Dean, Thanks! I've book marked surname helper AND surnames in the Caribbean. Joan ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dean de Freitas" <caribgw@bellsouth.net> To: <CARIBBEAN-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2003 7:51 AM Subject: FAQ for the Caribbean-L Mailing List and soc.genealogy.west-indies > FAQ for the Caribbean-L Mailing List and soc.genealogy.west-indies > > Summary > > This document contains responses to frequently asked questions related to > genealogy in the Caribbean. Anyone wishing to post to the > soc.genealogy.west-indies newsgroup or the associated mailing list, > Caribbean-L, should read this document. This information will be posted to > the newsgroup / list on a periodic basis. The FAQ is also available on the > World Wide Web at http://www.rootsweb.com/~caribgw/mailinglistfaq.htm > > Suggestions are welcome and should be sent to Dean de Freitas at > deandef@bellsouth.net. > > Chris Codrington and Margaret Olson contributed to the content of this > document. > > For general questions about Rootsweb Mailing Lists, check out the following > FAQ's: > > Mailing Lists - What are they? > (http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/help/mail1.html) > Subscribing / Unsubscribing (http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/help/mail2.htm) > Subscriber Questions (http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/help/mail3.html) > Problem Solving (http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/help/email.html) > > For more information on USENET, try these links: > > Usenet FAQ (http://www.ou.edu/research/electron/internet/use-faq.htm) > FAQ's by Newsgroup (http://www.faqs.org/faqs/) > > Copyright 2002 by the CaribbeanGenWeb Project. All rights reserved. > > This document may be freely distributed provided that the copyright notice > is included. This document may NOT be included in any commercial publication > without the express written consent of the CaribbeanGenWeb Project > Coordinator. > > ++++++++++++++++++++++++ > > Frequently Asked Questions > > 1. What are the Caribbean-L Mailing List and the soc.genealogy.west-indies > newsgroup? What is the the relationship between them? > 2. How can I subscribe to the Caribbean-L List? > 3. What are considered acceptable topics for discussion on this mail list > /newsgroup? > 4. I am a new user. What should I do to get started? > 5. What is the "netiquette" for posting to this mail list / newsgroup? > 6. What is the difference between a mailing list and a newsgroup? > 7. Can I search old messages from the mail list or newsgroup? > 8. Why doesn't the subject line contain a "prepend" indicating the name of > the list like my other Rootsweb lists do? > 9. I thought the list was moderated. Why does SPAM appear on the list > sometimes? > 10. Can I attach a file to the messages I post to the list? > 11. Is there a surname index for this mailing list / newsgroup? > 12. What is the difference between the Caribbean and the West Indies? > > ++++++++++++++++++++++++ > > 1. What are the Caribbean-L Mailing List and the soc.genealogy.west-indies > newsgroup? What is the relationship between them ? > > The best way to answer this question is to provide a little history. The > soc.genealogy.west-indies newsgroup was created in 1996 as part of the > soc.genealogy.* heirarchy on USENET. A history of the soc.genealogy > newsgroups can be found at http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~socgen/index.htm. > The rationale behind its creation, and a copy of the newsgroup charter is > located at http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~socgen/Westind.htm. > > The Caribbean-L mailing list was created at Rootsweb as a part of the > CaribGenWeb Project. CaribGenWeb is one of many regions in the WorldGenWeb > family and is an umbrella for sites dedicated to each of the countries in > the region. The CaribGenWeb site is located at > http://www.rootsweb.com/~caribgw/. > > In 1999 a vote was taken among the subscribers of the mailing list to > determine if the list should be "gatewayed" with the > soc.genealogy.west-indies newsgroup to facilitate the flow of information > and increase participation. The original post announcing the vote is at > http://searches2.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ifetch2?/u1/textindices/C/CARIBBEAN+19 > 98+20933358019+F, and the notification that the gateway had been implemented > is here: > http://searches2.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ifetch2?