Hi, everybody -- Joan explained so well, that I got her permission to
forward. Another wonderful way that Rootsweb is improving, and making
our research easier and more effective!
"A couple weeks ago many of you who are subscribed to RootsWeb genealogy
mailing lists may have begun noticing something new popping up among
your
list messages.
"These messages start off with two lines showing where they were
originally
posted and giving you the URL where the message can originally be found.
"Posted on: Pennsylvania Dutch Queries
Board URL:
http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/USA/Pa/Dutch?read=xxxx
[This is just an example -- not an actual message.]
"This is a new feature being offered to help to integrate the GenConnect
Boards with the mailing lists for an allied subject (surname, locality,
etc.). Mailing list administrators can now opt to request that their
mailing
lists receive "gatewayed" messages--messages posted to a corresponding
GenConnect Board. When the list and board admininstrators agree to use
the
gateway all messages posted to selected "paired" boards are instantly
copied
in full to the "paired" list.
"If you should see these messages (identifiable by the inclusion of two
lines
similar to the ones I have copied above) on a mailing list you are
subscribed
to, and you wish to reply to the message, you should be aware that the
poster
of the message is most likely not subscribed to the list. Replies should
be
made on the board by going to the URL in the gatewayed message. Your
reply
on the board will then be "gatewayed" back to the list as well.
"Those of you who can click on the URL to access the message should do
so and
others (mainly AOL users) should copy and paste the URL into the browser
window. By replying on the board you ensure that the poster will see the
reply to the message they posted and also that the thread of the message
is
preserved on the board for the benefit of future researchers who may
find the
thread in a search.
"If the mailing lists you are subscribed to are not yet using the
GC-Gateway
and you think it would be a good idea, you may wish to contact the admin
for
your lists and let them know you are in favor of taking advantage of the
gateway. To contact any list admin write to:
LISTNAME-admin(a)rootsweb.com
(substituting the actual list name for the word LISTNAME). For example
the
Smith surname admin could be reached by writing to:
SMITH-admin(a)rootsweb.com.
"If a list you are subscribed to IS using the gateway and you had
previously
subscribed to receive notices whenever new messages are posted to the
board
involved in the gateway, you may wish to unsub from the board
notification--since this will now be a duplicate notice. To unsub from
the
board notices go to the board and scroll down to the Subscribe box. Type
or
paste in your email address and click on the button to "send address."
You
will receive a message saying "sorry to see you go."
***************************
Joan Young
joan(a)rootsweb.com
Newbie Coordinator
Admin Mentor
"How-To" Guru
The GenConnect Team
***************************