To All, Happy New Year Everyone. May this year bring you all the answers to the geneology questions and blast through those brick walls we all hate being stuck behind. :) Maggie ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Ruddy" <mpruddy@bellsouth.net> To: <CIVIL-WAR-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, January 01, 2004 7:15 AM Subject: Spam Alert: Re: Spam Alert: Re: [CIVIL-WAR] advertising > The Civil War list is set up to autoreply to the list, as Dennis indicates, > to insure the thread is visible to all. > Of course one can easily direct an answer to one individual address, if the > answer is not meant for the list. > The guidelines for the list can be found at: > http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~mruddy/guidline.htm > Their are pluses and minuses to each method of reply. > This list is a survivor of Indiana University's Maiser Server Crash a few > years ago and was kindly picked up by Rootsweb when Indiana U was forced to > eliminate its free genealogy lists after a SPAM attack. Although, like many > ofyou, I detest advertising splattered all over the place, neither am I > willing to spend the money required to maintain a server and the software > required to produce an ad-free list. Subscribed to this list are a lot of > people willing to do free lookups and help others new to Civil War genealogy > and so far as I can tell, as long as we keep the more strident wavers of the > bloody shirt somewhat sedated, the list is serves its intended purpose. > Subscription lists are an information exchange format for those who, > voluntarily wish to participate. Every rule, no matter how well-intensioned, > that restricts the information exchange is likely to exasperate or befuddle > those who help and those who need help. So far I have relied on my inate > belief that the majority of people are pleasant and willing to share > information and, if required, will respond to constructive criticism. It is > rare that when a reasonable request is made by the list owner, it not be > adhered to. At some point the list owner can (the force is with him) whiff a > would-be Darth Vader off the list. The are only a couple of instances where > this became necessary during the many years of this list. The best tool I > have is endless verbosity which eventually wears down even the most > fanatical adherent of this or that cause and eventually the list subsides > once again into doing what it does best. Sometimes, as now, it also helps > one's sanity to leaf through baptismal records in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico > sipping a Piña Colada under a palm tree......... > Best wishes to all for 2004 and for those of you stuck out on some > genealogical limb, may I paraphase a recent president: Mr. Civil War List, > tear down that wall! > Mike Ruddy > List maintenance Civil War > > > > ==== CIVIL-WAR Mailing List ==== > To unsubscribe from list mode, email CIVIL-WAR-L-REQUEST@rootsweb.com > and in the text area of the message, type only the word > unsubscribe > >