To all my dear cousins and friends, Merry Christmas! I received this from another list and thought it would be good to forward it. Dru "For you who are veteran's of Rootsweb email lists, this might be old information. But, for those of you who haven't been a subscriber during the holidays, let me give you a hint at what is about to happen. Starting tonight, Santa, among others, will start delivering new computers, internet service, and genealogy gifts (software) to a host of new rooters! We will be having an influx of NEW subscribers to all the lists. This is GOOD! But while you will see new cousins, friends, and contacts coming on-line, joining email lists, posting surnames to databases, they will be asking all those questions you have seen posted over and over again. Unfortunate as it may be, new users mean we have to reinvent the wheel all over again!*Grin* Please welcome the "newbies" to our lists, have PATIENCE with them, help them and hopefully send them in the right direction. For a month or so (perhaps til the end of January) it will be helpful if we can refrain from using a lot of initials and abbreviations in our responses. When discussing the FHC, let's all take a couple of seconds to type "Family History Center," and give an explanation of who, what, where, when. Please don't assume that EVERYONE knows what it is, or has one near them. I can't stress enough how important your patience and help is for the next month or two. Mistakes will be made, (like posting a message that is blank, or no subject line, or leaving entire digests in replies or my personal favorite, "Researching John Johnson. Send all information"!*LOL*) Questions will be asked like "What is the FHC, what is the SSDI, what is, can you explain, where do I find, etc...Remember that these were once OUR errors and OUR questions. We were all new once, and many current subscribers are still learning, so let's continue the spirit of cooperation throughout the year. This list is about helping each other. Let's be specific and clear in our responses to folks, and give a little extra in explanations. Also keep in mind that new subscribers may know nothing about computers, the internet, and genealogy, resulting in many extremely inexperienced researchers. If you see questions on the list regarding computers, software, etc. please respond to these questions off list if at all possible. REMEMBER these new researchers may have file cabinets full of information regarding YOUR own family tree, so let's be as cordial, helpful and informative as we can be!"