What kind of list has this become ?????????? Coffee and Tea ??? I subscribed to Genealogy list not some beverage list !!!! At 10:14 AM 4/23/2000 -0600, you wrote: > > ) > ( > ) Good Afternoon Family! > .-.,--^--. ( Come on in. . . > \\|`----'| - The coffee pot's on. . . > \| |// ...and we even have decaf, > | |/ tea, and crumpets! > \ / > ------ > > >Today's topics include: > >1. Who I am >2. How I operate the lists >3. List guidelines >4. CHAT: forum >5. Sunday Morning Coffee >6. The Bower Family Homestead >7. Projects we're currently working on [This will be in a 2nd message] > >WHO I AM > >You all already know who I am .... but I didn't get to introduce myself >properly to you, and I'd like to do so here. My name is Colleen Pustola >[2-l's and 2-e's in Colleen, please] and I'm an Army wife who has >recently returned to the States after our fourth tour in Germany. I'm >the mother of five with three still at home. My pseudonym, Lady Audris, >comes from one of my former obsessions :) as a living historian/teacher >of the medieval period. I've been researching my lines for nearly 25 >years, teaching this science for 18, and guest-speaking at genealogical >seminars and in schools for 13. Though I'm not Mormon, I did receive >the bulk of my formal training from them so reciprocate by volunteering >in their Family History Centers whenever we live near one. I've >published my first book, the "Bower/Winchcomb Connection" and am working >on six others including an update of the first. You now know my whole >life in a nutshell! :) > >HOW I OPERATE THE LISTS > >In today's Coffee, you read "family" and "cousin[s]" all through it. >That's because you have not joined an email list, but an online family. >We are not "members of the list," we are cousins to each other. We may >not be related by blood, but by coming together as one unit...we are a >family. We respect each other and each other's abilities. Sharing and >working together we'll break through these brick walls we've all been >facing. Sharing and working together, we're also bound to develop a >closeness to one another -- just like a family. I like that, many of >the cousins like it, and I hope you do, too. > >I don't like dictatorial listowners! They make me nervous and afraid to >post! So, I guess you could say I'm rather laid-back. Also, I can't >see being stuck at a brick wall, joining a list for x-number of months, >and reading one message after another day after day.....and going >nowhere. I've done that too many times. Frankly, it's boring; I tune >out on the list and pretty soon, drop it. > >I decided that when I grew up and became a listowner [after 6 years on >email lists] that the list would not be "mine", but "ours" -- our >homesite would not be "mine", but "ours." Why? You who are reading >this have as much a vested interest in this family [this list] and our >home as I do. That's why, when you read about our move from GeoCities to >Crosswinds, you also read that the family took a vote on what we would >do [move or stay]. I will not arbitrarily move your material away from >the address you expect it to be at, nor will I ever take credit for any >data you elect to house there. > >LIST GUIDELINES > >I don't push "format this way" and "post only these items". We have >three goals to achieve: > > 1. Enjoy ourselves! > 2. Find our ancestral lines and inline cousins. > 3. Get as much data online as possible to accomplish the first two! > >We do, however, have some guidelines that we follow in order to maintain >a happy medium for everyone: > >1. NEVER flame [verbally attack] anyone in the family. The penalty for >this is instant removal from the list. If you have a problem with one >of the cousins, do not post what you think about them. That's what I'm >here for. There is never a justification to say hateful words and hurt >someone. Hurt feelings get nobody anywhere and can make the entire >group feel uneasy and unhappy. > >2. Newbies to genealogy are very special to us. We treat them with >much kindness as they struggle to learn the where's and how's of not >only how to research, but how to participate in a discussion list >without feeling afraid, intimidated, or demeaned. > >3. Criticism is always gentle and constructive. We all make mistakes >[I make them all the time!], and we need to remember that maybe not >everyone is having as great a day as you are. If someone makes a >mistake on something, go to their rescue and show him/her how to do it, >if you know how. > >4. Always show compassion towards a cousin who is having trouble with >something. But first, always ask if he/she would like for you to help >them learn. Please remember not to write any cousin and deliberately >point out how many mistakes they have made. This would be outright >rude, and we're all above that. That person might be having a rough day >with mistakes spilling out every time they try to do something. > >5. When you post messages to the family, please always use a helpful >subject line like "John BAUER d. 1800 MI," rather than a generic one >like "inquiry about my family line." > >6. Your messages through RootsWeb must always