I have a set of rules given out to everyone when they sign on. Rootsweb automatically gives you this little "welcome" file, and I've added the ground rules to it. Now, I'm not *that* naive, and I know that most people just chuck that email and keep going. Over the last few months, I've been sorting out an update to the ones that I normally post. So, with that in mind, here's at least a paraphrase of what a new lister will find in their "welcome" mailer: 1. Introduce yourself. If nobody knows you're here, nobody can really help you. 2. This is a learning process, for everyone involved. That includes the list-admin too. Please be patient with others, and help out where you can. 3. Relatively speaking, this is a relaxed list. Topics will wander. Because of this, some will not want to follow the thread. Learn to know and love your delete button when a topic no longer interests you. 3a. Because people on the digest get all the messages in lump sum, and in order for people to be able to keep track of the thread, please make sure your topic line reflects the topic of your post. 3b. Should a topic wander a bit too far for too long, I may step in and ask that that particular conversation be taken off the list and into private emails. If the topic wanders back to something that might be of interest to the list at large, feel free to send a copy on over. 3c. If a topic is, for most intents and purpose off-topic, but may still be of interest to the list, please use the prefix "OT" at the beginning of your topic heading. That way others have a heads-up that this may not be of interest to them. 3d. (see also part 8) 4. This is one of my pet peeves, I'll admit, but...PLEASE do NOT send virus warnings to the list. 99.9% of them are hoaxes. If you are unsure if a virus is actually circulating, go to either www.urbanlegend.com or www.mcafee.com, or www.norton.com, and look that particular bug up. (Yeah, I know...we've had an actual one lately, but as I said, the VAST majority are hoaxes.) Same thing goes for jokes, scams, missing children, etc. Most are hoaxes (except for the jokes :P ), and at any rate, aren't related to the subject of this list. 5. Debate and discussion are more than welcome here. Ridicule, name-calling and "flames" are not. Please keep in mind that Rootsweb archives every single last post that comes through this list. I can't remove them, you can't remove them. Do you "really" want your name to be associated with a knock-down, drag-out fight over Aunt Bertha's maiden name? I didn't think so. 5a. Should a flame-war break out, all parties concerned will be told in no uncertain terms to take it off the list. That means immediately, if not sooner. Consider that to be your first, last and only warning shot. 5b. Should parties involved insist on unacceptable behaviour, they will be removed from the list. No further warnings. 5c. After a three-day "cooling-off" period, they may rejoin. If the fight breaks out again, they will be removed permanently, and their email address blocked from the list. Sorry to be so harsh, but I don't put up with nonsense for long. 6. If (and this is a big if) a roll-call is called, it will be called by me. Nobody else gets to call it. Once it's called, the roll-call will only be open for three days. I'll call it closed by the end of day three. 6a. I understand that many don't like roll-calls because of the utter and total chaos that may ensue. You always have the option of unsubbing for the three days, then coming back. 6b. PLEASE refrain from posting "I hate roll call" messages. 7. Copyrighted material. This is a very touchy subject, and debates over this pops up ad nauseum. I offer a couple of simple guidelines: 7 a. If the material is not yours, say so. Tell us where it *did* come from, with as much accuracy as possible. 7b. There is an approximate 80 year span on copyrighted materials, provided it hasn't been extended. This includes newspaper articles, obituaries, etc. 7c. Copyrighted sources may be quoted, but please keep it to a minimum (like one would when quoting for a scholarly work), and site your sources. It's usually those who transcribe entire books and the like that attract the notice of copyright holders. 8. Everyone likes to think they're on the same page as everyone else. When responding to a previous post, please quote the pertinent part (s) of the post, but please do NOT quote the whole thing. One, this becomes very irritating to the digest members when they have to slog through whole posts (and at times whole conversations) over and over again, and two, it's very easy to lose somebody when the parts you're responding to aren't very clear. If you have a quoting feature on your email preferences, please turn it off and quote manually. 9. You all managed to get on this list by yourself. I expect you to be able to get off the list in the same manner. You cannot remove yourself from the list by replying to a post with "unsubscribe". The only reason I should need to manually unsubscribe anyone is if there is something wrong. I'm more than willing to help those who need it, but a manual unsub should be a rare thing. 10. Enjoy yourself. Keep in mind those manners Momma taught you, and you'll do just fine. Melissa Strobel list-admin