NEWGEN-L Archives

Archiver > NEWGEN > 1998-03 > 0890415371


From: Marlene <>
Subject: Suggestions for Posting
Date: Fri, 20 Mar 1998 11:36:11 -0600


Bill has let me post this to the list (he had a chance to edit first). If the rest of the list has other
suggestions for making this better, by all means let us all know.

This is a new list so let's make it enjoyable for most. Our main
reason for being here is to exchange
:questions and answers regarding genealogy and computers. These
suggestions are only meant to help you get an
:answer to a question and be able to have your replies read.
:There are lots of us on many lists and we receive a lot of
messages(sometimes well over a hundred). Since all
:messages can't be read in entirety, those that are unclear usually
get deleted before they are read. Don't let
:that happen to you. You know that what you post is important, so
make it understood.
:
:1. SUBJECT...This is probably the most important. State the
subject of your post. If it is a SURNAME(last
:name of person), put it in caps(ex. GIBSON). If it is some other
thing, try to make it clear what the message
:is about (ex. Help with downloading). Subjects like "Help" and
"Questions" and "none" can easily be deleted.
:We all want to help and be helped, but some of us don't have a lot
of time to do that. Make it easy and you
:will get more out of this.
:
:2. BODY of MESSAGE...If your message is about SURNAMES, please
list no more than six(6) at a time. Any more
:than that probably won't be read. Put in the time frame and area
where you want searched. (ex. GIBSON b.Sept.4
:1883 KY>MO>TX looking for his parents and siblings). Any format
will work, just fill in as much as you can to
:facilitate help.
:
:3. ANSWERING a POST...please repeat a portion of the original
post, so the recipient or anyone else reading
:the message, will know what it is about.(some of us don't remember
or never saw the original query)
:Please look at where your outgoing mail is going. If your reply
could be of interest to even one other person,
:reply to the list (on Netscape use " Re:All"). If your reply is to
only one other person PLEASE reply to them
:privately (on Netscape use "Re:Mail" on other servers, it could be
called "Re:Author")
:Posts that start out "Hi, Bob, that was great" or "I really agree
with you" are private posts. The rest of the
:list would appreciate NOT getting those. Just think about it..you
get your mail from your snail-mailbox and
:you open up thirty letters, only to find that they all are either
addressed to another person or you don't
:have a clue what they are about. Post privately to one who would
benefit. That is common courtesy.
:
:4. RE-CHECK your post before sending.(a) If you were the one
reading it for the first time..would you know
:exactly what you wanted? (b) is it going to the whole list, so
everyone has to read it or is it only going to
:the person who would want to see it?
:
:5. For those that really want to learn new skills..try a search
engine to get the answers to some of the
:basic questions. (this too is only a suggestion). In a search
engine you can type in a question and get
:multiple answers. Sometimes you can get answers to your questions
much faster than posting to the list. Here
:are two that are quite good. They can open up a whole new world(and
are fun to use).
:
:Metacrawler:
:http://www.metacrawler.com/
:
:Dogpile:
:http://www.dogpile.com/
:
6. If you get an answer to a query, please let the list know so we aren't all trying to do something that has
already been done.

:This is supposed to be a compatible group searching for answers to
our genealogy and computer questions with a
:little humor, etc. thrown in. These suggestions are only
that...suggestions. I think we all want the same
:thing here...to have a good place to ask questions and receive
answers. Let's treat each other the way we
:would like to be treated.

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