The GEN-NYS-L Mailing List Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) by Marc Nozell v1.03 Copyright (c) 1996, Marc Nozell This is the The GEN-NYS-L Mailing List Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and should answer most of your questions about the ``Genealogy in New York State'' mailing list. If you have additional questions that are not addressed, then please send me mail at nozell@rootsweb.com ______________________________________________________________________ Table of Contents: 1. What is the purpose of GEN-NYS-L? 2. Subscriptions to the list 2.1. How much does it cost to join the list? 2.2. How do I subscribe? 2.3. How do I unsubscribe? 2.4. Can I subscribe in a Digest mode? 2.5. What is the difference between Digest mode and the normal? Is there any difference between the GEN-NYS-L and GEN-NYS-L-DIGEST lists? 2.6. I'm currently subscribed, how do I convert to digest mode? 3. Who is the list owner? What does he get paid for this position? 4. Using the GEN-NYS-L mailing list 4.1. How do I post to the list? 4.2. Where can I read the old GEN-NYS-L messages? 4.3. How do I send a query? 4.4. When should I reply to the entire mailing list and when should I reply to just the individual? 4.5. What can/should I send to the list? 4.6. How do I get the more recent version of the FAQ? 4.6.1. Via the Web 4.6.2. Via email 4.7. How do I search the email archives? 5. Surfing the web 5.1. Where is the offical GEN-NYS-L web page? 5.2. Are there any other NY genealogy related web pages? 5.3. How can I find out what newspapers are available on microfilm at the New York State Library? 6. Are there other mailing lists I can join? ______________________________________________________________________ 11.. WWhhaatt iiss tthhee ppuurrppoossee ooff GGEENN--NNYYSS--LL?? The purpose of the ``Genealogy in New York State'' (GEN-NYS-L) mailing list is to band together those genealogists (amateur and professional) whose research is in _N_e_w _Y_o_r_k _S_t_a_t_e, so that we can share experiences, examine sources, give advice, make suggestions that others may find the information they are seeking. 22.. SSuubbssccrriippttiioonnss ttoo tthhee lliisstt This section covers how to join and leave the list and some background information. 22..11.. HHooww mmuucchh ddooeess iitt ccoosstt ttoo jjooiinn tthhee lliisstt?? Like most mailing lists on the internet, joining and participating in GEN-NYS-L is free. However, I would like to suggest, buy no means require, that you consider joining the RootsWeb Genealogy Data Cooperative which runs the machines that host the GEN-NYS-L mailing list. You will find the Supporter and Sponsor levels are very reasonable and provide some added benefits. For more information, see the web page: http://www.rootsweb.com 22..22.. HHooww ddoo II ssuubbssccrriibbee?? This mailing list is managed by the SmartList software which is different than other mailing lists managed by Majordomo or LISTSERV. To subscribe, send mail to GEN-NYS-L-request@rootsweb.com and put just the one word SUBSCRIBE in the body of message. Every mail client is different, but your message should look something like this: ______________________________________________________________________ To: GEN-NYS-L-request@rootsweb.com Subject: SUBSCRIBE ______________________________________________________________________ Be sure not to put anything after that one word. If your mailer automatically includes a ``signature'', be sure to turn it off before you send the message. If you find you can't handle the number of messages sent by the list, you may want to consider switching to the Digest version of the list. 22..33.. HHooww ddoo II uunnssuubbssccrriibbee?? This mailing list is managed by the SmartList software which is different than other mailing lists managed by Majordomo or LISTSERV. To unsubscribe, send mail to GEN-NYS-L-request@rootsweb.com and put just the one word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of message. Every mail client is different, but your message should look something like this: ______________________________________________________________________ To: GEN-NYS-L-request@rootsweb.com Subject: UNSUBSCRIBE ______________________________________________________________________ Be sure not to put anything after that one word. If your mailer automatically includes a ``signature'', be sure to turn it off before you send the message. 