Lois, It is true the volume of mail on this list has gone down. But it has not died. Now when a message is posted it is related to the purpose of the list. Each of us participate and contribute to the list as needed and when we are able. If anyone does not wish to participate or contribute - that is their choice and right. You appear to have made that decision, and (I'm sure we all miss) the benefit of your expertise and contribution. No one ever objected to a little humor. However, many list subscribers did object when your personal mail was the majority of the mail we were receiving. I do not understand the objection to using private e-mail for personal messages? Putting "NGI" (Non-Genealogical Info) in the subject line still makes the rest of us have to weed through your private messages - which were not occasional in the past. The answer for all of us is simply for each of us to be considerate of the other person.