Hi Everyone, The Message Board is set up so that any messages posted will be forwarded to this Maillist. You will know that it is a Message Board posting because it will start with this line: "This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list." Later in the message it will give you a URL to click on for seeing the original post and where you can post a reply. Posting a reply to the Maillist will *not* benefit the original author of the Message Board post as chances are, they may not be subscribed to this Maillist. Also by posting your response to the Message Board, a copy of your answer will be sent to the Maillist (so you don't have to do it yourself). In addition, your reply is posted to the Message Board so that other people may contact you in regard to your reply. This provides maximum exposure to make connections and simply enhances the Maillist. The Message Boards are designed to work in conjunction with this Mailing List. As a Maillist subscriber I can share my personal circumstances with you. My time is limited as are other peoples. I have obtained a great deal of information on my family history and like to share it with others. If I have to choose between one medium or the other the Message Boards are going to win because your post gets greater exposure for a longer period of time. My goal is to make one post that goes to the Message Boards that is gatewayed to the Maillist that gets archived. You've heard the old expression of killing two birds with one stone. This provides maximum exposure to make connections and simply enhances the Maillist. My goal is to assist researchers by making their online research as easy as possible. I hope this information helps. If you have problems or further questions please let me know by contacting me at mmcmanness@mindspring.com. Since I Admin several Message Boards and Maillists, please identify which Message Board or Maillist that you are referring to so that I can give you a specific answer (with URLs if necessary). Thank you. :-) Thanks again, Mike ************************* Michael G. McManness, a Jayhawk through and through, eating, sleeping, and bleeding Crimson and Blue near the University of Kansas. Family genealogist and research historian. "Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones." --- Phillip Brooks *************************