22..44.. CCaann II ssuubbssccrriibbee iinn aa DDiiggeesstt mmooddee?? If you are currently subscribed to the non-digest version of the list, first unsubscribe then subscribe to the digest version. To unsubscribe, send mail to GEN-NYS-L-DIGEST-request@rootsweb.com and put just the one word SUBSCRIBE in the body of message. Every mail client is different, but your message should look something like this: ______________________________________________________________________ To: GEN-NYS-L-DIGEST-request@rootsweb.com Subject: SUBSCRIBE ______________________________________________________________________ Be sure not to put anything after that one word. If your mailer automatically includes a ``signature'', be sure to turn it off before you send the message. 22..55.. WWhhaatt iiss tthhee ddiiffffeerreennccee bbeettwweeeenn DDiiggeesstt mmooddee aanndd tthhee nnoorrmmaall?? IIss tthheerree aannyy ddiiffffeerreennccee bbeettwweeeenn tthhee GGEENN--NNYYSS--LL aanndd GGEENN--NNYYSS--LL--DDIIGGEESSTT lliissttss?? While they are technically different mailing lists, both GEN-NYS-L and GEN-NYS-L-DIGEST are the same in terms of the messages they contain. The only difference is the way they are distributed to you. If you subscribe to GEN-NYS-L, for every message someone sends to the group, you get a message. However, if you subscribe to GEN-NYS-L-DIGEST, a number of messages are bundled up and put into one digest message before it is sent to you. Some people prefer this way because it cuts down on the number of messages they get in their inbox. It really just comes down to a matter of personal preference -- just pick one. 22..66.. II''mm ccuurrrreennttllyy ssuubbssccrriibbeedd,, hhooww ddoo II ccoonnvveerrtt ttoo ddiiggeesstt mmooddee?? If you are currently subscribed to the non-digest version of the list, first unsubscribe from GEN-NYS-L and then subscribe to the digest version (GEN-NYS-L-DIGEST). 33.. WWhhoo iiss tthhee lliisstt oowwnneerr?? WWhhaatt ddooeess hhee ggeett ppaaiidd ffoorr tthhiiss ppoossiittiioonn?? Marc Nozell is the list owner for GEN-NYS-L and GEN-NYS-L-DIGEST. Send him mail if you have completely read this FAQ and still have problems. His preferred email address is: nozell@rootsweb.com, but nozell@wildcat.mv.com or nozell@zko.dec.com will also work. Do I get paid for this? Ha! Like most other mailing list owners, I support GEN-NYS-L and associated web page on my own time with my own money. I do it because I'm working on tracing my New York ancestors, it is a way to make the internet a better and more useful place, and I enjoy doing it (usually ;-) 44.. UUssiinngg tthhee GGEENN--NNYYSS--LL mmaaiilliinngg lliisstt 44..11.. HHooww ddoo II ppoosstt ttoo tthhee lliisstt?? Mail sent to GEN-NYS-L@rootsweb.com is delivered to all the subscribers on the GEN-NYS-L and GEN-NYS-L-DIGEST lists. 44..22.. WWhheerree ccaann II rreeaadd tthhee oolldd GGEENN--NNYYSS--LL mmeessssaaggeess?? Use a web browser to open the location: http://www.rootsweb.com/~nozell/gen-nys-l.html And follow the links to the archives. The mailing list owner tries to update the archives towards the beginning of each month. If you don't see last month's archives, pester the list owner. 44..33.. HHooww ddoo II sseenndd aa qquueerryy?? You first need to be subscribed to the GEN-NYS-L mailing list. Send mail to GEN-NYS-L@rootsweb.com, make sure you have a reasonable subject line (e.g. ``Claudius SMITH, Orange Co'') and provide enough information that someone can be of help. Be sure to include your return email address and your real name. Some mailers don't properly display a return email address, so this is very important. Also including your real name is just a nice thing to do. No one likes chatting with someone known only as ``SAMJ46198@AOL.COM'' or ``71234.987@compuserve.com'' 44..44.. WWhheenn sshhoouulldd II rreeppllyy ttoo tthhee eennttiirree mmaaiilliinngg lliisstt aanndd wwhheenn sshhoouulldd II rreeppllyy ttoo jjuusstt tthhee iinnddiivviidduuaall?? There are no hard and fast rules, but generally speaking, if you think your reply would be of help to someone else on the list, then post it to the entire list. Otherwise, just send it to the original person. If you pose a question and get quite a lot of feedback, you may want to send a message to the list with a summary of the information. 44..55.. WWhhaatt ccaann//sshhoouulldd II sseenndd ttoo tthhee lliisstt?? Anything that is related to genealogy *and* New York State is fair game. NOTE: Short one-time commercial messages advertising services or products are allowed if they are of particular interest to the group. But please, no email spamming. +o Don't post large messages. +o Don't post binary files (ie: MS Word files, zip files, etc) +o Don't post flames (please use person-to-person mail for personal attacks :-) +o Don't post copy-written material unless you own the copyright or the copyright allows for redistribution. 