Hi everyone, I've had seven messages this morning asking about roll calls and what they are. We seem to have newbies here who are new to this discussion-list event. Rather than answer all the messages individually, then possibly receive more later on, I figured I'd just bring the subject before everyone. Since you're in the middle of a roll call already, there won't be any guidelines, etc. ~ just a brief discussion to answer the subject-line question. Roll call is a reporting-in by everyone on the list where you tell the membership who you're looking for in Pontotoc County. A lot of people just monitor a list, watching to see if someone posts his/her lines; those people are called 'lurkers'. With a roll call, even lurkers are supposed to place a query. Newbies (people new to genealogy and/or computers) are also lurkers a lot of times. They're afraid to post because they don't want to "look stupid" since they're not sure of what they're doing. The best way to get past that is to alert the list in the first line that you *are* a newbie and need help. Then go on to your post. The third type of lurker is someone who's literally refused to post because they've been flamed by someone either on this list or another one. (For you newbies, 'flamed' means verbally attacked through e-mail.) After reading the archives, I can see that it hasn't happened here, but there are lists where people are really treated badly. So, that person doesn't join in any list because they have serious trust issues now. A prime goal for me personally is to bring lurkers out of their corners and get them to participate in list discussions. That happens only after a period of time when you, the list membership, get to know me. Roll calls don't happen all year long and many lists don't have them at all. I hold roll calls generally twice a year, depending on the number of new people that come onboard. As a matter of fact, I had already planned to hold one here until I read the archives and saw that one of the list members had generated one already ~ and that's a good thing because everyone was so, so quiet. :) I hope this answers everyone's questions. If not, please ask. Colleen

Moultrie Moultree Moultrey

Surnames I am seeking in Pontotoc Co: Simmons Harmon Swaim Anderson Houpt Douglas Steward Griffin