SEARCH or BROWSE the mailing list archines for your family
Surnames to read past postings. See how to below.
Fred
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Excerpt from:
RootsWeb Review, Vol. 5, No. 38, 18 September 2002
Vol. 5, No. 38, Cir: 1,053,211+
http://www.rootsweb.com/
1a. Marvelous Mailing Lists. Many of us use e-mail to communicate with
others who are doing genealogical research on a surname, locality, or
topic of mutual interest. We often copy multiple friends, family members
and other researchers when discussing these subjects. However, prolonged
discussions can become unwieldy as the group grows and the e-mail
addresses of group members constantly change.
It was from this concept of shared discussion among individuals with
common research interests that the idea of Mailing Lists was born. The
first and largest genealogy Mailing List, ROOTS-L, was started in 1987.
Today there are many types of Mailing Lists at RootsWeb and elsewhere
covering almost every subject imaginable.
RootsWeb Mailing Lists are all free and cover a wide variety of
genealogy-related topics. There are lists dealing with surnames,
various geographic locations, or a variety of topics such as ethnic,
religious, or occupational groups, lists that offer census lookups, or
even lists devoted exclusively to the descendants of a specific
ancestor. There are lists to provide help with the use of RootsWeb
resources, help with genealogy and computer software programs, and
general computer and Internet help with the goal of assisting you in
your genealogical research. Mailing Lists are also available for the
use of the various volunteer organizations hosted by RootsWeb.
RootsWeb lists use a software program called SmartList to process
requests to subscribe and unsubscribe, to manage the subscriber list,
and to handle the distribution of mail to list members. All RootsWeb
lists are "closed" lists, which means that only a Mailing List
subscriber may post a message. Having closed Mailing Lists helps to
ensure that they remain spam-free and secure. RootsWeb Mailing Lists do
not permit attachments and limit all messages to plain text -- ensuring
that viruses and malicious code cannot make their way to the Mailing
List subscribers via the list itself.
Volunteer Mailing List administrators manage most of RootsWeb's more
than 25,500 lists. List administrators set their own rules for the lists
within the bounds of RootsWeb's AUP (Acceptable Use Policy). Mailing
Lists often develop a personality or atmosphere of their own as a result
of the management style of the administrator and the contributions of
the members. Some lists, such as those for rare surnames, have only a
few members and limited, but vital discussion, while other lists have
thousands of subscribers with hundreds of messages posted every day.
Often researchers decide whether to subscribe to a list in mail mode or
digest mode based on the number of messages they receive from the list
on a daily basis.
Subscribing to Mailing Lists gives you access to the knowledge of expert
list members on the subjects the lists cover, such as what records are
available in a specific locality during a specific time period and
where and how to obtain copies, or what records were maintained by a
specific religious group. Most lists have long-time subscribers who are
willing and able to answer your queries or to direct you to someone who
can. Mailing Lists put you in touch with others looking for the same
information and those who are willing to share their knowledge. Mailing
Lists encourage in-depth discussion within the group, and joining a
Mailing List often leads to finding new cousins. RootsWeb's Mailing
Lists are listed under these categories: Surnames, U.S.A. (locality
specific), International, and Other.
You can subscribe and unsubscribe from a Mailing List at any time as
your needs and interests change. While subscribed to a list, you may
post messages for distribution to all list subscribers and you will
receive copies of all messages posted by the other list members. You may
subscribe in regular mail or list mode (almost always designated by: -L)
and receive a single copy of each individual message sent by other list
members to the list, or in what's called digest mode (almost always: -D)
and receive a digest -- a collection of several messages lumped together
into one e-mail.
See Section 5 for information about brand-new Mailing Lists at RootsWeb.
To find and join the RootsWeb's Mailing Lists that meet your needs
click on the Mailing Lists tab near the top of the RootsWeb Home Page
http://www.rootsweb.com
or go to:
http://lists.rootsweb.com/
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5. Mailing Lists at RootsWeb
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For more information and an index to the more than 25,500 RootsWeb-
hosted genealogy mailing lists and easy subscribing options, go to:
http://lists.rootsweb.com/
To request a new mailing list:
http://resources.rootsweb.com/adopt/
MAILING LISTS. For an index to more than 25,500 RootsWeb-
hosted genealogy mailing lists, visit
http://lists.rootsweb.com/
To subscribe or unsubscribe to/from any RootsWeb-hosted mailing list,
send a plain text (not HTML) e-mail message with only the word
SUBSCRIBE (or UNSUBSCRIBE) in the message body and the subject line to:
[name of list]-L-request(a)rootsweb.com (for mail mode) or to:
[name of list]-D-request(a)rootsweb.com (for digest mode)