BRERETON-L Archives

From: David Sylvester <>
Subject: Message from the Listowner. Required reading for all members.
Date: Fri, 08 Jul 2005 12:01:11 -0400

Hi List,

Last October I sent you a letter loaded with tips and helpful hints
on how best to send a query or reply to the list. Due to
the inappropriate manner in which some members of some of my lists
are sending in their replies in spite of my efforts, I guess it's
time to offer it up again. This is important stuff and I want all
members to read it thoroughly. It might just keep you off the
"moderated" list.

First before we get started I want to say this:

Do *not* reply to this email. This is an administrative email from
the Listowner. It needs to be posted *only* by me and no part of it
should be repeated or quoted back to the list or commented on by
members. If you have a question or comment about this or any aspect
of the list send it to me personally. You know the address. Also
the rules and guidelines that all new members receive in the
welcome letter, a copy of which was sent to the list in January of
last year, are still in effect. I would recommend that everybody
read that letter again soon, and review it each time you post to
the list. If you lost your copy you can replace it by visiting the
list homepage or by e-mailing me *privately*.


The main purpose of my letter last fall was to encourage members to
post their query if they had not done so in a while, and then I
followed with tips on doing so and also tips on replying to queries
of others. This time, since the problem area is with replying, I'll
begin with that area first then follow up with tips on sending
original queries.




Here are some tips on replying to a query:

Okay, somebody posted a query and you have the information they
need, or you have some leads or some speculative information or
whatever. Perhaps you have a question to ask them so as to clarify
a point or you might see a name that you recognize about whom you
have a further question. So you hit the reply key and start typing
at the top of your editor, leaving the entire query trailing behind
along with taglines, the sender's signature lines, administrative
messages, advertisements from the server host and the email client,
and a virus scan report.

Please don't do that. It's ridiculous. It's called top posting and
it requires the reader to sift through a bunch of unnecessary stuff
and to constantly scroll down to see what the current writer is
referring to. Don't be lazy! As one listowner in another list once
pointed out, "It is a lot easier to have a sensible discussion that
other people can follow if you don't top post." Also sending that
extra stuff is against the rules of this list!

Do you remember back in the old days when we wrote to friends,
family, pen pals, and research correspondents with a pen or a
typewriter? We didn't send their letter back to them did we? Of
course we didn't. We reminded them about a discussion in that
previous letter and then we expanded on that theme.

We can do that here too. With computers it's called "quoting" and
it's done by leaving portions of the previous message and removing
(deleting, trimming, snipping) the rest. Then we type our reply
below (after) the quoted material, just like we did in the old
days. It's so easy to do with the mail editors (like mini word
processors) that come with our email programs and it's much, much
easier for readers to follow.

For those of you who were initiated into the world of email after
the beginning of the "dot-com" era (when businesses entered the
Internet and required their correspondents to top post) here's how
normal quoting is done. This is really easy and it will become
second nature after you have tried it a couple times...

After you hit the reply key, before you begin typing, first look at
the entire email in your editor and identify what portion of it is
genealogical, that is, what part of it did the sender type in an
attempt to find ancestors or share data. Next, remove everything
else. That's it for starters -- you've got it down to just
genealogy. If you remove nothing else from that message you've got
it down to being on topic because if you include any of that
extraneous stuff your message is off topic. Think about that for a
moment. Reread this paragraph if necessary.

The next step is judgmental on your part and what you do next
depends on what the query includes and how your new information
relates to that data.

If the original query included an entire family (standard practice)
then in your reply you need include only those family members that
make up the subject of your reply, that is, typically you descend
from only one of the children of a family. Retain those pertinent
lines of text and remove the rest. Try to keep enough of the
previous message intact so that the reader is reminded of what the
thread is about. Leave the "greater than" brackets there. They're
there for a purpose. If you can't figure out what else to remove,
again if you remove only the "administrivia" as mentioned above and
retain just the genealogical data you'll be doing just fine. We're
not concerned about saving space. We're just trying to clean the
page up a bit to make our submission easy for all members to read.

As another example, if the poster sent in a list of first settlers
of Boomtown, USA and you would like to reply concerning one name of
interest then please remove everything except for the line or
paragraph containing that name.

Now, this next line is a key statement that you might wish to read
two or three times: After you have finished trimming the original
message move your cursor down to the end of the very last line, at
the bottom of your editor window, hit the [Enter] key two or three
times to leave blank lines for readability; then begin to type your
response.

Go ahead and try it -- it's easy! Other members and *especially*
this listowner will be much happier! :-)


There's a variation of the quoting method called interspersing and
I'll demonstrate it by example. Let's say the poster sent in a
basic query, family group sheet style. The parental data comprise,
say, two paragraphs and there are six offspring given making a
total of eight paragraphs. You wish to reply with comments on the
parents plus you descend from one of the children, let's say the
fifth one, for whom you have some information to share.

