Welcome: It's been awhile since I've posted some hints and guidelines for this mailing list. This memo has been a joint effort with Sue Swiggum from the The Ships List. She has a creative writing ability and creates these really wonderful posts every 3 months or so. . I've modified the memo to cover our particular situation as compared to her list and added some other tidbits that I've accumulated over the years. I'd like to see her publish a book on the subject of Internet Mailing Lists quirks. Hope it's useful for you. Best Regards John A Hansen List Admin ++ Gateways I've set up gateways from most of the message boards. This increases the amount of messages to this list. The usage pattern on the message boards is much more informal than here. However, I've seen many cases where people are tracking the same brick walls for obvious reasons. An elusive ancestor is the same on the mailing list and the message boards. But while the post from the message boards comes this way. the posts from the mailing list do NOT go back to the board. You need to click on the URL in the message and reply "over there" Then your reply will also come back here to this mailing list. ++Subject Lines -- Subject Lines -- Subject Lines -- Subject Lines -- plus ... a few tidbits and gentle reminders which you might find useful. Regarding "Subject Lines" .... you'll see my other comments for Digest members below. Do include your surnames ( in Caps) in the subject line > location > dates and then include them again in the body of your message where you give the full details of your ancestor. If your details are sketchy at this point, then just put what ever you do have; sometimes the most minor of details can often provide the breakthrough. Subject lines such as "HELP" may not get you any HELP ... "NEW SUBSCRIBER" may only get you a HELLO if you are lucky. The reason is not because you are being intentionally ignored, but rather because our wonderful members with the resources to help you are VERY busy, so they scan the subject lines looking for a subject about which they have knowledge. Sometimes they have no time to open every message and peek to see if they can help, so do yourselves a big favor by drawing the right kind of attention to yourself and giving an assist to those with the resources and knowledge who are able to help. If you are making a general or other emigration/immigration inquiry, take a moment to read your own subject line first, to check if it is meaningful for your query. Put as much info in the subject line as can be reasonably done. Try not to _begin_ your subject line with numbers, as the robot handling the list mail sometimes rejects those. ps. A list member (who is one of our big helpers) has also suggested that when any of us respond to a message with an inappropriate subject line, that we alter it slightly. I do this sometimes, but on a busy day I sometimes overlook this step. ++ AOL and SPAM filters There has been a new trend for subscribers to set up filters to screen out unwanted emails. Unfortunately, it sometimes also restricts the receipt of messages from Rootsweb. When the message is rejected, it automatically triggers a auto bounce counter here at Rootsweb. "After 4 there is no more" to plagiarize an old advertising theme :-). ++ Answering: If you able to answer another member's query, then please share that answer with other list members ... UNLESS, the reply is very specifically directed to the poster [such as, "we have a Bill Smith living next door ... could he be yours?"] If your answer will be of interest to other list members, such as immigration, marriages, dates, ports, microfilm numbers, "how-to" research immigration/emigration related sources etc., etc., then please share that with the list. ++ Quoting: When responding to a query on the list, by all means quote the original message so that we ALL know what you are talking about. BUT, edit <snip> the original message to just illustrate the part which you have answered. On the recent roll call for instance, the actual post for the roll call should have been snipped. ++ <snip>'s: As mentioned above, "snipping" [editing] is recommended, to save from excessive "quoting" and wasting band-width by filling up the Digests. List Mode members, also <snip> the 'tag-lines' from the original post, and refrain from sending any "piggy-backed" messages with your post unless they follow the thread. ++ Forwarding Mail: When forwarding mail [Fwd:] because you may have mis-addressed the original or you are sending a repeat of an earlier query, take a moment to edit all the unnecessary 'headers' and taglines etc. They take up too much room, and serve no purpose. Some may just "delete" rather than paging down to find your message. Consider copy/paste into a new message, rather than "Fwd:". ++ CAPS: Do not write your message in "CAPS" [Capital letters]. Messages/Queries written ALL in CAPS tend to be difficult to read, for most of us. In the "world" of cyber-space, CAPS are considered the equivalent of SHOUTING! Save CAPS for ship names, surnames, or anything else you wish to stress. (CAPS are okay from vision-impaired members) ++ WebPages: Do not "quote" an entire web page, rather, POST the URL and give a brief description of the site, and an explanation of why you found it useful. ++ Citing: When quoting any information found elsewhere, eg. ... a web page, a book, a document .. always cite (give credit) to the website, and/or the author, the publication etc. Apart from being common courtesy, it can also cover many possible copyright infringements when you quote an excerptfrom an original document/publication. Content from a public document is not copyright, but the compilation of those facts can be. ++ Subject Lines: These are SO important as this is your "headline" to attract the attention of those who may be able to help you. Digest members ..... remember to change the subject line to reflect the topic. If you send a subject which says ... Re: Surname-D Digest V02 #xx ... then this is meaningless, and may go unread. Also, include your year of interest. ++ Thank you: Please NEVER forget to send a thank you to someone who has answered your query. It is so nice to send some appreciation to those who have helped you. These should be in the form of a PRIVATE message, but I won't mind if you have been totally overwhelmed by the number of responses, and you wish to thank everyone by means of the list. :-) It only takes a moment, and shows that you don't take any contribution for granted. ++ Reply Most often any info request etc should be posted to the list [email protected] Do not reply to me as list admin because I then just forward to the list..later..maybe :-) Please reply to the List even if you are on the Digest as in [email protected] ++ Not A Subscriber. You will sometimes get a "Not A Subscriber" notice. These are posts that get bounced to me because the poster is sending from a different address than they are subscribed with. I usually forward these to the list. The address that you are registered with can be just slightly different, sometimes the ISP inserts a extra server or other identification in the email id. To check your own address, send your self a email and look at the headers to look at your "from" address. Make sure