I have been a member of the list for some time. I have acquired some information that I got and have appreciated help from Sandra. I have posted a couple of times but have not received many responses and I thought that I might not have followed correct protocol. I have several lines that came through early Chester County (Clawson, Foulke, Minshall, Charlton, Funk). Since my ancestors were present in eight of the thirteen colonies in varied areas, I'm not devoted to any one list. Moreover, my time with genealogy is limited by the fact that I have to work for a living. Since the list seems to be at a crossroads right now, perhaps someone could address my questions. These questions would enhance my use of the list and may serve others. I'm asking: Exactly, what the rules for posting? What are the duties of the list administrator? Do I just Google the archives or is there a better method to access it? Once someone expresses interest in my question, should I answer he/her privately? If my questions have been recently asked, I apologize. Please bear in mind that everyone cannot read every post every day. Thanks for your consideration. (Ms.) Billie Gailey

The duties of the list administrator are to manage the list - that means monitor list subscriptions (spam), maintain order (put a cap on anyone who is rude); mainly just to keep an eye on things. There is no requirement to provide helpful hints or help with searching. When posting a query, the subject line should succinctly reflect who you're searching for; give a time frame, a location, and a surname. In the message body, provide as much information as you can to help narrow down the search. Volunteers who search must provide any answers to the ENTIRE list (that means hit "reply to all") - NOT privately - in this manner, all 'found' information is archived and available for folks to search in the future. To search (or browse) the archives you go to Rootsweb.com, select "Mail Lists", then select either search or Threaded ARchives, type in your list name, and go from there. Some list admins do not mind off-topic postings as long as "off-topic" is shown in the subject line - I believe Sandra is quite against any off topic postings. Those of you who have resources that you can search and thus help your fellow listmembers, should post same and offer to do lookups. Remember that the list is not a source, it is a place wherein folks with a common interest gather to exchange information and hopefully help each other. I have a full subscription to Ancestry and would gladly perform lookups for anyone who provides sufficient information. Remember, very few names are unique! (there are even TWO Ima Hogg's in the census records, so there!) My Chester Co. roots go back to Thomas and Margery (Mendenhall) Martin, who arrived in 1685 on the Unicorne. Gail -----Original Message----- From: Billie Gailey [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2009 4:24 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [PaOldC] List Rules and Thoughts I have been a member of the list for some time. I have acquired some information that I got and have appreciated help from Sandra. I have posted a couple of times but have not received many responses and I thought that I might not have followed correct protocol. I have several lines that came through early Chester County (Clawson, Foulke, Minshall, Charlton, Funk). Since my ancestors were present in eight of the thirteen colonies in varied areas, I'm not devoted to any one list. Moreover, my time with genealogy is limited by the fact that I have to work for a living. Since the list seems to be at a crossroads right now, perhaps someone could address my questions. These questions would enhance my use of the list and may serve others. I'm asking: Exactly, what the rules for posting? What are the duties of the list administrator? Do I just Google the archives or is there a better method to access it? Once someone expresses interest in my question, should I answer he/her privately? If my questions have been recently asked, I apologize. Please bear in mind that everyone cannot read every post every day. Thanks for your consideration. (Ms.) Billie Gailey ------------------------------- 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