I have had several new subscribers added to my lists lately that are new to family research procedures and have asked me for assistance. I think it would help all of us if we reviewed the proper way to post a query and what the elements are. 1. A good subject line should be specific to the query. example: SURNAME date/timespan location General subject lines like searching for my ancestors, etc., are likely to be looked over and deleted. After all, these are genealogy lists, and we are all looking for our ancestors, etc. 2. In the message box, state the name(s) of the person(s), any dates or approximate dates and locations and the type of info you are seeking. This concerns posting of basic queries. Be sure to use CAPITAL letters for SURNAMES only and of course for other proper nouns,etc. Using all upper case (Capital letters ) in the message is considered shouting and is difficult to read, and is not proper "netiquette". Using all lower case is also difficult to read and should be avoided. If you have sight problems, there should be a way to choose a larger font for using or a magnifier for using when reading posts. 3. Please make your queries as complete as possible. If you have several names, then send more than one query and separate them as you can, so your posts will not be so long. Some folks have limits on post size. Here is a sample of a good post: I am seeking information concerning Jane Louise BROWN b. 1825 in Green County, ST (state). I am looking for marriage information for her in the range of 1841 - 1845. Can some one direct me to a source of marriage records for the period and in this county? Here you have a name, date, and location. And there is a specific request. Not just requesting any info about one surname in a general or unknown area. If you have any more suggestions, please feel free to share with me. I hope to include these soon on a web site for each surname list and county list I manage. Jennifer Braswell list manager --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.707 / Virus Database: 463 - Release Date: 6/15/2004