Hello, folks,
I've been using the Rootsweb lists so long that I tend to assume that
everyone know how to make the most of them. On the other hand, when I wake
up and smell the coffee, I know that isn't true. So here's a few user tips
I hope you find helpful.
If you have any questions, or have difficulty using Rootsweb lists, please
feel free to contact me individually at GFTL(a)bluemarble.net.
Randi
TIPS
1. If you are a member of the list, you can share with the list. To do so,
either reply to what you have seen on a list by clicking on the box marked
Reply. If your response is a new topic, remember to change the information
on the subject line. To initiate a new e-mail to the list, address it to
IN-South-Central(a)rootsweb.com. Remember to include a subject line.
2. In order to avoid e-mail that contain viruses, Rootsweb does not permit
any graphics on any list. If you have found something online that you want
to share, send a link to the website in your e-mail. Again, in order to
avoid any virus, Rootsweb typically does not permit hot links so you will
need to cut and past the website address into the URL. In the 11 years I've
been actively involved with Rootsweb, I've never once been infected with a
virus from e-mails sent via their lists.
3. Everything sent to a Rootsweb list is archived. To access the archive,
go to the home page at
www.Rootsweb.com. Click on Archives Search, a
subheading under Mailing Lists. This pulls up two tabs: one marked Keyword
and the other Advanced. Click on advanced. Select the name of the list you
would like to search, e.g., the IN-South-Central. In the query box marked
body, type in the word or word of interest to you. You may choose to put
quotation marks around some words in which case matches will have those
particular words only when they appear in the order you have selected. If
you fail to type in the name of the list you want to search, the search
parameters will include more than 32,000 lists hosted by Rootsweb.
4. Don't limit your use of the archives to just the IN-South-Central.
Rootsweb hosts more than 32,000 lists including many surnames, topics and
every county in every state. The county and state lists are all set up the
same way using the two-letter postal abbreviation of the state in
combination with the first six letters of the county name. For example, the
Washington County, Indiana, Rootsweb list is INWASHIN. If the county name
is less than six letter, use them all such as INMONROE.
5. The IN-South-Central is set up to receive e-mail with a length 40K or
less. If your e-mail is longer than 40K, it will bounce to the big Rootsweb
computer in the sky who will then forward it to me. I will only be able to
see a bit of what you sent, so it is sometimes hard for me to know if what
you sent was appropriate and needs to be cut down or spam sent by a
non-member. If you have something lengthy, you might consider sending it in
parts.
6. Occasionally I need to address issues with the list unrelated to
genealogy specifically. In those instances, my e-mail will always show the
word Administrative in the subject line.