I have just finished importing queries for two counties into CCHELPER and have a bit of a jaundiced view right now so bear with me. I thought it might be appropriate to provide a few tips on submitting queries to ANY county or Internet list. Sloppy queries can make a LOT of extra work for any editor that is preparing its final use on web pages. We know beginners don't always know these things so perhaps, a little guidance is in order. 1. Always capitalize in full, any surname in queries entered on forms to be used with CCHELPER or similar programs. i.e. JENNINGS, JEFFERIS, etc. This properly identifies them for the automatic programs. 2. Capitalize only the first letter of any proper names that are not a surname such as Louisa County, Wapello. (You would be surprised by how many people write an entire query in ALL capitals or ALL lower case that have to be manually converted to another format. Even worse is when they use no punctuation and run the whole query together in one long sentence and in lower case.) Typing a query in all caps may get someone's attention, all right, in my case, it causes me to grit my teeth as I convert most of it right back into lower case except for the Surnames. 3. NEVER enter anything other than a surname in the Surname blank of a form. It will cause your query to be rejected as it is unusable. (I just deleted one query that had "1870 ____, Iowa Census Microfilm" in the surname blank.) I did take the time to send an e-mail to the offender suggesting she/he use the mailing lists for this type of query. 4. Be clear and concise about the information you are seeking. 5. Be sure to add the Surnames and not a long list of Mary, John, Susan, Linda, Dana, etc. assuming the reader knows which surname you are referring to. 5. Avoid redundant comments such as: I have hit a brick wall on this name or I am stumped on this. (If I see the words "brick wall" one more time I am going to start screaming.) You obviously are stumped or you wouldn't be posting a query. I ALWAYS delete out these little personal comments. 6. Hit the submit button once and once only. It is not unusual to have 3 or 4 copies of the same query listed. Only one can be used. If this sounds a bit grumpy, remember that I was up until the wee hours this a.m. cleaning up some of this sloppiness. This is one of the main reasons I am encouraging you to post data on GenConnect, but keep in mind, on GenConnect, your exact entry remains unchanged as I won't be manually editing these. I don't want to scare you out of using it, but please do read your data over before you hit the submit or enter button. Have fun and humor a very tired and grumpety editor this morning. I still love you all and know that I am dependent on you to help keep the Louisa County Genealogical Society web site growing. Thank you to those who have sent me kind notes and to those who have contributed data. I do appreciate you, one and all. Norma Jennings