Not all subscribers have the time or energy to read all messages in search for that elusive match. Many, open only those which appear promising. MAXIMISE the chances of YOUR MESSAGE BEING READ BY YOUR INTENDED AUDIENCE, that is YOUR MATCH! HOW? Use the SUBJECT LINE to give very SPECIFIC DETAILS about the individual/family your are looking for. Subscribers to most other genealogy lists do precisely that. Furthermore, to facilitate reading, they tend to follow some sort of 'not so rigid format'. Examples: ?WOOD John, b1840, Miami, Florida, USA ?WOODWARD Timothy, m1790, SMITH E., in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil WOODY, Ray, Elaine, Susan, res. 1870, in Bs As, Argentina ?WOODS Joshua & Jessie, res. 1891, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada Notice the pattern? 1) SURNAME always in capital letter (even within the text of the email), then 2) First and Second names of individuals. Commas to separate individuals. 3) Date with a letter indicating whether it is birth, marriage, death, residing. Worthwhile, even if it is very broad. If someone is looking for WOODS in 1600s, they don't really mind if your 1800 date is off by some years. 4) Location, State, Country. In full, to reach those yet unfamiliar with the area and its abbreviations. 5) If you have a question preceed the Subject with a queston mark, if you have informaion about the subject, omit the question mark. Subscribers AVOID using subject lines that may not carry sufficient meaning to others, such as: Wood family My family My Woodys My neck of the Woods Aim for QUALITY AUDIENCE: YOUR MATCH. Cheers, Jorge Woods, in Canberra, Australia. ==== WOODS Mailing List ==== No part of these messages nor the archives file containing them may be published or redistributed in any form by a "FOR PROFIT" or commercial organization. All publication requires the permission of each message author.