Hi List Members; It was kindly pointed out to me that some of the people who belong to genealogy lists may not be familiar with ICQ. ICQ is FREE LIVE TALK Live talk means I can instantly message you and visa versa. Also we can chat one on one, or allow others to chat with us. The screen breaks apart into windows for each member in the chat . As the member types their words are displayed for all to see. ICQ is a free chat service, which is downloadable. That means that you go to a World Wide Web site and go through a few questions and screens until you come to one that says "download now". At that point the program begins to download. This is always a slow process. It took me about 20 minutes to do the upgrade, after I was already running the old version. Plus something interrupted it once and I had to start all over. (I always try to do it fresh, when I go into the internet). The Site can be found at http://www.icq.com/ or email me and I will send you an invitation to join Once the program is downloaded it has to be installed. I believe this one just begins the installation process for you. Some you have to click on to get them to install. I always download (it will ask you where to download) to C:/Windows/Desktop . That way It Appears On the Desktop, in an Icon so I don't have to go searching for it. From there you just double click to install. At any rate, once the program is installed (on my computer this usually takes less than a minute), you have to fill in a registration. This is the only thing I warn people about. I think there is a long disclaimer now that comes with ICQ. Don't worry, we all know that email is one of the least secure of all communication devises. ICQ is no worse. I put a FIRST NAME, a STATE, and on my chatroom I put my email#, but don't do this if you think people will send things you don't want to get. I don't mind letting people know what city I am in because my phone # is unlisted. Always has been. I may add AN INTEREST OR TWO, and then I check the box that says DO NOT ALLOW OTHER USERS TO SEE MY ONLINE PRESENCE...AND.... make sure the setting is on so that ALL MUST GET AUTHORIZATION TO ADD ME These two controls will make sure others who may be looking for the vulnerable, aren't able to add you and always be able to see you online, without your knowing it. Now the really nice thing about ICQ is that these securities are always changeable by you, and that you can password them so no one else is able to change them. Also, if you find that you blew it and suspect someone may have information on you because you didn't set something right, you can change your ICQ # without having to reinstall it. Also, there are many ways to go on ICQ. You can even go online invisible, and just be visible to those you want to see you. But remember everyone plays by the same rules. If you find you allow someone on and later want to DELETE THE USER, first set their attribute in the ALERT/ACCEPT mode to INVISIBLE. This way they won't ever again know you are there. I have been on ICQ for nearly a year now, and am most satisfied with it. We talk to close relatives who live in New Jersey, and New York, and further South than us in San Diego. Some are our kids. We talk to folks in Northern California, overseas, all over the place with LIVE TALK. For ESTABLISHED ICQ USERS: Please DOWNLOAD VER99A if you haven't already. A Note on Security: When I first got the Internet, I wanted to know what I was in for. As I learned by reading the news articles on my home page, anyone can be reading what you submit, just as any good hacker can get in and look around your computer if you are online. So, we all know, that the safest way to talk on email or ICQ is to not say anything that you wouldn't want published in the newspaper the next day. Or as my brother used to say, "look at it as ham radio". Hope this answers a few questions. But as always, please feel free to address this issue on list or over email directly with me. Christen Rosamilia Chatroom Master of Genealogy Chatroom ICQ# 35092530