Dear Stewart Researchers: There are HUNDREDS of people subscribed to this list. However, it seems that since the gateway from the Stewart message board has opened, you subscribers to the list RARELY post. I see more spam sent to my Admin address to check and see if it is valid, than email with Stewart genealogy. It is likely that you have missed the opportunity to connect with a cousin also researching your line, because you have not posted. Consider -- when was the last time you posted? You can actually search the archiver for your address (don't forget to also check your old email addresses!) and the Stewart list to see all of your posts. You can find the last time you posted and easily narrow it down by inserting a year until you find the year you last posted... 2013... 2012, etc. I last posted in September of 2013. Look here for the search engine. This can be used for ALL the lists at Rootsweb. http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/search Have you learned something new about your line? Have you discovered you were barking up the wrong tree? Have you more to share? More to learn? Still frustrated with the same old brick wall? Need encouragement to check again where you have already looked, or come to the point you are not sure where to pick up the trail? Have you ventured to Facebook and joined the groups there? Well, they are great for sharing and chatting for all sorts of things. However, for your genealogy, Facebook is not a genealogical archive sort of place. Your queries posted there are good in the moment. They will not be found by cousins looking for information years from now... let alone months or weeks from now. Rootsweb messages are archived "forever." Benson Wills began this list June 1996. Jim Penterman was the list admin after Benson and Jim turned over the list to me on September 21, 2002. I have been the Admin for over 11 years now... and I am not even a Stewart! Ok... I am a Boyd and we are cousins going waaaaaay back. Still and all, I administer this list and read every single message to ensure that you have a good experience. Admins do a lot of duties behind the scenes that subscribers never hear of and have no awareness. Please reward my efforts by making good use of the list! I look to the list mail every single day. (Well, unless I am out of town, my connection down, etc. However, other than that... yes... EVERY day!) We have nearly 18 years worth of posts! Have you searched the archives to see if any are connected to YOUR research? Have you browsed to see the history of the Stewarts in the archives? Are you aware that quite regularly there were 1,000 or more subscribers to this list? Please sound off. Check in. Post a query. Respond to a query. Right here. Right on the list. Don't wait for others to begin. Do it. Yes, you. Now. You just might get a juicy clue of where to go next. I am challenging EACH of you to post. Pledge to yourself to come out of lurkdom and be active. As I have called for a "roll call" -- please be sure to change the subject and make it personal to your query. JUICY subject lines catch more attention. Include the name, date, location in the subject. Put one family/generation in each post. IF you need to do a "data dump" with generations and tons of people --- reply to your own message with the burning questions -- one generation/family at a time. If you find that you are inundated with mail --- don't unsubscribe! Change to the digest version. Email me if you need assistance. The Stewart-admin@rootsweb.com email goes to two of my addresses -- expect to hear either from the one showing as having sent this message or my other Admin address of ListsMonster@gmail.com be sure to put them on your accept list! The all time largest number of posts to this list was 416 in August 2005. The low was 13 in January 2013. In closing I will share one of the list messages from one of the long time and very active members. Teresa. She has contributed an extreme amount of Stewart information and help on this list. She's taking a rest from it, but her words... are still priceless! _____________________________________ *From:* teresa stuart *Subject:* slow lists lately????????? *Date:* Fri, 12 Aug 2005 16:36:42 -0700 (PDT) Hi all, Looks like the lists have been slow for a while now. Let`s all get the lard out and post our lines, put some interest back , or whatever................. Best, Teresa Stuart de Rios _____________________________________ Yours Aye, Lauren Boyd McLachlan Stewart List Admin since 2002 Rootsweb Volunteer List Admin since 1996 100+/- lists, 238 Boards Ancestry Volunteer Admin since 2000