Hello, EAST-TEXAS-ROOTERS, We are back in business! We must have been doing something right, because we were in the very *first* batch of MAISER lists that Larry Stephens and Karen (from Rootsweb) moved. I need to scramble to read all the directions and will be sending you a "Welcome Letter" via the List shortly, that will explain everything. One new thing is a Digest mode. Those were not working too well at MAISER and since our traffic is relatively light, I never set one up. However, at Rootsweb they went ahead and set it up automatically. Whether you are in Mail-Mode or in Digest-Mode, you get the same messages. However, to switch from one to the other, you have to unsubscribe to the one you are on, and subscribe to the other one. Another thing is that there is no formal "no-mail" mode. If you go on vacation or for some reason do not want to receive EAST-TEXAS-ROOTS mail for a while, you have to unsubscribe and then re-subscribe to start getting it again. For now, everyone is subscribed in MAIL mode. If for some reason you prefer to be on the Digest list, hang on, and I will get you all the instructions in just a little while. Another thing that is different is that if AOL or Juno or MSN or whoever, goes down or their mail gets messed up and the mail to you get returned more than 4 times, rootsweb will automatically unsubscribe you. Please, if you want to continue as a member of EAST-TEXAS-ROOTS-L, just resubscribe. Either wait until the mail situation clears up, or subscribe with another email address that is good or whatever. Sometimes, you may change providers, and with all the changes you have to make, not realize you are still subscribed to EAST-TEXAS-ROOTS-L with that provider's address, and the mail will bounce. Sometimes, a big (or not so big) service will go down or a mailbox will fill up or something will happen -- like the spamming at MAISER -- that will mess things up. This is beyond your control, but Rootsweb will automatically unsubscribe you if it gets your mail back more than 4 times. This will actually be a big help for me, because I always hated so much to zap anyone even when MAISER said it was an "unrecoverable error". We will all have a period of adjusting to these new rules, but I am so glad and so thankful to have EAST-TEXAS-ROOTS-L back. By the way, it is now EAST-TEXAS-ROOTS-L. Note the addition of the -L which goes after all the lists at rootsweb. It makes things a little unwieldy, I know, but when I chose the name for EAST-TEXAS-ROOTS I wanted to make sure that if someone with family in East Texas who was living in New York or California saw the name of the list, they would know *immediately* and without any doubt what it was about. So I decided against Piney-Woods and other names like that which wouldn't mean the same thing to people in other parts of the country. People have from time to time written to ask what counties EAST-TEXAS-ROOTS(-L) takes in, and the answer is those concentrated around Nacogdoches, or which were part of the original Nacogdoches District (which went all the way to Dallas). However, if you come from a county that considers itself East-Texas in any sense, you are certainly welcome. TEXAHOMA-ROOTS which Larry Stephens owns, and which has thus stayed at Indiana U. takes in the area right along the Red River and the Oklahoma border. There is also now a Cass County list, and I *think* it is for Cass Co, TX but I need to confirm that. There is also a WESTEX list. There is also a GERMAN TEXAN list and there is a specific set of counties where German immigrants congregated, so if you have German ancestry in Texas, you might be interested in that list. I have German ancestry in Texas, but they didn't go to those German counties -- they came to Nacogdoches (and then the parents moved to Jefferson, TX). I do think that we have a bit of an overlap with TEXAHOMA-ROOTS; however, the fact that we have grown to around 250 subscribers and from the many notes I have received from you all, there definitely needs to be an EAST-TEXAS-ROOTS-L list. I was talking with someone the other night who says that she and her daughter and her family have a "virtual family dinner" online once a month. So maybe we ought to think about having a PARTY to celebrate the resurrection of EAST-TEXAS-ROOTS-L. I am really feeling GREAT about it. So, now, if you get this message, you are SUBSCRIBED and do not need to do anything further about that. Send your messages with your queries and other information to EAST-TEXAS-ROOTS-L@rootsweb.com. Remember to add the -L to EAST-TEXAS-ROOTS. Even though the first part in very long, it is 'makes sense' long (the -L is for list) and the rest of it is much *shorter* and easier to remember than rmgate.pop.indiana.edu. Just 'rootsweb.com'. Anyway, a BIG WELCOME BACK to everyone! Sincerely, Pam Phillips Listowner, EAST-TEXAS-ROOTS-L Email: webpsalms@iname.com