Hi Bryan, How is it going ? Regards, Glenda

Hi Everyone, I thought this may be of interest to all subscribers, MAILING LISTS ROOTSWEB QUESTIONS http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/help/mail5.html#Q7 here is a snippet of the type of information available on the page. GUIDELINES FOR A SUCCESSFUL LIST DISCUSSION The best guidelines come from plain old fashioned common sense. Here are few "technical" suggestions that will help ensure a successful mail list experience: Most of RootsWeb's mailing lists are not moderated, so your email will go to all the list subscribers. Take time to format your post -- think about who your target audience is and state your query clearly. Post your surnames in all CAPS. This means - last names only. Capitalized surnames are easier to identify in a long text message. State your subject clearly. Do not be vague or your post will go unread. Good subject lines might include: LAST NAME, first name (date of birth-date of death) place of birth (city, county, state, country). When replying to a thread (mail message) remove the auto generated RE: and add a new subject line. Most RE:'s subject lines are not read by mail list users. Also cut and paste only the portion of the mail needed to clarify your reply. When replying to a digest message, remove the RE: and cut the trailing digest (the copied portion of the old mail -- in digest -- the entire digest is copied into the new mail). Cut and paste only the portion of the digest needed to clarify your reply. What kinds of posts can be made to a RootsWeb list? Check with your list administrator. Some lists do not allow genealogical queries to be posted while others do. When you subscribe to a RootsWeb list -- a welcome message will be sent to you. Most list administrators discuss list rules in this message. Print this out and save it -- it will also contain instructions on how to unsubscribe from the list if you ever want to. Do's and Don'ts in using a RootsWeb mail list RootsWeb believes that folks should know how to handle themselves appropriately in a public forum and we do not condone any abusive language, harassment, or threats made by any list administrator or subscriber. However, it is unfortunately true, that some folks just don't know what is proper behavior. To help users know what is acceptable behavior and what is not acceptable behavior on a RootsWeb mail list-- here is a list of "Do's and Don'ts". If all list administrator and subscribers follow these simple rules - most list problems would end. DO NOT CROSS POST TO ANOTHER MAIL LIST. If you want to send a message to more than one list -- send it as a separate email. Cross-posting to multiple lists is tantamount to SPAM and can cause major problems for the RootsWeb mail server. A lot of users to do not understand how one email can cause a problem for a the mail server. However, a cross-posted email begins as one single message but it is sent to 20-30 lists (each list contains 100-1000 list subscribers). That one email has now generated upwards of 30,000 mail messages. Add to this the fact that each response to the mail will start the mail cycle over again. It is annoying and dangerous. Do not use abusive or degrading communication of any form on a RootsWeb list. Your list moderator will remove you from the list and will block your posts from reaching the list. Do not "bash" a list subscriber. If you do not agree with a mail message, fine. Send your comments privately to the poster. Do not send "bashing" comments to the whole list. Do not send partial "bash" threads to other lists - it is rude and will only cause problems down the road. Do not send "SPAM" in any form. This includes mail messages that are not on topic for your list, commercial advertising, or threatening mail (just to be annoying). Your list administrator will remove you from the list and will block your posts from reaching the list. Mike Admin Northern-England-L@rootsweb.com http://www.genealogy45.fsnet.co.uk/ check out Dave's bits & bobs here, http://212.19.69.91/north