44..66.. HHooww ddoo II ggeett tthhee mmoorree rreecceenntt vveerrssiioonn ooff tthhee FFAAQQ?? There are two ways go get the latest copy. 44..66..11.. VViiaa tthhee WWeebb Visit the URL: http://www.rootsweb.com/~nozell/gen-nys-l/FAQ This FAQ is also available in other formats. +o Simple ASCII text -- http://www.rootsweb.com/~nozell/gen-nys- l/FAQ/GEN-NYS-L.txt +o Postscript -- http://www.rootsweb.com/~nozell/gen-nys-l/FAQ/GEN- NYS-L.ps +o RTF (suitable for importing into various word processors) -- http://www.rootsweb.com/~nozell/gen-nys-l/FAQ/GEN-NYS-L.rtf and http://www.rootsweb.com/~nozell/gen-nys-l/FAQ/GEN-NYS-L-0.rtf 44..66..22.. VViiaa eemmaaiill Send a mail message to GEN-NYS-L-request@rootsweb.com that has a subject line of archive and in the body of the message are just the words ``get GEN-NYS-L.FAQ''. Every mail client is different, but your message should look something like this: ______________________________________________________________________ To: GEN-NYS-L-request@rootsweb.com Subject: archive get GEN-NYS-L.FAQ ______________________________________________________________________ Remember that case is important. In a few minutes you will get a copy of the FAQ and confirmation of the request. 44..77.. HHooww ddoo II sseeaarrcchh tthhee eemmaaiill aarrcchhiivveess?? All the email messages that have been posted to GEN-NYS-L since its transition to rootsweb.com (August 1996) are available for review by email. It is also possible to automatically request a copy of the latest and greatest version of the GEN-NYS-L.FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) Every mail client is different, but your message should look something like this: ______________________________________________________________________ To: GEN-NYS-L-request@rootsweb.com Subject: archive ls latest/* egrep ^Subject: latest/* egrep http latest/* get latest/750 ______________________________________________________________________ Okay, so what does that all mean? The ``ls'' command will return a directory listing of all the old messages in the latest/ subdirectory where is where all the old email message are kept. The file names are pretty uninteresting, they are simply numbers that correspond to the the order that they arrived. The first egrep line means ``search all the files in the latest directory for the lines that start with the string Subject:'' You can then request (``get latest/123'') those files that look interesting. The second egrep line searches all the old messages for the string ``http'' so it should list all the files that contain references to web sites. The get command means send you the file 750 in the subdirectory latest/. It happens to be a posting of mine about how to use the RSL. 55.. SSuurrffiinngg tthhee wweebb 55..11.. WWhheerree iiss tthhee ooffffiiccaall GGEENN--NNYYSS--LL wweebb ppaaggee?? The URL for the web page is: http://www.rootsweb.com/~nozell/gen-nys-l.html Some GEN-NYS-L ``old timers'' or people using web search engines may also be familiar with the old URL (http://www.mv.com/ipusers/wildcat/gen-nys-l.html), while this currently is identical to what is on www.rootsweb.com, it will eventually go away. 55..22.. AArree tthheerree aannyy ootthheerr NNYY ggeenneeaallooggyy rreellaatteedd wweebb ppaaggeess?? The USGenWeb project has a New York State web page: http://www.rootsweb.com/~nygenweb/ In additional to providing original information, it contains a number of pointer to other NY research web sites. I urge everyone to take a look at this execellent page and consider contributing time, informa- tion or expertise. Kim Harris Myers is the coordinator for NYS Genealogy Web page. 55..33.. HHooww ccaann II ffiinndd oouutt wwhhaatt nneewwssppaappeerrss aarree aavvaaiillaabbllee oonn mmiiccrrooffiillmm aatt tthhee NNeeww YYoorrkk SSttaattee LLiibbrraarryy?? A list of the Early American Newspaper Collection (one file for each of 21 states) may be found at gopher://unix2.nysed.gov:70/00/nyslpubs/ea.newspaper.coll/ A separate list for the microfilm collected by the New York State Newspaper Project (one file for each county) may be found at gopher://unix2.nysed.gov:70/00/nyslpubs/nys.newspaper/ 66.. AArree tthheerree ootthheerr mmaaiilliinngg lliissttss II ccaann jjooiinn?? There are a number of mailing lists on the internet and a fair number of them are genealogy related. The two best places to find other genealogy related lists is Vicki Lindsay's web page: http://www.eskimo.com/~chance/ and John Fuller's ``Genealogy Resources on Internet'': http://users.aol.com/johnf14246/gen_mail.html The original genealogy mailing list, ROOTS-L, is also run on rootsweb.com. Take a look at the rootsweb web page for more information: http://www.rootsweb.com/