Evening All... Because of the amount of new subscribers, it's time to post the list rules. Even I need reminding once in awhile..lol There is only 3 rules set in stone: 1) Do Not critize another list member on the list 2) Stay on Topic..COATS 3) HARMONY If someone posts a message to the list that should not have been posted, please just delete it. When you post your unhappiness, then you just continue the problem. I know it is hard but for the sake of the list, please just delete it. Rootsweb has a wonderful Spam Detective and it stops most of it. You should see what comes across my screen. I have to look at each of them to make sure that what was stopped was truly Spam. Once in a while, one slips by though and if this happens, just delete it and go on with what we all love, genealogical research. No posting of virus warning, test messages, chain letters, political announcements, personal messages, flames, personal items for sale is NOT ALLOWED and will be grounds for removal. Here are some Netiquette Suggestion Tips... Please remember that EVERY POST that goes through the list is archived. So please try to follow these suggestions so unnecessary space is not taken up. If you are replying to an email with a THANKS or NOT IN THIS BOOK type of response, please do the following: 1) Hit REPLY TO 2) Look at the TO: , if it says COATS-L@Rootsweb.com CHANGE it to the FROM: address. Such as, if you hit reply to in this mail, it would show COATS-L@Rootsweb.com, but if you looked below you would find in the original mail, it was from margaret.teat2@verizon.net. Cut that address out and paste it in your TO: spot. We do not need those going to the list! Please list members remember to CHANGE your SUBJECT LINES to something appropriate for the message! If it says something that will not catch the eye of a subscriber that might be able to help on your question, they might never open YOUR EMAIL. 1) Please when writing to the list, look at the subject line in your email! Is it pertinent to your query? Or have you just hit the reply button to someone else's mail and the subject has nothing to do with your letter? Please make that subject line special to your query! 2) DO NOT hit reply to on the entire digest! DO NOT have a subject line that says Re: COATS-D Digest V00 #266! That subject has nothing to do with your query or anyone else's original message! 3) When writing a query, DO NOT write in all UPPERCASE LETTERS! This is only done when you are SHOUTING at someone! 4) When writing an effective query, please put SURNAMES in UPPERCASE as this makes it easier for others to spot when reading their mail, thusly making your query more effective! 5) Try to list any dates and locations that you know! Maybe someone else will be searching that SURNAME in that time period and locality, (not necessarily your ancestor but maybe a brother, sister or cousin) 6) Always include your email address in the body of the letter too! The messages are archived. It will be easier for someone to do a search in the mail lists and see your email address in the body so if they are not list members, they can still answer you easily! 7) When sending a web site address, always type it in the form of "http://." because some e-mail programs will permit the user to click on a web address to go right there. Without the "http://" prefix these programs will not recognize it as such. 8) Do not blatantly promote your business by posting an advertisement to a discussion group, unless it is clearly an accepted use and you have cleared it with the list maintainer first. Otherwise, you are "spamming." 9) Do not forward personal e-mail to a discussion group without getting the author's permission first. Also do not forward from one mail list to another without the original author of the message's permission! 10) Read over your e-mail before you send it. Although e-mail is an informal method of communication, be sure you make your points clear and concise. Use a spell checker if available! 11) Consider that a large audience will see your posts. Take care in what you write. Remember too, that mailing lists are archived, and that your words will be stored for a very long time in a place to which many people have access. 12) If you are sending a reply to a message or a posting be sure you summarize the original at the top of the message, or include just enough text of the original to give a context. This will make sure readers understand when they start to read your response. Giving context helps everyone. But do not include the entire original! 13) Be careful when you reply to messages or postings. Frequently replies are sent back to the address which originated the post - which in many cases is the address of the mail list! You may accidentally send a personal response to a great many people, embarrassing all involved. 14) When sending a message to more than one mailing list, especially if the lists are closely related, apologize for cross-posting! 15) When unsubscribing from a list on RootsWeb write a new email in plain text to COATS-L-Request@RootsWeb.com (or -D if you are a digest mode member) with only the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message and please spell unsubscribe correctly. You have to unsub from the address you are subscribed under, otherwise you will never get off the list! If you can't use the address you are subscribed under, write COATS-admin@RootsWeb.com and explain the problem. 16) Do not post virus warnings to the mail lists! RootsWeb has filtering set up where you will NEVER get a virus from a RootsWeb mailing list! 17) Always post in "plain text" If you don't know how to switch your program to plain text, see http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/help/html-off.html and it will walk you through it! 18) Write COATS-admin@RootsWeb.com before deciding to promote a new mailing list. Ask permission first! 19) Most of all have fun! Some sites to remember: 1. There is a great Rootsweb site, Password Central, you can go to if You want to find out what Rootsweb lists you are a member of or need to unsubscribe from a list, just follow the instructions. http://passwordcentral.rootsweb.com/ 2. If you would like to visit the archived messages for a list you may go to http://archiver.rootsweb.com/ and type in the name of the list you want to see the archives for. From there you can search by date. 3. If you are interested in knowing about other mailing list out there, one of the very best inventories of genealogical mailing lists is John Fullers Genealogy Resources on the Internet located at http://www.rootsweb.com/~jfuller/gen_mail.html Last but not least..Thank You for your support, help, and laughter. Your willingness to help each other has made this List the success it is! With out YOU this would not be the great list it is. Derrell Oakley Teat List Mom