Folks, I am administrator of this list and several others. The use of CAPITOL letters in emails has always been a source of disruption on email lists of all types -- not just at rootsweb. For that reason, it is discouraged. It's not bad, it just causes problems. Blame it on the person who gets upset over something as simple as that, but it is still a problem for the list administrator who is trying to maintain decorum. - People begin to unsubscribe when there is either upset on the list (like someone complaining or using being abusive) or when there is too much email traffic -- and especially when it is not on topic. (This particular thread is way off-topic and there are surely some people in our group who aren't interested and who do not want to hear about it.) - Having people unsubscribe means less people to participate in the exchange of information and ideas about our family history. ... Were you writing just to me, I would never say anything about it. As administrator, however, I have to gauge the sentiment of the list and try to keep it productive. There is no "rule" about the use of caps -- but there are suggested guidelines for "etiquette" for email forums, and all caps is one of the things that is universally discouraged. http://www.cyndislist.com/internet.htm#Netiquette http://site.aol.com/netfind/scoop/newsgroup_etiquette.html http://www.emailreplies.com/ http://www.email-software.org/email-etiquette.htm http://www.learnthenet.com/english/html/65mailet.htm If you are having a difficult time reading it: a - get reading glasses (this is what I've done) b - Most email clients have a menu item allowing changing the text size c - position the mouse cursor over the text, hold down the control key and use the mouse thumbwheel to make the text larger or smaller (this doesn't work for all programs). So, as list admin, can we move off of this topic? Also -- if someone wants to write in all caps, don't let it bother you (of course, as admin, I can't know who is bothered and who isn't). Last, but not least, if something is happening on the list you don't care for, let the administrator know -- off the list -- so he/she can try to correct it with as little upset as possible. thanks, Tom Cloud