Hello Fellow Listers! It was a good year on the WIEAUCLA-L (or D) mail list in 2000. We had some good communications and sharing of data. Hopefully this will continue in this new year and we can all work together as a team to make this mail list and it's accompanying website a huge success. To ensure that this will happen, I'd like to take a moment to refresh our memories on a few items of importance to this list. Please take the time to read through this to make sure you understand each facet of this mail list. I would also appreciate it if you would save a copy of this message for future reference. But just in case, I will try to send a copy of this out on a quarterly basis so those who are new to the list will have a copy also. At this time, I would like to point out Item #7. This has been one area in particular that has been confusing to many of us. 1. WHAT IS THIS LIST? This is a discussion area for anyone who has an interest in genealogy, general & local history related to Eau Claire County Wisconsin "ONLY". 2. WHAT IS THE AIM OF THIS LIST? The aim of this list is to help each other by sharing information and knowledge of Eau Claire County, Wisconsin genealogy and history. 3. CAN MESSAGES BE SENT TO THE LIST IF I HAVE NOT BEEN SUBSCRIBED? The short answer is NO! This is to protect you from spammers, nuisances, etc. However, the list is not moderated. Any message sent to it is automatically bounced back out to everyone on the list. While I in no way want to stifle free discussion, as list owners we reserve the right to step in if a flame war erupts that becomes tedious for other subscribers, or if someone becomes unseemly (excessive use of profanity, improper advertising, for instance). Again, anyone causing upset to other subscribers will be removed from the list -- without notice. 4. WHAT SHOULD BE THE NATURE OF THE MESSAGES I SEND? Anything relevant to the area covered by the list that would be of genealogical and / or historical interest such as repositories, sources, books, etc. 5. SUBJECT HEADINGS When posting messages, it would be helpful if you could clarify in the SUBJECT heading, the Area, Surname or subject you are referring to. It is always helpful to put surnames in all caps: Altoona -- PETERSON Augusta -- Vital Records for … 6. AM I RESTRICTED TO THE SIZE OF MESSAGE I CAN SEND? Yes, for two reasons. Individual messages are restricted by Rootsweb to a maximum of 20kb, but more importantly, your message is far more likely to be read if it is brief. Please do not relate your whole family history - just give a few brief details so that anyone reading the message who may share your interests can contact you direct. You can then send all your additional info privately to that subscriber. 7. SHOULD ANSWERS TO QUERIES BE SENT VIA THE LIST OR PRIVATELY TO THE ORIGINATOR OF THE QUERY? This depends on the nature of the answer! If you feel it would benefit other list subscribers then please do send via the list. For example, information on sources, books, particular towns/villages etc, but if it relates purely to a particular family then it might be better to contact the originator individually. PLEASE NOTE: THIS MAIL LIST IS GATEWAYED TO THE EAU CLAIRE CO. GENCONNECT QUERY BOARD -- If a query has been posted to the query board, it will appear on the mail list. These messages are easy to identify as they all begin with these lines: >Posted on: Eau Claire Co. Wi Query Forum >Reply Here: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/USA/Wi/EauClaire/### >Surname: yada,yada,yada ------------------------- DO NOT RESPOND TO THE MAIL LIST IF YOU HAVE INFORMATION TO SHARE ON THESE QUERIES!!! Not all people who post queries on the boards are on this mail list!!! So instead of posting to the mail list, please take the time to click on the link that says "Reply Here". It will take you to a form that you can fill in and post to the query board. A message will then be posted to the person who sent the query, along with a copy that will also be sent to the mail list. This ensures that the person who needs the information will get what they need. 8. HOW DO I POST A MESSAGE TO THE MAIL LIST? Whether you are subscribed to this list in mail mode or digest mode, to post a message to the list, send it to: WIEAUCLA-L@rootsweb.com 9. CAN I CHANGE MODES? Yes, you can change to DIGEST mode (see instructions below) - this means that you will receive a copy of all e-mails posted to the list in one large email every day. This is especially useful to those who have a large volume of mail everyday. 