e-mail TRASH folder? Some e-mail users do not realize that such a setting may be operative and remain so, UNLESS the individual user *CHANGES the setting.* Or, have you perhaps intentionally installed a *'SPAM' FILTER* in your email program lately? Does it require that an e-mail address be put on your "accept list" first before you can receive mail from it? 'Spam' filters might be the reason some subscribers do not receive list mail or responses from RootsWeb's HelpDesk, and/or the reason you are being automatically unsubscribed from RootsWeb-sponsored mailing lists such as this one. If these or any similar situations might be applicable to you, please remember to place the Baden-Wuerttemberg Mailing List address of BADEN-WURTTEMBERG@rootsweb.com on your "accept list" during your time as a list participant. IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT SUCH SETTINGS OR HOW A SPAM FILTER WORKS, please consult your Internet Service Provider or email software instructions. :-) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. UNSUBSCRIBING & MAKING ADDRESS CHANGES FOR LIST MAIL It is essential that all subscribers notify the automated RootsWeb computer system via the Subscribe/Unsubscribe function if going on *VACATION* (no matter how short), if you CHANGE your e-mail address, CLOSE your e-mail account, or want to temporarily/permanently DISCONTINUE receiving list mail for any reason. Most subscribing and unsubscribing tasks can most easily be accomplished by individual subscribers by visiting the Baden-Wuerttemberg Mailing List administrative Web site at: http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/intl/DEU/BADEN-WURTTEMBERG.html and following the prompts. If you have any difficulties in successfully subscribing/unsubscribing, please notify the List Co-Administrator, Carla (see e-mail address at the conclusion of this message). If you make a change in WHERE you usually get e-mail, you need to UNSUBSCRIBE first (thus removing the old information from the computer) and then separately SUBSCRIBE again (if you have new information). Please don't forget to UNSUBSCRIBE from any previous e-mail address you have used while receiving Baden-Wuerttemberg List mail. If you need assistance in resolving situations like this, please notify Carla. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. FULL E-MAILBOXES ON THE SERVICE PROVIDER'S SYSTEM MEAN "BOUNCED" LIST MAIL E-mail from the list also CANNOT successfully be delivered to individual mailboxes in an Internet Service Provider's (ISP'S) system if the mailbox itself becomes FULL. Remember that most ISP's e-mailboxes have capacity limitations, and can fill up quickly if the end user (you) is not regularly downloading his or her incoming e-mail to a personal computer. If you forget to do this regularly, or are not using your your computer for even a day or two, the ISP's e-mailboxes can start "bouncing" mail that is NOT making it through---and you may not even be aware of it. Even if you are merely going on vacation, please UNSUBSCRIBE to the list while you are gone. Otherwise, your mailbox may fill up, refuse any further incoming mail, and "bounce" everything back to the point of origin. Re-subscribing to the list when you are back online regulary can be handled in a matter of moments via the lists' administrative Web page (identified above.) * * * * * * 5. WHAT THE ROOTSWEB COMPUTER SYSTEM WILL *NOT* ACCEPT IN LIST MESSAGES: ALL RootsWeb Mailing List messages sent in by subscribers are limited to PLAIN TEXT MESSAGES and NO ATTACHMENTS. This means that using fancy fonts, e-mail "stationery," bold/italic print, and/or ANY FORM OF ATTACHMENT (photos, graphics, ancestor charts, genealogy files, etc.) will result in the failure of your message to make it through to the list. WHY DO ROOTSWEB LISTS DO THIS? The refusal to accept attachments on the lists helps to prevent the spread of e-mail viruses and worms. Plain text also enables researchers using a wide variety of e-mail programs to read the messages whether or not their computers, operating systems, and/or e-mail programs are capable of handling the most recent 'bells and whistles.' For these reasons, messages intended for posting on a RootsWeb Mailing List must be sent as plain text (no HTML [Hypertext Markup Language] or RTF [Rich Text Formatting]), and WITHOUT attachments. If you attempt to send a message to a RootsWeb Mailing List in an unacceptable format, you will automatically receive a help message explaining the plain text requirement as applicable in your case. If you are not sure how to make certain you are sending your list message in a plain text format, instructions for the most widely used e-mail programs can be found here: http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/listadmins/plaintext.html * * * * * * 6. DID YOU REALLY WANT TO SAY THAT? ARCHIVED POSTS & PERSONAL MAIL As already noted, ALL messages posted to the Baden-Wuerttemberg List are ARCHIVED (permanently stored on the RootsWeb computer). The computer can't distinguish information of a private nature. If you have privacy concerns, and don't want your posted information to be accessible to the public long after it's been published on the B-WML, please consider editing out any sensitive material before posting. This material might include personal street addresses and telephone numbers (including your own), and genealogical information about LIVING persons (e.g., birthdates, birthplaces, mother's maiden names, etc.). Family seekers are encouraged to share data of this kind only about persons who are already DECEASED. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for taking the time to note these points and for helping Dieter Joos and me make the Baden-Wuerttemberg Mailing List the best RootsWeb has to offer! Wishing you the best possible research success, Carla HELLER, Los Angeles, California mscarlah@earthlink.net List Co-Administrator, ROOTSWEB's Baden-Wuerttemberg Mailing List