Mail lists can be very rewarding or very frustrating. The purpose of a mail list is first of all to learn how to research in particular areas of research, i.e. passenger lists, towns and last of all a surname. One must remember that from Eastern Europe there were many that moved to other countries. It may be possible that you will not connect with a cousin online. Most of us in the US that are researching are 2nd or 3rd generations born in this country. We should know most of our first and second cousins, and would most likely know if anyone within these age groups has done any type of research. If we do not, when we start contacting family, they will most likely tell you if anyone has done any research. Remember to ask if they know if anyone has done any family research. If they have, this is great, but remember you may very well be the first entering unexplored territory.
There are a couple of sites to use to locate mail lists. Rootsweb has one and John Fuller has another. Rootsweb just lists their own sites, and John lists many others plus all the ones that Rootsweb has available. John's site is called Genealogy Resources on the Internet. To get to the list that Rootsweb has click here: Rootweb Mail Lists. Rootsweb has over 8,000 surname lists. See if your surname is listed. There seem to be more and more Eastern European surnames being added as time progresses. Another way to talk via letters over the Internet is through newsgroups. Here's one you can try: Usenet Genealogy Newsgroups
There are protocols and certain behavior that is expected of members of mail lists. They are not a free-for-all, and you are expected to stick to genealogica and/or cultural topics. If you see a letter come across any particular mail list that you belong to as being off topic, please do not reply to it through the mail list. If you wish to correspond regarding that topic, feel free to write in private though. It's a good way to make friends on a list.
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GUIDELINES FOR MAILING LIST:
Do not send spam e-mail messages to mailing lists.
Do not send attachments (attached files) of any sort to mailing lists. This includes URL shortcuts, v-cards, GEDCOM files, zipped files, and any other type of attachment.
Do not forward virus hoaxes or chain letters to mailing lists.
Do not use HTML or RTF (rich text format) in messages sent to mailing lists.
Do not cross-post messages to multiple mailing lists on the "To:" line or the "Cc:" line of the e-mail message.
Do not send e-mail messages to mailing lists for which the topic is inappropriate.
Do not flame other members of the mailing list. Flaming means reprimanding anyone or ridiculing them. There is not any need for anyone to do anything like this. If you have a problem with anyone on a list, write in private to the listowner.
Be nice to one another.
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TIPS ON WRITING MESSAGES:
1. WHO: State the names in full as you know them and any variations of them.
2. WHEN: Give dates as you know them exactly. If you do not have exact dates use approximations like 1910 to 1919. Different things will have occurred in your family's history, like when they were born, when they moved, when they married, and when the passed away. This helps us help you if you know these things.
3. WHAT: Don't forget to ask a question. In order for us to assist you, we need to know for what you are searching, just exactly what do you want to know.
4. HOW: How your message appears is important. Do not use all little letters nor all CAPITAL letters when you type your letter. Use CAPITAL letters only when you type SURNAMES. This is a little procedure mail list users have developed to make it easy for us to spot surnames. Keep your query short and to the point.
5. WHERE: State where they came from even is it is just the country that you know. If you know the town and/or the province, give them also. If they moved to another area or country, please state that also and an approximate or exact time.
6. RELIGION: It's important to know the religion your ancestors practiced. We can refer you to sites that will help you in this area or research. State the religion if you know it.
7. GOALS: Your goals are to learn where your family came from, what religion they practiced and who they were. If you have your grandparents names, and they moved to the US or another country, you need to find out who the previous generation was that they left in Eastern Europe.
There are ways of obtaining all of this data. The more information you can pass on to the list, the more places we will be able to send you for your research. You will be learning how to research. Remember it takes lots of time. It may take months to get a reply to a letter from another country, but it will come. It takes a couple of months or more to get information from within the US from some government agencies.
Another thing to remember that people in different countries, and in some areas of the US, have to pay toll calls for their telephone even if it is a local number. In some places in the US you have to pay a long distance call to use a free email service, such as Juno. Keep your letters to the point. Thank you notes can be sent in private to people that help you. Please do remember to thank them, but do it in private to limit excess traffic on mail lists.
If you find that you have hit a brick wall, pull out all your old notes, and review them. If nothing clicks, put it all away, and come back to it with a fresh attitude at a later time when you are not frustrated. Sometimes we can stumble over notes over and over and not see the obvious. A fresh look at a later date can help you. |
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