Hello, I just checked the archives to remind myself of when I started up this List, and it was 2 1/2 years ago. (It is also when I became an Administrator for the first time.) It was around that time, or 2 years ago, when another Administrator volunteered to start-up a Message Board to go along with the List. I'm pretty sure that Administrator told me that her request was denied. I didn't want to pursue the idea at the time. The other Administrator ended up with health problems at least a year ago, and was no longer able to participate on the Lists. I finally inquired about her at the Help Desk as she had been quite active on the Lists in the past. I found out just last month that the Lists and Boards had to be given up for adoption (included the Maine List). Since she is no longer on-line, I can't ask her opinion. In regard to Message Boards which are "gatewayed" to the appropriate Lists, I find the Message Boards important. But, there are varying opinions about whether a Message Board should be "gatewayed" to a List. I don't mind it. The main reason is that a List is more active and has more information in the archives when the postings to the Message Board are also posted to the List. Over the past 8 years, I have found important information for my research - by going to the Message Boards. Either I post a query and get informative responses, or I do a search of the archives and "find" important information. And, I've found that there are many researchers who do not like to participate on the Lists, and many don't ! So, you won't find those researchers mentioned in the archives of the Lists. (The Message Boards at www.genforum.com have lots of information in them.) It was probably those Boards where I "met" my step-cousins, and a few of my "distant cousins.") I have never tried being an Administrator of a Message Board, and I'm told that that job is a little more complicated. So, I'd like to ask if anyone on this List would be interested in volunteering to do it. But, a reminder is that -- whoever "requests" that a new Message Board be started up -- must become its Administrator. So, do you think we would have more people participating on this List -- if we had a Message Board for CAN-USA-MIGRATION -- where the queries posted there would be gatewayed to this List? Betty (near Lowell, MA, USA) List Administrator