/u1/textindices/C/CARIBBEAN+19 > 99+21643360234+F. > > For more on the gatewayed lists at Rootsweb, visit > http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~socgen/Abtmail.htm. > > ++++++++++++++++++++++++ > > 2. How can I subscribe to the Caribbean-L List? > > Instructions for subscribing are located at > http://www.rootsweb.com/~caribgw/mailinglist.html > > ++++++++++++++++++++++++ > > 3. What are considered acceptable topics for discussion on this mail list > /newsgroup? > > This group is for genealogical research related to the islands of the > Caribbean. Posts about these topics must be relevant to Caribbean genealogy > in some way. Acceptable topics include: > > * Surname and family queries > * Historical information about the islands and their inhabitants > * Methods of research > * Sources of information > * Culture > > Inappropriate topics or posts are: > > * Posts that sell or advertise a product are not appropriate. Information > about the availabilty and price of a product or service related to the > topics above are acceptable. > * Personal attacks on individuals or groups or posts that are inflammatory > in nature will not be tolerated. > > Violations of these policies may result in a report to the guilty party's > Internet Service Provider (ISP). > > ++++++++++++++++++++++++ > > 4. I am a new user. What should I do to get started? > > The first thing that you should realize is that, for many reasons, > genealogical research in the Caribbean is incredibly difficult when compared > to resaerch in larger countries such as the U.S, Canada, or the U.K. > Archives are typically understaffed, underfunded, and disorganized. Stories > abound about invaluable historical documents piled in corners in old, > non-climate controlled storage rooms. Vital records are also difficult to > obtain, with Registrar's offices rarely responding to overseas requests for > documents. Professional researchers in the islands are also few and far > between. The good news is that many records have been archived by the > governments that once controlled the islands. The Public Record Office (PRO) > in the U.K. is one such place. > > That being said, the best thing to do is post a message on the list or > newsgroup with as much information as you know about your ancestors and ask > for guidance. There are regular contributors to the list with experience in > many of the islands. Many times they can provide guidance on where to start. > > Another tactic that increases your chances of discovering information is to > post your interests in as many forums as possible. Surname lists and > newsroups, bulletin boards, and regional groups dedicated to the "mothe > country" are just a few alternatives. > > Most of all, be persistent. Many researchers have been contacted years after > their original posts by new people just getting involved in their own > research. > > NOTE: If you are new to genealogy research online, please read "Getting > Started" at http://www.woodgate.org/FAQs/new_user.html before posting to the > list / newsgroup. > > ++++++++++++++++++++++++ > > 5. What is the "netiquette" for posting to this mail list / newsgroup? > > Netiquette guidelines for the soc.genealogy.* hierarchy will be followed in > this group / list. Details are at > http://www.woodgate.org/FAQs/netiquette.html. A good source of information > for general mailing list netiquette is > http://www.gweep.ca/~edmonds/usenet/ml-etiquette.html > > ++++++++++++++++++++++++ > > 6. What is the difference between a mailing list and a newsgroup? Newsgroups > have been around a long time - way before Rootsweb - way before AOL and > Prodigy and the web. ROOTS-L and a newsgroup named soc.roots were formed > about the same time and were joined a bit later by a couple of pioneers into > a successful gateway which on very busy days got maybe 25 messages. It got > up to 100 a day by 1994. > > To start with, newsgroups are not "on Rootsweb". They are on your ISP's > server or on servers at places like google.com. Newsgroups are anarchies > with nobody at all in charge. Messages are transferred around the net to be > picked up by servers in all kinds of places. Email is not involved. > > I should say nobody is in charge of the unmoderated newsgroups, though the > mailing list does have a list manager who takes care of the RootsWeb > subscribers. Moderated newsgroups have moderators in charge - but they are > there because they were voted in when the group was formed. > > Rootsweb has mailing list mirrors of all 25 of the soc.genealogy.