Dear Bexar County Listers, I have been on this list for awhile and always hope to find something of interest since much of my family was originally from that area and I was born in San Antonio. I currently live in another state and work as the Collections (Artifacts) Manager at a historical institution, so the furor surrounding the Alamo Masonic Cemetery has been nothing if not compelling. Also, my great grandfather was a Mason. I have been following the story via the e-mail traffic since it began so have been able to sit back from afar and hopefully develop a fairly objective opinion on this issue. I think the consensus among most amateur genealogists would be that Ms. Reveley's efforts to restore the cemetery to its proper place in the city's history by cleaning it, maintaining it and recognizing it for its historical significance are certainly worthy of our admiration and support. I think the problems began when the e-mails became a dialogue (usually one-line messages) between individuals concernin! g the details of organizing the clean up and then, the trading of heated comments about the list, its purpose, Ms. Reveley, attitudes about cemeteries, etc. Whatever we think about the cemetery issue we need to remember some things, i.e. we are members of the Bexar County list that belongs to RootsWeb--they can administer it any way they see fit, even if we don't like it. Secondly, I believe that some people were frustrated because of the avalanche of e-mail (again, much of it unnecessary details); although some people may have unlimited e-mail capacity in their inboxes, that is not the case for everyone and the extreme number may have overextended some people's accounts. When I got to work this morning I had sixty unopened e-mails--fifty-eight of them from this list alone! I don't have an issue with capacity but I know some do and it would be a courtesy to cut down on the "one-liners" (and venting of anger via petty insults). Thirdly, the main purpose of the list is to exc! hange genealogical facts; we need to try and adhere to that when possi ble (I know I'm breaking that rule right now but this is the first time I've ever sent anything other than a fact query or response to a list). :) My suggestion would be that if the Administrator allows Ms. Reveley back on the list perhaps she could just send a daily or weekly (whatever works best) update on the progress of the Alamo Masonic Cemetery project. As a historian, I would love to know how it turns out and I think an organized summary of findings, actions taken, etc. would be far more effective than the bits and pieces we have been receiving. Good luck to everyone in their genealogical quests! Sincerely, Patricia in NC -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Sunday, June 12, 2005 5:06 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [SPAM] Re: Why is Sarah blocked because Importance: Low Here is the email Sarah received from the RootsWeb staff. ----- Original Message ----- From: Andrew Billinghurst To: [email protected] Cc: [email protected] Sent: Sunday, June 12, 2005 11:26 AM Subject: {RootsWeb calling} Cease and desist Sarah, It is time to stop your abuse of RootsWeb's mailing lists and your badgering behaviour on our lists. All of RootsWeb's mailing lists are themed for specific discussion, and you will keep to topic. If you are unwilling or unable to keep to topic, then I will take steps to permanently ban your email address from RootsWeb's mailing lists. Regards, Andrew RootsWeb staff - mailing lists and mail -- Andrew Billinghurst <[email protected]> Adopt-a-mailing list -> http://resources.rootsweb.com/adopt/ Ancestry.com--Your #1 Source for Family History Online http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237 ============================== New! Family Tree Maker 2005. Build your tree and search for your ancestors at the same time. Share your tree with family and friends. Learn more: http://landing.ancestry.com/familytreemaker/2005/tour.aspx?sourceid=14599&targetid=5429