You would retain the first two paragraphs then type your comments
below. You would then remove the paragraphs containing children 1
through 4 (not your ancestors), retain the paragraph that contains
child 5 (your ancestor) and remove the 6th. Hit the [Enter] key
once or twice (always leave one or more blank lines between each
section) then type your further comments.


Here's what a finished reply might look like. The quoted lines from
the original query are preceded by "greater than" signs and the
rest is our new material.

=====

At 4:00 p.m. Percy D. Ancestorhunter wrote...
> I'm looking for the ancestry of blah-blah
> who were born [date] [place] blah blah. They
> were married blah blah blah

> They settled and raised their children in blah blah
> but I'm told they were buried in blah blah

Dear Percy,

I descend from that same line and I still can't find their
ancestors. I do have some leads, which I shall share with you. Go
to http://www.Blah-blah-blah, also there is a book which blah-blah,
etc.

[children 1 through 4 snipped]

> 5. Mehitabel born blah-blah married blah blah
> more about Mehitabel blah blah

Percy, this is the branch that I descend from. I'm glad to have
found that we are cousins! I have all Mehitabel's children's names
and I have a large database of her descendants that I will send you
in private email if you wish.

[child 6 snipped]

I hope this is helpful.
Best regards and have a great day.

Your cousin,
Annabel T. Rootsdigger

=====



Now that you know how to reply to a query sent in by another member
here are some tips to help you get started writing your own query.

First decide whom you're going to write about and put that name in
the subject area. If you're looking for the ancestry of say, your
great-great-grandfather Ansel Brereton then type that name in. Or
maybe prefix it with something like "Looking for... ". If you know
where Ansel was from include that place also. So your subject title
might look like...

Seeking ancestry of Ansel Brereton of East Overshoe, Maine.
(Include the state, county, province, country, colony or territory)

Don't put simply "Brereton" as the subject. We all know that we're
looking for Breretons. The object is to catch the attention of the
reader who might have some information on the individual ancestor
you're looking for, who might otherwise delete your email. Some
list members are on multiple lists and they may be inundated with
dozens or hundreds of list messages each day. You want them to open
your email if they have the information you need. Use an eye catcher.

The only time you might include the surname only would be if you
were looking for all Breretons of a particular place. In that case,
using my town as an example, your subject might indicate that
you're...

Looking for all Breretons of Searsport, Maine.

Don't type "roll call" in the subject area. That's not who you're
looking for. Most serious researchers will delete that unopened
message in a heartbeat.


Now, let's talk about the body of your post. Try to give as much
information as you know, dates and places of all vital events if
known, along with enough info on other family members so that the
reader can positively identify if they are researching the same
family. "Anyone out there researching Breretons?" is going to find
its way into members' trash bins.

You don't have to use all capital letters for surnames. Many
tutorials will advise you to use that style (i.e. BRERETON) but it
is no longer necessary. Now that we have mailing lists that zero in
on individual surnames and local places the sheer volume and
variety of messages is greatly reduced in any single list. In the
Brereton list everybody already knows we're looking for Breretons,
and it is much more readable in lowercase. Write the names the way
we were taught in grammar school.

Break your query into paragraphs and leave blank lines between them
for easy reading. If you wish to list a family's children and their
spouses leave blank lines between each of them. Don't cram
everything together. Don't worry about message length or file size.
There is a maximum that the list server allows but rarely will you
reach that limit. But do post only one query at a time. If you have
two Brereton lines that you'd like information on send your queries
in two separate emails.

When you're done sign your name. It can be simply your first name
or your nickname but let people know what to call you when they reply.

Sometimes people like to add some additional surnames that they're
"also looking for". If you wish to add some names try to use a
small list, perhaps 3 to 6 surnames of ancestors *closely* related
to the person you're looking for. Only include surnames that might
be helpful in finding the ancestral line in question. For example
if I'm looking for information on the wife of Joseph Silvester who
was born in 1674 I might state that I'm also looking for Hall,
White, and Rogers -- names contemporaneous with the subject name of
my query. I'm not going to include surname Washburn because my
Sylvesters didn't connect with that family until more than two
centuries later.

I've made a web page with links to several query tutorial sites.
For more tips and ideas check out
http://www.feliixplace.com/genealogylists/query.html .



I hope you have taken the time to read this message and I hope you
apply some of the methods given. Most importantly please follow the
rules and guidelines of the list.

Do post your query and help your cousins find their roots. We now
have new members and hopefully we have new information on your
missing ancestors.

Again please don't reply to this message in the list. Any comments
or questions are to be sent to me at my administrative address that
is given in the welcome letter.

Best wishes and good luck with your search.

David
http://www.feliixplace.com/genealogylists/brereton.html

This thread:

• Message from the Listowner. Required reading for all members. by David Sylvester <>