This was sent to me on another list and I thought it had some important information to pass along to all of you. Our Taney Co. mailing list is still one of the best ones I am subscribed to! This information is not at all meant as a scold, but to help all of us! Take care all & enjoy! Jerry J. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jim Young" <myoung@icok.net> To: "Gerald Johnston" <gerald.h.johnston@worldnet.att.net> Sent: Sunday, July 07, 2002 6:19 AM Subject: Submitting a BRIGGS Query (was Re: subscribe) > > Hello List Family Member, > > To make your query work harder for you... keep in mind the old rules of > news reporting and include as many of the following as possible: > > SUBJECT FIELD: To get the most from your query and make your query > command attention, place the SURNAME, LOCATION, YEAR in the subject > field. Remember ! ! ! ! Many subscribers belong to multiple mailing lists; > therefore, many go through their mail looking at subject fields... only > reading > those that have descriptive subject names. Unfortunately, messages entitled > "Question", "Help", "IMPORTANT!", "My Family", "My Line", > "My Grandfather", etc., are deleted without ever being opened. > > WHO: State the names of people as completely as you can. > > WHAT: Try to limit your query to one or two specific questions or bits of > information. Post other queries with additional questions rather than > load all your questions into one query. In this way, each of your questions > will stand out and get attention. > > WHEN: Dates are important, if you don't know the day, month and year > try to put in a period (1790s, late 1800s etc.) > > WHERE: Mention the location of events (birth, marriage, death, etc.) in > the body of the query. Include their migration path if you can. > > WHY: Why are you searching for this (these) individual(s)? Describe your > connection to him/her. > > HOW: How your query appears will often get subscriber's attention. Check > spelling, grammar and format. Apply the KISS system: Keep It Simple Simple. > > REPETITION: Once you have an acceptable looking query, save it and > update it as necessary. Use it again about once a quarter to touch base > with new members. Also, you may use it on web sites that accepts queries. > > REMEMBER: Your goal is to get information. A list server (discussion group), > such as this, is an excellent forum for helping you get that information. Make > your query work! > > By following these recommendations, your query stands a better chance of > being read and you may make that great contact that you need. > > GOOD QUERIES CONNECT... After you have made the post and the connection, > NEVER, forget to thank that person, no matter how small the contribution; as, > they may find something more later and might not wish to pass this along to > an ungrateful person! > > Please note that BRIGGS queries are addressed to: > > BRIGGS-L@rootsweb.com > > CAUTION... You may wish to consider withholding personal data on living > descendants. Because, at the moment, once your message has been archived on > RootsWeb, neither the data within nor the message can be removed from the > archives. > > Happy Huntin' > > Jim Young > List Moderator > >