your email program inserts this address in your post and then subscribe to the mailing lists of your choice. Some ISP ( MSN especially) adds "hotmail"or "email" on some kind of random basis to your "from" address. The Rootsweb computer sees that as a totally different address and will bounce that to me. I usually forward when I can , but there is a delay. ++ Virus alerts Please just send these directly to me and keep the discussion off the mailing list. There is a really good Virus mailing list here at Rootsweb Join by sending an email to [email protected] with subscribe in the body of message. I can also refer you to any number of good Virus sites and sites for Free Anti-Virus software. For the first time, if you do get infected, then I delete your account and send a notice message to you. The second time results in a reject notice on your account. I will send out Virus Alerts from time to time after verifying with several Virus web sites. I do subscribe to several newsletters and "honey pots" to get early warnings about upcoming Viruses. There is a wide difference of opinion about the question of even the List Admin sending out Virus Alerts. I will be happy to debate the point off line but I can declare now that in my opinion, the possibility of saving even one person the pain of losing their work is worth one delete message. The virus industry has changed dramatically over the last two years and that changed my opinion. ++ Virus Updates to the software There is a separate and important fact that everyone needs to know. The AntiVirus software program is out of date when you purchase and install it. The Software Programs work on checking a pattern of words against a known database of viruses. There are new viruses introduced each day of each week. So your AV program needs to be updated very often ( at least once a week) I update mine every night. Most programs have an auto update feature. I've set mine to update at 2 AM. Now it also goes that don't lean back and sigh if you have you've got AV software. The AV software is your last line of defense ; not your first. Don't open attachments etc etc. Some of the new viruses are really tricky in their descriptions ( warning from Microsoft come to mind) and double extensions etc etc. There are viruses now being seen at some of the test sites, that are sent in the pure text messages. Currently you can not get a virus from the message from Rootsweb. It's your friends, family and people that you correspond with that do you in :-). ++ Signature Blocks Signature Blocks and Lines are your address at the bottom of your message. No signatures lines over 4 lines. The VLF will automatically put anybody on moderate that can't seem to get their sig line down. Large sig lines clog up the search engine and the archives. "VLF is a patented system from Piglet (the Listowners admin) and she rents it out for a royalty fee per use. VLF = Very Large Flyswatter to keep posters in line :-) ++ Bounces We all get bounced from time to time. It's not a signal that we don't love you. The Rootsweb email server keeps track of how many times a message to you has bounced back. Most times it'd due to you exceeding a limit at your email service. Most of the free Email servers ( Yahoo, Hotmail Netzero ) have very low limits , usually 2 meg of mail. In today's world of big messages that happens very fast. A weekend away can fill your email box pretty fast. So the post from these lists then gets returned. "After 4 there is no more" and the "bouncer" steps in and removes your address. Don't get upset, merely resubscribe and go on. You might want to check the archives to see if there is any missed messages to you. ++ Archives. Every message ever posted is archived here at Rootsweb. So if you're joining because you now found that this surname or topic is hot on your priority list, then check the archives to see what has already been posted. You can go to the home page at www.rootsweb.com and pick up the archives from there. The archives are located at www.archiver.rootsweb.com if you want to bypass home and go direct :-) ++ Contact the List Admin You can always contact any list admin by sending an email to [email protected] XXXX = name of the list. My email is below for direct reference. ++ Unsubscribe Please send an email directly to the request server at [email protected] and merely put unsubscribe in the body of the message. To get on this list you had sent a message with subscribe. So to get off, you merely just tell the computer unsubscribe. Remember this is HAL. Remember this is HAL, Remember this is HAL etc etc. ++ Address Changes We all have address changes in our life. It's a fact of life in this Internet world we live in. So to update your address: A: Send an email to unsubscribe. Please note that you need to use the original email address to do so. On almost every email software program, you can install or keep the original email address. It's there in the from box of the message. You might have to call up the "options" tab to see it. B: Then send an email to subscribe the new address. Please use the new address as it looks in your email server when you created your new account. ++ Posting to the Mail List. All Inquires and mail should only go directly to the mail list. The address to post to is [email protected] Messages sent to to the [email protected] will bounce back to me. Since most of those bounces are misc. they wind up getting deleted. So your pleas to get help to find that one elusive ancestor is gone into the ether someplace. Any other address will bounce to me and then be deleted. There are many ways that various spam artists are trying to post to the list and wind up bouncing to the admin. They are all deleted. So your important message regarding an ancestor line or a response to someone will probably be deleted. ++ USE your one and only Official Subscribed Address Most of the problems regarding posting, unsubscribing etc are due to a difference in the "from" address in your email program and the "reply to". You were subscribed to the "reply to" address automatically. The computer ( HAL) looks only at your "from" address. That "from" address must match the subscribed address. So if you changed the "from" address for some reason then no message. The computer will only accept mail from registered subscribed users. When the address doesn't match exactly, it bounces. I sometimes get a copy but not always. Take a look at the welcome message that you received for this list. Please keep that message. It tells you exactly what address was subscribed and will be accepted for posting. Make sure all email you send is "from" that address. The Rootsweb computer "Hal" just never sleeps and never lets a message get by with an "almost correct" address. Remember this is HAL, Remember this is HAL ++ Be Nice No Flames, No Selling, No Religion, No Politics These are all interesting and emotional items. Trying to admin a list under those circumstance just takes too much time from my own Genealogy and my Grandchildren :-) Hope all this helps. Best Regards John A Hansen [email protected] List Admin BTW: From time to time I get some questions about my own background etc. There is a summary at: http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/spotlight/hansen_j.html