Seasons Greetings Bill en al', I believe this began with my concern and complaint of the 100+ items posted to this list of non genealogical value. i.e.: eight subsequent posting's in answer to a sentence of agreement of unrelated gibberish. The bulk of this exchange occurred over a two day period. Contained within my message was a suggestion that a real time chat area (room) be established. Chat rooms are a wonderful platform where casual dialog, ideas, suggestions and information can be exchanged. The summation of an idea or thought can then be posted to a list for general distribution with an invitation to meet for additional discussion in the chat room at a designated time & day for those interested. Ann is the manager/owner of this list and therefore the constable of our actions and monitor of our behavior. This she does within the guidelines established as reasonable and prudent by Rootsweb. Rootsweb is dedicated to the dissemination and distribution of genealogical information. The channels of distribution is not only from point 'a' to 'b' but also where persons can interact with an exchange of information beneficial to an individual or geographic area being researched; "The Subject Specific Mail List." In the "subject line" of an e-mail we endeavor to flag to the attention of another the "content" of our message. The purpose of this is to encourage an answer from someone with the information we seek or who might benefit from the information being offered. From a political standpoint, every list has one or two Governors and five or six cronies. These are people who are more verbal and communicate more frequently generating more messages than most. This is not necessarily bad as they tend to read more and have the most information to share. When an idea is tossed around within this circle it can generate a tremendous amount of mail traffic without thought to those (the majority) persons who must play catch up to understand the sometimes encrypted subject. The subject becomes encrypted as the result of a concept developed over many messages covering a multitude of mailings. The majority of persons who subscribe to a mail list cannot or will not take the time to read 30 or 40 messages to grasp a concept. Mail in that volume suggest "spam" which I can only compare to a 'virus'. Ann is placed in a position of recognizing the value of brain storming and trying to balance beneficial content of mail generated by the list subscribers and establishing controls without dampening spirits. It was in respect of Ann that I brought to everyone's attention a problem being created and "a suggestion to solve" this problem. My original message was short, brief and to the point. The thought behind this was not to allow the usual comments from defensive personalities who would defend their actions no matter how blatant their own contribution to the problem. The bottom line is some people are just (to be kind) limited, but you don't want to single them out or hurt their feelings. Others are lonely and have no life outside their computer and extended online families (not in a genealogical sense). The thing to remember is everyone that is a member of this list has common ground. That common fellowship is our mutual roots in that part of Kentucky called Johnson County. I for one would like the opportunity to speak with each member of this list in real time that a chat room allows. I have gone a long way in trying to explain how a chat room would benefit each of us and serve to boast the benefit of belonging to the Johnson County 'mail list'. Our family research is the common thread that bonds us together. When that family content (history) is removed by other content the loss of that thread and bond separate us. Bill, your oral history is wonderful and belongs here for all of us to share in. Oral family history plays an important part of all our research. Often written records have not survived where oral history has. My own great grandfather William I. Haws (b. 1852 in Johnson County s/o James H. Haws & Serillda Ramey) told many stories to my father (Robert W. Hawes 1905-95) who passed them on to me. From the account of William I Haws 1852-1936: "Some nights there would be negroes hid out in the hen house back of the barn. Ma-ma would take them food and fix their sores. Pa would draw them maps and sometimes take them down to the river. I think these were runaway slaves but Ma and Pa would never talk about it". Toms Creek, Johnson County, KY 1858-64. Every little like tidbit has its place here and should be written for all to share. With kindest regard and Holiday Cheer to all, Jim Hawes "Mattheis, William G" wrote: > To All: > > As a preface to this topic, I want to say that I try to be more of a > listener that a "talker", or to at least make my comments as short as > possible. Now, I'm not as good of a manager of the subject line as I should > be, and I probably don't manage other aspects of the use of this "list" as > well as I should - - in response to the comments today, I promise to be less > lazy and manager better. > > However, I, for one, find the "banter" to be (1) charming, (2) an > illuminating insight into folks that I feel (or in fact enjoy) a kinship > with, and (3) Educational. I, personally, have learned/gleaned many > precious facts and insight into my genealogy from the info posted to this > site for all to read. At the same time I understand that many folks are > "space limited", and find the things I enjoy to be a liability. Perhaps the > correct solution is a chat room. I don't know, because I have never chatted > on line, and know little about doing so. I am willing to learn, however, > and to find ways to address the needs of all. > > I, for one, however, do not respond well to being "chastised." One of the > most enjoyable aspects of this list for me is the mutual respect and > admiration that the vast majority of list users demonstrate to each other, > and their obvious joy at the interaction and learning afforded to all of us. > The least enjoyable thing I encounter, is the "whining" of those customers > who are "disatisfied.", especially when that whining is critical of others. > This is a voluntary event as far as I can tell. Frankly, if I didn't like > the way the list was run, or the actions of the folks who use it, I's start > my own list, run it my own way, and have discourse limited to just those who > think, act and fell just like me. But, of course, that would take > initiative, work and a level of risk that most "complainers" aren't ever > willing to take on - - now that is something I just can't respect. > > Well, having vented here, I sit, paused over the send key. Should I, or > shouldn't I send. Hmmm! Having spent the energy to write this, should I > send it and take the risk of offending others, or, even worse, opening > myself up to criticism. Will my intended audience even HEAR me. Based on > my experience in dealing with children (both young and adult children), I > suppose they wont Should I send? Oh, heck yes. Let's all be adults, work > together, and I'm sure that we can have what we want and/or need without any > further character assassination. > > My sermon for the week. I will send. > > Bill > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Ann Lemaster- Applegate [mailto:annapplegate@maysvilleky.net] > Sent: Saturday, December 18, 1999 1:35 AM > To: KYJOHNSO-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: Let there be Peace > > Come on, gang! > > There is no need to be criticizing one another. If there is a problem, > bring it to my attention by means of private e-mail. > > This list is not limited to just names & dates. It is also for learning > more about the history and landmarks of Johnson County. It is for sharing > stories about our Johnson County ancestors. Through these we can better > understand how our ancestors lived, the struggles they faced, the challenges > they met on a day to day basis. And along that road, we are getting to know > each other better. What traits of our ancestors have we inherited? What > likeness to them do we share? We learn these important and interesting > tidbits through our bantering, i.e., height seems to run in the Lemaster > bloodline. It also lets those that are not familiar with Johnson County > learn more about the traditions, foods, superstitions, etc. that may not > be common in their area. > > Nonproductive? I believe I have seen quite a bit of info swapping lately on > the list. I have seen list members reaching out to help each other in their > quest. > > I do agree that we could all try a little harder on keeping the subject line > appropriate to the body of the message. But as I have said before, if you > read something you do not like, or feel the topic of conversation has gone > astray from Johnson County, either bring your complaint/concern to me, or > delete it, dont debate it. > > And, for those interested, I am checking into chat forums. As soon as I > find one that suits our needs, I will post details. In the meantime, if any > of you know of a good chat forum that is user friendly and easy to set up, > please let me know. > > Ann Lemaster-Applegate > your Johnson County Listowner > > ==== KYJOHNSO Mailing List ==== > Comments or suggestions pertaining to this list may be sent to: > annapplegate@maysvilleky.net > Visit the Johnson County Historical Society homepage: > http://www.rootsweb.com/~kyjchs/johnson.html > > ==== KYJOHNSO Mailing List ==== > Comments or suggestions pertaining to this list may be sent to: > annapplegate@maysvilleky.net > Visit the Johnson County Historical Society homepage: > http://www.rootsweb.com/~kyjchs/johnson.html