Good morning to all, I've revised the welcome message which explains how and why the list works. Please print or save a copy for future reference. 90% of the questions which recur daily are answered here. The message includes tips on how to maximize the chances of getting a response to your query. Thanks, Chris ========================================== WELCOME TO THE BROOKS FAMILIES OF NEW ENGLAND MAIL LIST! Revised 8 May 2002 **PLEASE READ AND SAVE THIS MESSAGE for your future reference.** The list administrator is Christopher Brooks [email protected] RootsWeb.com hosts the mailing list. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To SUBSCRIBE: Send an e-mail to: [email protected] or [email protected] In the body and subject line of the message, include ONLY the word SUBSCRIBE. Turn OFF any email signature file you may use, as this may confuse the server which will process your command. The BROOKS-NE-L address will delivers individual messages to your e-mail address in what's called "mail" mode. When any subscriber sends a message to the list address, you'll receive an individual copy of the message. The BROOKS-NE-D address delivers a daily digest of the day's accumulated messages collected into one email. This option is handy for people who don't want multiple messages to pile up in their mailbox. To UNSUBSCRIBE: Send an e-mail to: [email protected] or [email protected] (use the letter representing the mode you are subscribed in). In the body and subject line of the message, include ONLY the word UNSUBSCRIBE. Again, turn off any email signature file. If you're going on vacation and need to temporarily discontinue your mail, simply unsubscribe, then subscribe again upon your return. To POST TO THE LIST (all subscribers): [email protected] To SEARCH THE MESSAGE ARCHIVE: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/BROOKS-NE-L/ The address is case-sensitive. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PURPOSE The BROOKS-NE-L Mail List was created to discuss and exchange information and resources concerning the genealogy and history of the various Brooks families of New England. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LIST POLICIES & PROTOCOL Send PUBLIC messages (information of value or potential interest to multiple people) to the list. Send PRIVATE messages (thank-yous, personal exchanges, messages about your SMITH or JONES lines, chit-chat, etc.) to the individual. NO-NOs. NEVER send the following to the list: Virus warnings "Test" messages "Me, too" messages Off-topic or cross-posted messages that some other person has asked be forwarded to all lists. Copyrighted or proprietary material Flames (more on this below) You CANNOT SEND FILE ATTACHMENTS to the list. (Rootsweb's server will block them.) If you have a file you'd like to share with other readers, announce what you have to offer in a message to the list, then send the file to those who request it via private email. KEEP QUOTING TO A MINIMUM. ("Quoting" is repeating text of the message you are replying to. Some quoting is necessary to remind others what the "thread" (topic) concerns; but quoting the entire message, particularly signature lines, is unnecessary and irritating to other readers. Please DO: USE A DESCRIPTIVE AND CURRENT SUBJECT LINE. Many of us subscribe to multiple lists, look at hundreds of messages each day, and decide, in a second or two, whether to open and read any given message SOLELY on the basis of its subject line. If your subject is "Brooks" (of no help, because that's our common topic here), or "My Brick Wall," or "Help," or "BROOKS-NE-L -REQUEST," your post will likely be deleted by many readers without ever being opened or read. Give your query a better chance of success with a meaningful and specific subject line, and do your part to keep our list archive, which is organized by subject line, well-organized and easy to use. SEPARATE "WANT LISTS" into individual queries, one family per message. If you're looking to identify six different people named BROOKS in your database, then give each one their own query and specific subject line. SOURCES and CREDITS ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED. If querying, tell us where you've already looked, so we don't re-plough furrowed ground. If you're sharing data from another source, include the name of the author, the full title, and the place and date of publication. If the source was simply Uncle Herk, then tell us, "Information gathered from my uncle, Hercules Veeblefester, interview, March, 1972." If you're forwarding from another list, please credit the material appropriately. This is both a common courtesy to the original submitter, and an aid to those who might want to contact the original submitter to follow up further. CONTROVERSY & DISAGREEMENT Praise in public; criticize in private. Vulgarity and personal attacks are unwelcome. Offenders will be summarily unsubscribed. If you're unhappy about some aspect of the list, please do *not* complain about it to the list as a whole. Address your concerns to the list administrator at: [email protected] If you believe that the behavior of another listreader is inappropriate, do *not* take them to task on the list. Do not forward the offending message back to the list. That just magnifies the problem. Address any such concerns to the list administrator, [email protected] and it will be my thankless task to try to resolve the issue privately. The topic of this list is historical and genealogical matters relating to the Brooks families of New England. Everything else is "off-topic". If you have a matter you'd like to discuss but are not sure it is "on topic", please check with the list administrator [email protected] before posting it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LINKS TO BOOKMARK: Genealogy Resources on the Internet: http://users.aol.com/johnf14246/gen_mail.html User Mailing Lists Hosted by RootsWeb: http://www.rootsweb.com/~maillist/ U.S. GenWeb: http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/ U.S. GenNet http://www.usgennet.org/ USGS GNIS Server [U.S. place names, locations and geographical features. You'll have to copy and paste this long link into one line in your browser.] http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnis/ web_query.gnis_web_query_form Google [the best search engine around] http://www.google.com LDS Family Search site: http://www.familysearch.org RootsWeb Genealogical Data Cooperative [our hosts]: http://www.rootsweb.com/ Virus information: http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/ http://www.antivirus.com/vinfo/ CIAC Hoaxbusters [Computer hoax advisory page]: http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Good searching to you! Christopher Brooks [email protected]