Quoted from a RESEARCH-HOWTO list posting on Thursaday 13 Nov 1997 Now, to clear up some confusion, Archives are nothing but permanently stored files containing ALL the past posts to the Lists at RootsWeb. For instance, if you subscribe to SURNAME-QUERY, every message you have sent to that List will be in the Archives for THAT List. Every message sent by anyone to that List will be in the Archives. These Archives have already been available for some time to anyone who knew how to send the appropriate email messages containing "X-commands". By placing them on RootsWeb web site, you no longer have to try to remember all those arcane commands, how to format them, etc. Once the Archives pages are active at RootsWeb, all you have to do is log on to the appropriate URL, navigate to the appropriate List's pages and search to your heart's content. The Archives will eventually contain all the messages posted to the Lists, plus all those posted to the same Lists when they were at MAISER. There will be NO usernames and NO passwords !!!!! Anyone can log on and browse through the files. If that scares you, then please read on. In the first place, each person who sends email to a public forum, such as the Lists at RootsWeb, should be aware that, with a few exceptions, as may subscribe to the Lists and receive all the email posted there. So, if you sent something in the past that you are afraid will show up in the permanent Archives, well.......you are already too late. Your email has already been read by everyone who subscribes/subscribed to a particular List. As to those posts being in the Archives, why worry now? Next, some "worry-warts" whine that the genealogical data they post to the Lists will be available to anyone to copy and publish and get rich. Ha Ha! If these nefarious thieves wanted your genealogical data, they could have already copied it by reading your email to the Lists. Now, it may seem that once it is all together in one place with easy access, some data thieves may now find it profitable to log on and copy material, and put it on CD and get rich. Let me ask each of you a question. If you don't want other researchers to see your research, why did you post it to the Lists in the first place? If you wanted it to remain private and not be disseminated, you've already goofed. Folks, once you send it via email, the whole world has access to it. To finalize -- from here forward, if you have something you don't want others to see and be able to copy for further dissemination, DON'T send it to a List !!! If you have sent something in the past that you now decide you don't want to be open to the public, sorry but it's too late. Messages already sent to a List are going to show up in the Archives. There is nothing you or I can do about it. BE WARNED !!!!! If you don't want your email to a List Archived don't send it in the first place. For some of you SURNAME-QUERY users, you CANNOT go to the Archives for that List and expect to find myriads of messages on EVERY surname. ONLY those messages sent to SURNAME-QUERY will be in the Archives. If you want to do a thorough search of the Archives for specific surnames, start with SURNAME-QUERY, then do a search of the List for that specific surname, such as SMITH-L, BROYLES-L, JONES-L, etc. This matter is NOT open to vote or discussion. There will be no usernames or passwords required to access the Archives, starting on December 1st. Until that time, the Archives will not be available...... ........ ------ Ruth (Schauer) Davison [email protected] RR1 Box 2088, Clearwater, BC Canada V0E 1N0 Please help support Internet Genealogy. Be a proud sponser of ROOTSWEB RootsWeb surname lists are funded *entirely* by you. http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/how-to-subscribe.html