Thanks so much for the wonderful article! Suz [Susan Cruse] researching: Cruse, Schwab/Swab; Kilgore; Reynolds; Cookston; Wood; Smith ; Eichelberger; Staley; and others [email protected] wrote: -----Original Message----- From: GenealogyBug To: OHFRANKLIN Sent: Tue, 22 Jan 2008 11:46 am Subject: [OHFRANKL] Importance of the Subject Line Hello All, Recently I've noticed quite a few messages on both the list and the message board that seem to have been ignored. As a RootsWeb mail list administrator (not this list) for several lists and administrator for several message boards I hate to see these wonderful resources not being fully utilized. For those who are new to the list and to those of us who may have forgotten a few things the following article can only help. It is reprinted here with permission from the author. The article originally appeared in the July 7, 2007 issue of RootsWeb Review http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/2007/0725.txt Leona ******************************** Using RootsWeb: Getting to the Heart of the Subject: Are You Guilty? By Joan Young [email protected] Have you ever posted a query on a RootsWeb mailing list or message board and gotten absolutely no response? Does it seem like everyone but you is getting the answers and feedback they need while you are shut out in the cold? If so, let's try to pinpoint the reason and improve your odds of making that RootsWeb connection. THE PROBLEM Most people are constantly on the go. They try to "multitask" to cover a lot of ground as quickly as possible. When we scan our inboxes for new e-mails, or search new message board posts, we generally don't read every word of every message. Many of us scan the subject lines and then only read those messages that appeal to us; that is, we read the message if we find a name, location, or fact in the subject line that attracts our attention. Digest mailing list subscribers, especially, are notorious for quickly scanning the subjects in the index of a digest before deciding which messages to read and which to ignore. If we have books at our disposal that allow us to do lookups, we often only read those posts that mention the topics covered by our books. PITFALLS TO AVOID When we encounter a subject line that says "no subject," or a generic subject line such as "Looking," "Searching," "Genealogy," "My Family," or worse yet, "Help!" we tend to disregard the message and move on to the next e-mail. Another red flag for someone perusing a mailing list is the digest subscriber who merely clicks "reply" to a digest message and leaves the digest as the subject of the reply. I think we'd all admit that a subject line of "SMITH Digest, Vol 2, Issue 171" isn't exactly telling us much about the content of the message within. When replying to a digest message be sure to change the default subject to an informative one. A WELL-WRITTEN QUERY IS MEANINGLESS IF IT IS NEVER READ Quite possibly you have drafted an informative, well-written query with the names of the people you are researching, details of the times and places where they lived, and the information you wanted to learn. However, it may still be lost if no one reads your message because of a poor subject line. Your message body should embellish your subject line and provide additional details. THE SOLUTION: CREATING A MEANINGFUL SUBJECT LINE TO ATTRACT READERS Provide concise but specific information about the content of your message. Include the name, location, and time frame of the individuals in your message. Tell us what information you are looking for. In other words, briefly outline your reason for posting the query. If your query includes an interesting story about your ancestor, provide the reader with an indication of the story enclosed so that your message attracts his attention. Some examples of good subject lines follow: --Maiden name needed for Sophie who married John SMITH in 1900 in Chicago, Illinois --Seeking parents of Joseph JONES born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1765 --Looking for Obituary of James JOHNSON who died in Clearwater, Florida, in 1965 --Seeking Descendants of Henricus GEIGER who Died in 1746 in Lembach, Alsace, France --James O'REILLY, born New Jersey, 1830; killed at Battle of Gettysburg, 1863; need marriage information --Morris FRIEDMAN, immigrated in 1900 to Philadelphia, PA, from Russia-- Seeking Village of Origin Note: It is typical to capitalize surnames so that they quickly catch readers' attention. CONCLUSION The success of your query rests largely on your ability to create a subject line that will grab readers. Readers will be more likely to take the time to study your message and consider whether they have an interest or an answer for you. So stop crying for HELP in the wilderness and SEARCHING and LOOKING aimlessly, and start providing specifics in your subject lines. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ________________________________________________________________________ More new features than ever. Check out the new AOL Mail ! - http://webmail.aol.com ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message