MICHEBOY-L Archives

From: Colleen Pustola <>
Subject: [MICHEBOY] PLEASE READ: LIST GUIDELINES
Date: Sun, 22 Jun 2003 09:50:30 -0600

Hi everyone,

Below are the list guidelines. They're long, but they cover every
aspect of who we are and how we operate. This will be the new welcome
message every person receives when they join us.

Any questions? You're welcome to email me at <>.

Colleen

~!@~!@~!@~!@~!@~!@!@~!@~!@~@~!@~!@~!@~!@~!@~!@~!@~!@

Hi there,

This will be a rather long read and for that I apologize in advance.
However, I ask that you read all this. There is very important data
inside that you need to be made aware of. I won't do this to you
again, I promise! :) You might even want to print this message out and
keep it by your computer.


Topics include:

1. Who I am
2. How I operate a list
3. List guidelines
4. The usual administrator nit-picky stuff
* Virus warnings
* Chain letters
* Me too! messages
5. Chat forum
6. Subscribe/unsubscribe procedures
7. To post messages to the list
8. If you go on vacation
9. Contacting me


WHO I AM

I'd like to introduce myself properly to you ~ My name is Colleen
Pustola [2-l's and 2-e's in Colleen, please]. I'm an Army wife and the
mother of five terrific kids with two still at home. My pseudonym, Lady
Audris, comes from one of my former obsessions :) as a living
historian/teacher of the medieval period. I've been researching my
lines for 27 years, teaching this science for 18, and guest-speaking at
genealogical seminars and in schools for 13. Though I'm not Mormon, I
did receive the bulk of my formal training from them so reciprocate by
volunteering in their Family History Centers whenever we live near one.
I've published my first book, the "Bower/Winchcomb Connection" and am
currently working on six others including an update of the first. I am
also the list administrator for 90 other Rootsweb lists, 30 Rootsweb
message boards, and have been a admin since August 1998. I have two
domains on the Web with four sites and am the coordinator for 5 of
Michigan's GenWeb sites. Yes, I stay *very* busy. It is EXTREMELY
important that you IDENTIFY THE LIST YOU'RE ON, if you contact me.

You now know my whole life in a nutshell! :)

HOW I OPERATE A LIST

Frankly, I don't like dictatorial listowners! They make me nervous and
afraid to post. So, I guess you could say I'm rather laid-back. The
only time I get "freaky" is if you break one of the first two guidelines.

Basically, I run the list with respect and consideration for everyone. I
hope you'll participate in the same way.

LIST GUIDELIINES

I do NOT mandate a "format-this-way" or "post-only-these-items" policy.

Keep in mind we all have three goals to achieve:

1. Enjoy ourselves!
2. Find our ancestral lines and inline cousins.
3. Get as much data online as possible to accomplish the first two!

We do, however, have some guidelines that we follow in order to maintain
a happy medium for everyone:

1. NEVER flame [verbally attack] anyone on the list. The penalty for
this is IMMEDIATE removal. If you have a problem with one of the list
members, do not post what you think about them. That's what I'm here
for. There is never a justification to say hateful words and hurt
someone. Hurt feelings get nobody anywhere and can make the entire
group feel uneasy and unhappy. If you're unhappy with someone, direct
it to me where we can discuss it.

2. Newbies to genealogy are VERY special. Treat them with much
kindness as they struggle to learn the where's and how's of not only how
to research, but how to participate in a discussion list without feeling
afraid, intimidated, or demeaned.

3. Criticism is always gentle and constructive. We all make mistakes
[I make them all the time!], and we need to remember that maybe not
everyone is having as great a day as you are. If someone makes a
mistake on something, go to their rescue and show him/her how to do it,
if you know how.

4. Always show compassion towards someone who is having trouble with
something. But first, ask if he/she would like for you to help them
learn. Please remember not to write anyone and deliberately point out
how many mistakes they have made. This would be outright rude, and
we're all above that. That person might be having a rough day with
mistakes spilling out every time they try to do something.

5. When you post messages to the list, please try to use a helpful
subject line like "John BROWN d. 1800 Cheboygan County," rather than a
generic one like "inquiry about my family line."

6. Your messages through RootsWeb's servers MUST ALWAYS be in text
format. If you try to use HTML or MIME formats or try to send an
attachment with your message the RootsWeb server will simply kick your
message out and bounce it to me as an error. This is their policy, not
mine.

7. Virus epidemics are spreading through the lists more and more often.
It is unsettling to most list members to receive what appear to be
list messages from other members whose computers are known to be
infected. You should understand that you ABSOLUTELY, CANNONT receive
virus-laden messages from the list. Rootsweb's filters are set
extremely tight to prevent that from happening. Instead, messages that
appear to be coming from the list are actually coming from a third
party, sometimes not even connected to the list.

However, it is my responsibility to protect the list as a unit.
Therefore, any list member whose computer is known to be infected WILL
BE MANUALLY UNSUBSCRIBED from the list until I know for sure your
machine is clean. You can do this by sending me an email privately.
If I don't receive
an attachment or any other wierd thing resulting from a message from
you, then I'll know your machine is 'recovered' and I'll manually
resubscribe you.

THE USUAL ADMINISTRATOR NIT-PICKY STUFF

**VIRUS WARNINGS: We've had some pretty wicked viruses plague us the
past several years. I was [thankfully] forewarned of two of them from a
genealogy list I was on. Like everyone else however, I've also seen so
many old virus warnings that I also get disgruntled when they're put out
again and again.

