I've been asked by Lisa to post this, and I think it well worth the effort.
I'd received it on another of my lists, and hope that you all will take it
in the spirit it's given.
I believe it has been on several lists, but will do my part in promoting
"good will".
Thanks.....
Mari
For those of you who are veteran's of Rootsweb email lists, this might
be old information to you. But, for those of you who haven't been a
subscriber during the holidays, let me prepare you for what is about to
occur. Starting tonight, Santa, Kris Kringle, mom and dad, grandma and
grandpa, brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles, etc. will be delivering
new computers, internet service, software, and misc. genealogy gifts
world-wide. With that in mind, we will be having an influx of new
subscribers to the lists. This is GOOD! And, in an indirect way a
Christmas present for all of us. You will see new cousins, friends, and
contacts coming on-line, joining email lists, posting surnames to
databases, and asking all those questions you have seen posted so many
times.
Therefore, I ask that all of you welcome the "newbies" to our lists,
have patience with them, help them, send them in the right direction,
and refrain from using a lot of initials and abbreviations in your
responses. When discussing the FHC, lets all take a couple of seconds
to type "Family History Center," and give an explanation of who, what,
where, when. . ." And, don't assume that EVERYONE knows what it is, or
has one near them. Let's eliminate initials and abbreviations in
our posts until the end of January.
I can't stress enough how important your patience, compassion, and help
is needed for the next month or two. Mistakes will be made, (like
posting a message that is blank, or no subject line, or leaving entire
digests in replies) and questions will be asked like "What is the FHC,
what is the SSDI, what is, can you explain, where do find, etc.
Remember that these were once OUR errors and OUR questions. We were all
new once, and many current subscribers are still learning, so let's
continue the spirit of the season throughout the year. I won't tolerate
rudeness or flip answers on the lists. Email lists are about helping
those who help you, and even helping those that don't! Let's be
specific and clear in our responses to folks, and give a little extra in
explanations.
Also keep in mind that new subscribers may know nothing about computers,
the internet, and genealogy, resulting in many extremely inexperienced
researchers. If I see questions regarding computers, software, etc., I
will handle them privately, and I request the same of all of you.
Remember these new researchers may have tons of information relating to
a link in our own family tree, so let's be as cordial, helpful and
informative as we can be!