A few words -- For years we got along fine with just two rules for this list: common sense and common courtesy. Common sense does not include posting queries that have nothing to do with the subject matter, which, moreover, is discourteous to other subscribers, who subscribed expecting queries to deal with the subject. I'm not singling anyone out. This started last summer with one off-topic query and is now epidemic, with more off- than on- in recent days. This is not okay. Putting 'off-topic' in the subject does not make it okay. There are lists on RootsWeb dealing with just about anything you could want, and you can expect to find people there with the relevant expertise. There is a "list of lists" at http://lists.rootsweb.com/ or you can try the new Mailing List Search utility -- something list admins have been asking for for years -- now being tested at: http://workshop.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch (Notice there are keyword and advanced search options -- advanced will allow you to search list names only.) Also being tested is a new search engine for mailing list archives. You can search the entire archive of a list -- not just a year at a time -- or search across mailing lists. This has been in beta for a while but if you haven't tried it yet, give it a go at http://archiver.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/search Getting back to the lecture, this list is for help deciphering and/or understanding old English documents. That's what queries should be about, although queries about types of documents (manorial records for example) are also fine. In the course of answering such queries it may be necessary to dip into all sorts of subjects -- history, very often, for example -- but that does not make this an 'anything goes' mailing list. If limiting queries to the list subject means it goes dead for weeks at a time, so be it; a dearth of queries does not make it open season although I would entertain something tangentially related if you were to consult me before posting. Any questions, comments, retorts, etc., regarding the above, please direct them to me at [email protected] Ditto if you don't know whether a query is on topic or not. No apologies necessary should you think I'm talking about you. It's become enough of a problem that people might think it okay because they see others doing it. It isn't. cheers, Judith Werner Salt Lake City, Utah, USA Administrator, OLD-ENGLISH http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~oel/