If you are alerted to a virus warning - BEFORE you send a message to
this list please check it out first to make sure it isn't a hoax. You
can do so by going to <http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/vinfodb.html>;
and doing a search for the particular virus you are concerned about.
Once you've ascertained you're not dealing with a hoax please use the
CHAT: format (below) to tell everyone.

**CHAIN LETTERS -- These are a bane to the existence of e-mail lists and
the members on them. Please do not post chain-letters to the list. They
serve no purpose other than to clog the system and make a lot of people
cranky.

**"ME TOO!" MESSAGES -- I have yet to fully comprehend the purpose of
this type of message other than to glut a list with yet more bandwidth.
Unless we are taking a list vote - which if necessary, I will generate
- please try not to post these to the list. Also, please realize that
we are all quick to hit the 'reply' button [I do it too], and sometimes
these slips will happen particularly with new list members or
especially, our newbies.

**ROLL CALLS -- If we need one because of a too-quiet list, I'll
announce it. Why me?... Because I have guidelines for our newbies that
help them be able to participate, as well. I also try to help our
lurkers be willing to join in. It does nobody any good to have a roll
call if half the people can't/won't contribute.

That's it. No harrassing "form your messages this and such way." No
"you will...." Post anything you desire provided it's about Cheboygan
County genealogy and history. Off-topic items (including virus notices)
and discussion are covered in the next section.

«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»

CHAT: FORUM

There are times when you have something to say that's not on-topic for
the list, but you think everyone should know it. You have two choices
here: you can either send it to me to be related to everyone or you can
use the CHAT: format. There are two rules to using CHAT:

1. You _must_ start your subject line with CHAT:
2. Absolutely NO genealogy is to be put in CHAT: messages
because not everyone wants to read CHAT: forum messages. Those people
know to simply delete messages with CHAT: in the subject line.

CHAT: format messages are not an everyday occurrence. They happen here
and there. The only, and longest, time the CHAT: forum is actively open
is the period starting Thanksgiving day through to January 2nd so
everyone can post holiday messages, recipes, traditions, etc. After
that, the CHAT: forum closes and resumes its normal inactivity.


«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»

*****IMPORTANT!!! *****IMPORTANT!!!*****

Below is a list of commands we use at Rootsweb. These commands are very
simple to understand:

TO SUBSCRIBE:

Mail mode - means that you will receive every posting made to the
MICHEBOY list as a separate e-mail. Send the command to subscribe to:



Put nothing except the word ‘subscribe' [no quotes, just the word] on
the top line of the message part of your e-mail.

=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=

Digest mode - means you'll receive all the postings in one large
message. Send the command to subscribe to:



Put nothing except the word ‘subscribe' [no quotes, just the word] on
the top line of the message part of your e-mail.

NOTE: Digests for the MICHEBOY-L list are set to be released every 12
hours OR once they have reached a total 20,000 bytes. Your receiving the
digest may be on a daily or weekly basis, depending on the amount of
traffic on the list. If there is a lot of traffic [messages], receiving
the digest will be more frequent than if there were only three or four
messages a day.

=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=

TO UNSUBSCRIBE:

In the mail mode: send the command to unsubscribe to:



Put nothing except the word ‘unsubscribe' [no quotes, just the word] on
the top line of the message part of your e-mail.

=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=

In the digest mode: send the command to unsubscribe to:



Put nothing except the word ‘unsubscribe' [no quotes, just the word] on
the top line of the message part of your e-mail.

=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=

TO CHANGE FROM ONE MAIL METHOD TO THE OTHER:

Unsubscribe yourself from whichever mail method you are currently using,
and subscribe yourself to the other one.

=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=

TO POST MESSAGES TO THE LIST:

ALL messages should be posted to even if you are
subscribed to the digest mode. Messages posted to
will come out in both the mail mode and the digest.

Please, try to always use a helpful subject line rather than a generic
one. Let your subject line speak as a brief introduction to the
contents of your message.

This mailing list is not moderated. Any mail sent to
will automatically be sent to everyone on the
list. Any time you receive something from the MICHEBOY-L list, hitting
the reply button will send the message back to the list.

=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=~~=

IF YOU GO ON VACATION, ETC.

Please, please, please unsubscribe yourself, then subscribe again when
you return.


«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»

I hope I've covered everything! :) If you've made it this far without
falling asleep, then I thank you for reading it all. My attempts to get
you filled-in have not gone to waste.

CONTACTING ME

I'd also like you all to know that I do my best to answer email
promptly. However, my best intentions are usually thrown askew. I'm
discussion coordinator for 90 other email lists, webmistress for two
domains and 9 websites, 30 Rootsweb message boards, and I'm currently
working on my second book. Please, be sure to IDENTIFY THE LIST YOU'RE
ON WHEN YOU EMAIL ME because with so many people, I have trouble keeping
track of who is in which research group.

I also have an adoring husband and 5 kids (2 teenagers still at home)
meaning, a home life. Hence, I have a very full plate here. Please be
patient if you email me and I'll do my best to respond within a
reasonable amount of time. (at the present, "current" = about 2 weeks;
sometimes sooner)

I wish you all good luck in your research!

Colleen Pustola
Discussion Coordinator

This thread:

• [MICHEBOY] PLEASE READ: LIST GUIDELINES by Colleen Pustola <>