* > newsgroups except for soc.genealogy.jewish and it has a mirror of > alt.genealogy. The mirror/gateway lists get all the messages which go to the > newsgroups and they post all their messages into the newsgroups. The very > reason for the existence of these mailing lists is to mirror those > newsgroups, so they live by newsgroups rules. Occasionally this causes a > problem. It is important that the mailing list readers understand that the > list manager cannot "do" anything about posts to the newsgroup. > > Usually the gateways are invisible to the readers. Because of the anarchic > nature of newsgroups sometimes off topic messages get through which cannot > be controlled by a list manager. > > Because newsgroups provide the "feature" of being able to crosspost to other > newsgroups, the worst problems come from troublemakers from the newsgroups > side of the gateway who purposely crosspost to unrelated newsgroups and > cause a whole lot of crossposted replies from people who are not reading a > genealogy group and may just love to argue or be vulgar. This does not > happen often, but when it does, the mailing list readers tend to make it > worse by yelling for the LISTOWNER TO DO SOMETHING which, of course, is > impossible and which makes the vulgar people get more vulgar if they see it. > A mailing list message will NOT get crossposted to the other lists, at > least, but quotes of it may. > > Many mailing list subscribers are surprised to find their messages are on > newsgroups and vice versa. The connection, though, is beneficial to all. A > mailing list with 1000 subscribers possibly has 10,000 readers on the > newsgroup side of the gateway - maybe more. > > (This information is from a posting by Margaret Olson to the Listowners-L > mailing list dated November 29, 2000. Reprinted with permission.) > > ++++++++++++++++++++++++ > > 7. Can I search old messages from the mail list or newsgroup? > > The mailing list messages are archived from 1998 to the present. They can be > searched interactively, or read in a "threaded" format by month. The > interactive search page is > http://listsearches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl?list=CARIBBEAN. The > threaded archives are at http://archiver.rootsweb.com/CARIBBEAN-L. > > Newsgroup postings from 1995 to the present can be found at Google Groups > http://groups.google.com/advanced_group_search). > > Posts made after the gateway was activated in 1999 should appear in both > archives. > > ++++++++++++++++++++++++ > > 8. Why doesn't the subject line contain a "prepend" indicating the name of > the list like my other Rootsweb lists do? > > The "prepend" option has been disabled on Caribbean-L to avoid confusion for > readers who access the posts through soc.genealogy.west-indies. This is > typical of all gatewayed lists. > > > ++++++++++++++++++++++++ > > > 9. I thought the list was moderated. Why does SPAM appear on the list > sometimes? > > The list is NOT moderated. The list is "closed", which means only > subscribers may post. The list is also gatewayed with the USENET newsgroup, > which is "filtered". While these tools keep most SPAM out, some postings can > get through these controls. The List Administrator will take approriate > action against any subscriber that violates the SPAM policy, but there is > not much we can do to stop the occassional newsgroup post that makes it > through the filters, except ignore it. Responding to offensive or > commericial SPAM messages only perpetuates them, so please refrain from > doing so > > ++++++++++++++++++++++++ > > 10. Can I attach a file to the messages I post to the list / newsgroup? > > No, all attachments are stripped from posts before they are sent to > subscribers on the mailing list. Attachments to posts on the newsgroup are > subject to normal USENET limitations. > > ++++++++++++++++++++++++ > > 11. Is there is surname index for this mailing list / newsgroup? > > There is no "official" surname index for this group. One of our subscribers > maintains a free list called CARSURDEX (CARibbean SURname InDEX) at > http://www.candoo.com/surnames/index.html. > > Another useful resource is the Surname Helper > (http://surhelp.rootsweb.com/srchall.html), which allows a user to search > the Message Boards and Websites at Rootsweb. > > ++++++++++++++++++++++++ > > 12. What is the difference between the Caribbean and the West Indies? > > The difference is a technical one, and of minor importance in usage today . > The term "West Indies" refers to the archipelago of islands stretching from > Florida to South America. It is comprised of the Bahamas, the Greater > Antilles, and the Lesser Antilles. The term "Caribbean" refers to the region > of the world where the West Indies is located. These terms are > interchangeable in common usage. > > In historical terms, the West Indies is divided up by their respective > colonial rulers. For example, reference is made to the British West Indies, > French West Indies, Danish West Indies, etc. Within this context, some > countries on the South and Central American mainland were included in the > grouping due to their close economic and cultural ties. One common example > is that British Guiana (now Guyana) was considered a part of the British > West Indies > > > ==== CARIBBEAN Mailing List ==== > all messages posted to CARIBBEAN-L are archived at http://archiver.rootsweb.com/ > Before posting a query, see if the question has already been asked >