Since we have more new members, it may be a good time to review this. HOW TO MAKE A GOOD POST 1) Start a new email. Address it to [email protected]
2) Subject: This is very important on this active list. Not everyone has time to read every message. Many people scan the subject headings and hit delete if the subject is of no interest. So if your subject says "Help Me" and the reader on the other end is busy, it will be deleted. Try to put your surname and island in the subject heading, if possible. Just enough to catch the eye. 3) Type what you know in the body, trying to put in the name, date, and place. If you are talking about your Maria de Mello in Massachusetts and you don't have the date, try a range like 1900-1920 or something. REPLYING TO A THREAD If there were a thread titled "Flores," you might be reading and following that thread. Read one of those emails on Flores and hit reply on your email. Type what you know about your Flores ancestor. Your info about your Flores ancestor will go out to all 900 people on this list. DON'T hit reply to the Flores thread and tell us about your Maria de Mello on Sao Miguel who went to MA between 1900-1920. But I just said that the email goes to 900 people. Yes, but many are 900 BUSY people who read the subject heading only. If they are researching Sao Miguel and you are posting to the Flores thread, they aren't reading the Flores thread, they are deleting it along with your info about Maria de Mello on Sao Miguel. SOME EXAMPLES 1) Title of thread or posting: Help me, I'm new 2) Body: My great-grandma was born in the Azores (possibly Pico). Where do I go from here? BETTER POSTING 1) Title: Silva, born possibly in Pico 2) Body: My ancestor, Maria da Silva, was born possibly on Pico, probably in the 1880s. Where do I go from here? (A name, date, and a place is a really good way to start on any genealogy list). ANOTHER EXAMPLE (responding to a thread/posting) 1) Title: Passaportes on the CCA Website 2) Body: Can someone look up my Manuel Furtado in the St. John's Cemetery book? Person posting should NOT be hitting reply to this thread. The St. John's Cemetery book has nothing to do with the Passaportes on the CCA Web site. Person posting needs to start a new email: 1) Title: St. John's Cemetery book 2) Body: Can someone look up my Manuel Furtado in the St. John's Cemetery book? He was b. XXXX and died YYYY. Hope this helps! Cheri Mello Listowner, Azores-Gen Researching: Vila Franca, Ponta Garca, Ribeira Quente, Ribeira das Tainhas, Achada -- To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. Follow the confirmation directions when they arrive. For more options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership."
