Greetings, Listers— It's once again the time of year when folks are unwrapping their new computers and discovering the wonderful world of internet genealogy. Since I have noticed that a number of the lists I administrate have gained subscribers this month (especially in the last 24 hours), I thought it would be a fitting time to call for a Roll Call. The purpose of a Roll Call is to let others on the list (especially those just joining us) know what surnames (pertinent to the list) we are working on and in what areas they resided, as well as some other basic information (spouses, children, etc.) Since some of these lists have throngs of people on them and some have, well...less than a dozen, here are a few simple rules that will help the Roll Call move along more smoothly: 1. In the subject of your message, type: RC: John & Jill DOE (RC stands for Roll Call, and then type who you are looking for. Please, don't just type the SURNAME! [On a surname list, everyone is looking for the same SURNAME] Always put the SURNAME in all caps) 2. In your message, type your pertinent information, the email address you can be contacted at, and any applicable URLS (website addresses) you have that relate to your family. 3. If you wish to respond to a Roll Call message, please do so initially off-list, by replying directly to the author of the post. If you find a difinitive connection, you may later wish to post that to the list to let others know of the connection. 4. This Roll Call will last until January 2, 2001. After that, we'll do one once a quarter, or maybe twice a year or something along those lines, depending upon how many subscribe to the list. Of course, new subscribers will post their lines as they join. Please remember to let your family members, friends, genealogy society members, coworkers, etc. know about the wonderful lists at Rootsweb.com; they are a great help to many genealogists. With warm wishes for a prosperous New Year, Vince Leibowitz, List Administrator vpltz@peoplescom.net