be in text format. If >you try to use HTML or MIME formats or try to send an attachment with >your message. The RootsWeb server will simply kick your message out and >bounce it to me as an error. > >That's it. No harrassing "form your messages this and such way." No >"you will...." Post anything you desire provided it's about >Bower[s]/Bauer, etc. genealogy and ancestral material. Off-topic items >and discussion will be covered in a later section here. > >CHAT: FORUM > >There are times when you have something to say that's not on-topic for >the list, but you think the family should know it. You have two choices >here: you can either send it to me to be related to everyone in the >Sunday Coffee or you can use the CHAT: format. There are two rules to >using CHAT: > > 1. You _must_ start your subject line with CHAT: > 2. Absolutely NO genealogy is to be put in CHAT: messages because >not everyone in the family wants to read CHAT: forum messages. Those >people know to simply delete messages with CHAT: in the subject line. > >CHAT: format messages are not an everyday occurrence. They happen here >and there. The only, and longest, time the CHAT: forum is actively open >is the period starting Thanksgiving day through to January 2nd so >everyone can post holiday messages, recipes, traditions, etc. After >that, the CHAT: forum closes and resumes its normal inactivity. > >SUNDAY MORNING COFFEE > >Just as this morning, you should expect me to 'join' you for Coffee [the >real thing, as I drink LOTS of it! :) ] We have a Coffee every Sunday >morning and in it you'll always find a welcome to our newest cousins. >Once you've received two or three Coffees, you pretty much know what's >in that paragraph and will skip over it. The rest of the Coffee can >cover just about anything to do with general genealogy, news about our >homesite or updates on projects that the family is working on. Also at >a Coffee will be news about cousins -- tragedies and elevated highs. >Coffees are never put in the CHAT: format simply because everyone is >expected to read them to find out what's happening with us as a family. > >THE BOWER FAMILY HOMESTEAD > >This is our homesite and where we house all our material. Its informal >name is the Homestead. Our site is known throughout the web and >receives quite a bit of traffic. In just under two years we have had >over 33,000 hits - a phenomenal number for a surname study site. The >Homestead has data on just about all 81 variant spellings we research. > >If you'd like to display pictures, a genealogy, wills, deeds, passengers >lists, etc. you are certainly welcome to. It gets your material online >for the world to see and hopefully for an inline cousin to see and >contact you through. Just contact me at <[email protected]>, let >me know what you'd like to do and we can set something up. You should >know also that, for your safety and that of your relatives, we do not >display any data of living people [other than your name and contact >email address as submitter of the material]. > >A small piece of news you should know -- our site just recently won a >site fight - not once did we win, but twice - and the second time >against just first place winners. The family came together and worked >very hard getting everything ready for that competition. Believe it or >not, we actually swept the board, surprising all of us. The Homestead >will be going up for its final round in the yearly competition in >December and small plans have already begun to improve what we just >finished creating! :) You are certainly welcome to make suggestions on >improvements to our [now yours, too] homesite. > >A brief explanation of two of the Homestead's rooms -- > >The parlor is used for introducing our ancestors that lived 1790 or >earlier while the dining room is for those 1790 and after. To introduce >an ancestor you can either do a narrative-style or use any format you'd >like. You can do a single generation or ten - with pictures or >without. The entire introduction is up to you. The only requirement to >introductions is that no living people are in it. To save me time, I'd >also appreciate it if you would get it as close to camera-ready as >possible, but that isn't a requirement. > >There is no way for anyone to upload any material to the Homestead. All >data has to be sent to me where I'll set it up for display online. I >will almost always contact you after I have it online, to get your final >approval on it before I announce its display to the family. > >PROJECTS WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON - see the 2nd message > > ****We now break for an unscheduled intermission**** > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >==== BOWERS Mailing List ==== >Please do not send messages with attachments, HTML, MIME, or any other >enhanced text to the list. RootsWeb does not allow messages with those >settings through their servers and will only return them to you. > >============================== >Join the RootsWeb WorldConnect Project: >Linking the world, one GEDCOM at a time. >http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/ >