Modified: Sat 12/25/99 9:53 AM (While waiting for my kids to get up!)
Most messages having to do with genealogy are acceptable, if they aren't too long... Suitable topics include (but aren't limited to) information from your own research and requests for assistance from others; reviews, criticism, and questions about software and hardware used in connection with genealogy; and messages about good places to find genealogy information, be those places bookstores, libraries, or the Internet. Not OK: Messages over 10K in length (that's 150 to 200 lines, usually) unless they are likely to be of very general interest. A 900 line descendancy chart from Jacob Zigler isn't likely to be of general interest -- instead post the first few generations and offer to e-mail the rest to interested parties. Not OK: "Surname signatures". All ROOTS-L messages are archived. Because of the way "surname signatures" (those cute lists of surnames that people like to append to the bottom of their messages) interact with the archive search, we cannot accept messages that include them. Please, when posting to ROOTS-L, leave them off. (There is some middle ground. See the roots-l.welcome2 file for more about searching the archive and roots-l.welcome1 for tips on how you can tell the group about the surnames you're researching even if you don't use a surname signature. There are directions below on how to obtain these files, though if you've just subscribed, they're being sent to you already under separate cover.) Not OK: Copyrighted material (which includes private e-mail from others, articles transcribed out of modern newspapers, extracts from most CD-ROMs, etc) also cannot be accepted for posting to ROOTS-L. (What you send by private e-mail is your own business, of course.) Not OK: Flames, that is, derogatory or insulting personal comments on another person's opinions or statements. If you have a philosophical disagreement, please handle it privately. And need it be said that even there, derogatory or insulting personal comments are hardly appropriate? Not OK: Commercial posts (except for brief one-time product announcements) are inappropriate and will not be accepted. Messages for this list are pre-screened. That is, postings submitted to the list are first looked at by a volunteer team of screeners before being sent on to all the readers. The purpose is filter out messages accidentally sent to ROOTS-L, such as mailing list commands, messages written in code, digests quoted in their entirety, etc. and also to to encourage compliance with the above guidelines. In general, the screeners won't fix up your spelling or grammar nor will they ask you to do so, nor will they "pretty" up your message: what you send will usually be posted just as you sent it. This typically adds at most a few hours to the time between when you send your message and when it is distributed to ROOTS-L. Yet more information ==================== Probably the best way to get started with ROOTS-L is to read the other welcome files and then to watch the message traffic for a week or two to get familiar with the practices, the culture, and the ambiance of the group. "When in Rome," as they say. ;-) So, what's in these other welcome files and how do you get copies of them? If you've just subscribed, sit tight, they're being sent to you. Otherwise, send e-mail to [email protected], put the word "archive" (without the quotation marks) in the subject line, and as the message include the commands get roots-l.welcome1 get roots-l.welcome2 get roots-l.welcome3 Do =not= include your signature or anything else besides the commands. File Contents roots-l.welcome - Overview of ROOTS-L - Posting guidelines roots-l.welcome1 - Surname lists in signatures and other netiquette issues - Getting started with your family research roots-l.welcome2 - SmartList commands for use with ROOTS-L - Searching the archived messages - Why subscriptions sometimes get deleted roots-l.welcome3 - The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) files - The genealog files - The family files Most of these files are also available via anonymous FTP from ftp.cac.psu.edu, in the directory /pub/genealogy/roots-l. Or if you have access to the World Wide Web (WWW), there are links to them from the ROOTS-L pages at http://www.rootsweb.com/roots-l/roots-l.html. Step-by-step instructions for FTP and WWW access have not been provided because there are so many different systems and interfaces in use among the participants in this group. If you require more detailed information the best (and perhaps only) people to ask are those at your site. There are many things to learn as you start using ROOTS-L. Just take it slowly. It can be quite an adventure? ;-) And welcome aboard! (They don't call this a WELCOME file for nothing.)