10. CAN PROFESSIONAL RESEARCHERS/INDEXERS SUBSCRIBE TO THE LIST? Yes, but PLEASE note, however, that while professional genealogists, indexers and record agents who have genuine family interests in the area covered are most welcome to join us, they must on NO ACCOUNT use the list as a means of touting for business or obtaining information from other subscribers to further their own ends. In short, if someone sends a message to the list with a query that you may be able to help with in a professional capacity, you may reply to that person PRIVATELY offering your services on condition that you mention your professional capacity and details of your charges at the outset. Anyone receiving such an email through this list who is led to believe there is no charge for the services and then is billed, please CONTACT ME IMMEDIATELY at mailto:nsampson@spacestar.net You must NOT send a message to the list advertising your services. ANYONE MISUSING THE LIST FOR PERSONAL FINANCIAL GAIN WILL BE UNSUBSCRIBED WITHOUT EXPLANATION. 11. IF I WISH TO OFFER HELP FOR EXPENSES ONLY, CAN I SEND A MESSAGE TO THE LIST? Yes. It is perfectly reasonable to ask for photocopying, postage costs, etc. if you are able to help anyone so that you are not out of pocket. If it is not possible to offer services at a reasonable fee, (i.e. travelling across state to do lookups, etc.) then please let someone who is more able to provide the services do it. PLEASE DO NOT ABUSE THIS SERVICE! The goal of the USGenWeb project is to provide genealogical and historical information for those seeking it -- FOR FREE as much as possible! 12. FILE ATTACHMENTS -- UNLESS SPECIFICALLY ADVISED OTHERWISE BY THE LIST OWNER, please DO NOT intentionally send an attachment with list mail. Most mail packages have a feature that will allow you to "attach" files such as a word processing file. These will be encoded and need to be decoded at the receiving end; they may also be large. These can cause some users' machines to lock up - so just say *NO* to attachments, please. If you are using a browser or Microsoft mail package, please send messages as normal but be aware that I may contact you should your messages be appearing with attachments. This will be purely to try and resolve the problem but firstly - check the options on your mail reader, and ensure that ***** the "HTML attachments" Or "RichText" option is switched OFF ***** ***** messages are sent in "plain/text" format**** ***** use "send" rather than "reply" option ***** ***** It is recommended that you put both the list address (WIEAUCLA-L@rootsweb.com) and the request address in your mailer's address book (WIEAUCLA-L-request@rootsweb.com) ***** to make entering the address easier and to avoid the temptation ***** of using the "reply" option. Also ensure that the "HTML attachments" option is switched OFF If you are unsure whether the settings on your mail reader are correct, send a test message TO THE LISTOWNER. 13. VIRUS WARNINGS If you receive a Virus Warning from another party, PLEASE DO NOT forward it to the list under any circumstance. The majority of these warning are hoaxes (even if they do appear to come from a reliable source) and can cause a lot of unnecessary alarm. I would suggest that you firstly check the following web sites http://www.kumite.com/myths/home.htm http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/CIACHoaxes.html http://www.ncsa.com/services/consortia/anti-virus/alerthoax.html http://www.drsolomon.com/vircen/vanalyse/va005.html http://www.av.ibm.com/BreakingNews/HypeAlert/Crew/ These are URLs that you can check to find out if the warning is genuine. You can only contact a virus from an e-mail attachment with an .EXE suffix or by opening a document in a word processor or other program which has a macro language - such as Word or Excel; this allows an embedded macro in the document to run invisibly. Alternatively by accessing a Web page which uses Java or similar; again, this is like a macro in that it can run a "useful" function, but can also be perverted to run a destructive action. YOU CANNOT COME INTO CONTACT WITH A VIRUS SIMPLY BY RECEIVING A PLAIN E-MAIL If, after having checked the above URLs, you feel that your Virus Warning is genuine, then, and ONLY then, should you contact the listowner who will take the necessary action. 14. PERSONAL MAIL and CHATTING If you have a personal message (non-relevant reply to question) for the sender, please send it to their e-mail address, NOT the list server address. Any mail sent to the list will automatically be sent to everyone who subscribes. 15. WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I FIND A MESSAGE TO BE OFFENSIVE OR HAVE ANY OTHER COMPLAINT? You should advise the listowner immediately in the first instance. Under no circumstances should there be any cross-fire via the list as this is unproductive. The listowner will review the situation and take the necessary action, both parties being consulted. There should also be a certain amount of tolerance towards those who are new to the Internet - we were all beginners once. 16. HOW DO I UNSUBSCRIBE? If you are subscribed to this list in mail mode, send a message to: WIEAUCLA-L-request@rootsweb.com and type unsubscribe in the body of the text If you are subscribed to this list in digest mode, send your "unsubscribe" message to: WIEAUCLA-D-request@rootsweb.com 17. HOW DO I CHANGE TO DIGEST MODE? You will need to unsubscribe from mail mode (see instructions above) and also send a message to WIEAUCLA-D-request@rootsweb.com and type subscribe in the body of the message 18. WHAT DO I NEED TO DO IF I CHANGE MY E-MAIL ADDRESS? You will need to unsubscribe under your old address and resubscribe under your new address i.e. send an unsubscribe message as above and then send a new message to WIEAUCLA-L-request@rootsweb.com from your NEW address and type subscribe in the body of the message 19. BOUNCED MESSAGES There are reasons why your message to the list may bounce ie Your ISP is down Your telephone company is down due to bad weather etc You have changed e-mail addresses without unsubbing from your old address and resubbing under your new You have gone away on holiday and your ISP is one that limits the amount of mail you can build up in your inbox (mail mode subscribers to AOL take note!) You have not read and/or kept this Welcome Message and therefore you have no idea how to unsub/change modes/send messages to the list There are also one or two other reasons that I will not go into as they are complicated and rare but if you find that you have not received a message via the list in 12 hours, you should contact me to find out what is going on. The Rootsweb Robot will automatically unsub you after a certain number of bounced messages so you may need to re-subscribe. 20. CAN YOU RECOMMEND ANY USEFUL WEB SITES? I have found in the several years that I have been associated with the Rootsweb / USGenWeb project, of which Eau Claire County is a part, that there are many, many sites and special projects which are very useful in your genealogical research. Here are several sites that may be of interest to you locally: Our homepage!! -- http://www.rootsweb.com/~wieaucla/eauclair.htm Eau Claire Co. Archives -- http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/wi/eauclaire.htm The Eau Claire Co. Resources Page -- lots of search engines to use for "power searching" for your Eau Claire Co. ancestors! -- http://resources.rootsweb.com/USA/WI/EauClaire/ Eau Claire Co. contains the full GenConnect Suite. Want to place a query on the Eau Claire Co. GenConnect site? -- http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/USA/Wi/EauClaire You can also do a keyword search within the previous issues of the Eau Claire County (WIEAUCLA) mail list by going to -- http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgibin/listsearch.pl Or feel free to browse through the THREADED ARCHIVES for this mail list by going to -- http://archiver.rootsweb.com/ and typing in 'WIEAUCLA' and clicking on the 'Submit Query' button. Have an event that you want on the Eau Claire Co. Calendar? (only Eau Claire Co. items, please) Go to: http://resources.rootsweb.com/~calendar/cgi-bin/calendar.cgi?calname=EauClaire_Co._WI If you are interested in another Wisconsin county, they are all represented here -- http://www.rootsweb.com/~wigenweb/ ********************************************************* Mailing Lists hosted by Rootsweb, for other Wisconsin counties, USA, and around the world, see http://www.rootsweb.com/~maillist/ ********************************************************* Do you want to find another county of interest to you? Visit the USGenWeb project. Our goal is to represent all counties in the US with *free* genealogical and historical information. Go to -- http://www.usgenweb.org/thestates.html As mentioned earlier, Rootsweb / USGenWeb have many special projects that are of great genealogical and historical value -- http://www.usgenweb.org/projects/projects.html And a great website -- highly recommended by Rootsweb, is Cyndi's List. There are links for all World-wide Genealogy topics here -- http://www.CyndisList.com ********************************************************* If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me personally. Please take into account that there are those who are new to genealogy and computers. Patience and friendly participation can bring results. Good luck & have fun! Nance mailto:nsampson@spacestar.net http://www.rootsweb.com/~wieaucla/eauclair.htm Listowner of WIEAUCLA