In a message dated 3/19/2005 7:23:43 AM Eastern Standard Time, mjvepley@calcon.net writes: Hi ... Thanks for the instructions, but what does "Gateway" and "gatewayed post" mean? MJ Hi- Here is an explanation of what the gateway is and does taken from the archives of the RootsWeb Review: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/20020731.txt PORTALS TO SUCCESS. Message Board/Mailing List Gateways. Anyone may search, post, or reply to messages on the free RootsWeb/Ancestry Message Boards. In addition to these Message Boards, RootsWeb also hosts thousands of free mailing lists for genealogy-related topics. Researchers must subscribe to a Mailing List in order to participate in the discussion. The requirement to subscribe to a Mailing Lists helps to eliminate spam because it limits the ability to post messages to those who have joined the list. For the most part, researchers who join (subscribe to) a Mailing List and read and post messages on the list are actively interested in the topic, locality, or surname that is the subject of the Mailing List. Both Message Boards and Mailing Lists have a place in your genealogical research. They are two excellent means by which researchers with a similar interest can make contact with one another. Mailing Lists are great for real-time in-depth group discussion of a subject, while Message Boards can be an appropriate venue for peripheral research into allied and collateral lines, and subjects of passing, or minor, interest. Since Message Boards are universally searchable they also make an excellent place for you to post a query about your brick-wall ancestors, or to archive data, documents, and photos. While Mailing Lists often appeal to those with a serious interest in a particular subject, Message Boards are valuable to serious researchers and rainy-day dabblers alike. A handy feature of many RootsWeb Message Boards and Mailing Lists is the availability of a one-way gateway, which allows the automatic copying of Message Board posts to be made directly to a corresponding Mailing List. This feature allows those who have not joined the mailing list to have their Message Board posts viewed and replied to by Mailing List members in addition to others who search the Message Boards. The Message Board gateway is an option that is used by many of the thousands of volunteer Mailing List and Message Board administrators. To spot a Message Board that is gatewayed to a Mailing List, look for a yellow envelope icon superimposed over the sheets of paper icon, which represents a Message Board. There also will be a yellow highlighted blurb explaining that posts made to the Message Board also appear on the corresponding Mailing List. IMPORTANT. If you are a Mailing List subscriber, and you see a message posted on the list that says, "This is a Message Board post that is gatewayed to this Mailing List" if you wish to respond to that message do NOT reply by clicking the "REPLY TO" option and sending your response to the Mailing List. Instead, click on the URL (address) link included in the message body, and reply directly to the post on the Message Board. Your reply will then be gatewayed to the Mailing List. Replying on the Message Board ensures that the original poster, and anyone else who may benefit from your information, will see your response. If your favorite Mailing Lists are not gatewayed to a corresponding Message Board, and you believe gatewaying would be beneficial, contact the list administrator to suggest the gateway be opened by writing to LISTNAME-admin@rootsweb.com. Replace the word LISTNAME with the actual Mailing List's name. If you wish to contact the SMITH Mailing List administrator, for instance, write to: SMITH-admin@rootsweb.com Joan