Technical Terms and Rules of S-H-ROOTS [S-H-RTS]

Erklärung von Fachbegriffen und Regeln

List owner: Hans Peter Voss, Schleswig-Holstein
E-mail addresses: Hans-Peter.Voss@t-online.de
                                SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN-ROOTS-admin@rootsweb.com

What is a mailing list?
A mailing list is made up of a group of individuals (subscribers) who have decided to subscribe in order to discuss a specific subject via e-mail. Messages addressed to the list are distributed automatically by software to all participants who have subscribed to this list. Such subscribers may be located in any country world-wide.

Who operates a mailing list?
Mailing lists are operated by owners/administrators. That individual determines the rules that govern the list. The technical parameters of a list are guaranteed by the server, in this case Rootsweb.

What is the difference between an open and a closed mailing list?
In an open list even non-subscribers may send messages to the list; however, they do not receive a reply automatically, it has to be redirected to them manually. In a closed list only subscribers may send messages to all members.

Is SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN-ROOTS an open list or a closed one?
SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN-ROOTS is a closed list.

What is "List Mode"?
If you subscribe to the List Mode, each message addressed to the mailing list is forwarded to you by separate mail.

How can I subscribe to the "List Mode"?
You subscribe by sending an e-mail to:
SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN-ROOTS-L-request@rootsweb.com
Under subject you write "subscribe" only. In the body you may mention subscribe again but without additional wording. Please disable your signature beforehand. You may subscribe only under the e-mail address to which mailing list messages are to be addressed. Once you have subscribed correctly you will receive an AUTOMATIC confirmation. Please study it carefully and save it as a reference.

How can I cancel my list mode subscription?
You can cancel by sending an e-mail to:
SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN-ROOTS-L-request@rootsweb.com
Under subject you write "unsubscribe" only. In the body you may mention unsubscribe again but without additional wording. Please disable your signature beforehand . You may unsubscribe only under the e-mail address under which you subscribed. You may not unsubscribe by sending a message to the list as such or by replying to a list message. Once you have unsubscribed correctly you will receive an automatic confirmation.

How do I send a message in list mode?
Please direct any message to the mailing list to:
SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN-ROOTS-L@rootsweb.com
Please do not use the "request" address. Furthermore, please read the guidelines mentioned below regarding appropriate or inappropriate messages to the mailing list.

How do I reply to a message as a subscriber to the list mode?
SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN-ROOTS-L has been programmed in such a fashion that replies to the list are channeled directly back to the mailing list. If you wish to reply to a list message, all you have to do is click on the reply button of your mail software. In case your reply is not of general interest it is preferable that you send your comments directly to the author of the original message.

What is SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN-ROOTS-D?
This is the digest mode of this mailing list. If you subscribe to it you will receive all individual messages to the mailing list in one e-mail. This digest is dispatched once a day or as soon as a certain number of messages to the list has been surpassed, whichever occurs first.

How do I subscribe to the digest mode?
You subscribe be sending an e-mail to:
SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN-ROOTS-D-request@rootsweb.com
Under subject you write "subscribe" only. In the body you may mention subscribe again but without additional wording. Please disable your signature beforehand. You may subscribe only under the e-mail address to which mailing list messages are to be addressed. Once you have subscribed correctly you will receive an AUTOMATIC confirmation. Please study it carefully and save it as a reference.

How can I cancel my subscription to the digest mode?
You can cancel by sending an e-mail to:
SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN-ROOTS-D-request@rootsweb.com
Under subject you write "unsubscribe" only. In the body you may mention unsubscribe again but without additional wording. Please disable your signature beforehand. You may unsubscribe only under the e-mail address under which you subscribed. You may not unsubscribe by sending a message to the list as such or by replying to a list message. Once you have unsubscribed correctly you will receive an automatic confirmation.

How do I send a message to the list as a subscriber to the digest mode?
Please direct any message to the mailing list to:
SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN-ROOTS-L@rootsweb.com
Please do not use the "request" address. Furthermore, please read the guidelines mentioned below regarding appropriate or inappropriate messages to the mailing list

How do I reply to a message as a subscriber to the digest mode?
Click on the reply function of your mail program. HOWEVER, please delete the original subject and insert a relevant one. If your reply is not of universal interest, please address it directly to the sender of the original message. Kindly note that before sending your reply you should delete the irrelevant portion of the original message because your mail program tends to repeat the complete original text.

What is the location of such-and-such a place?
Who can tell me how to find the place ...?
Please visit: Search for places in Germany

Is there an general FAQ for Germany available?

Yes, there is a  FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) list, which was written to help genealogists who are interested in German and German-American genealogy. It is oriented to those who are getting started, either with genealogy or with the Internet. "German" here means the German language, so this list should be useful for researchers of German, German-American, Austrian, Swiss, Alsatian, Luxembourger, Liechtensteiner, and Eastern European German genealogy. Please visit:  General FAQ for Germany

RULES of the SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN-ROOTS mailing list

Which language may I use?
For the SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN ROOTS list you may write in English or in German.

How large can my message be?
Messages should not exceed 10 KB

Can my membership in the mailing list be cancelled?
Yes, the list owner/administrator is entitled to exclude you from the list if you disobey the rules or directives of the administrator.

What are appropriate subjects for this mailing list?
Genealogical or historical questions and information concerning the Province of SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN.
You are entitled to publish the URL of your home page, but send any updates only occasionally. Too frequent updates may be considered SPAM by the list owner and can lead to cancellation of your subscription.

What are inappropriate contents for this mailing list?
Subjects not mentioned above. This list is not the spot for advertising messages, jokes, virus alerts, "me too" and similar useless notes. Do not send daily updates of your web pages. For a number of reasons, try to adhere to the objectives of the list. Please do not send test e-mails or queries whether you are enrolled. Address service questions, comments, critics etc. to the list owner at SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN-ROOTS-admin@rootsweb.com 
Non observance of these rules may lead to cancellation.

May I add calling cards or comments after my message?
No, this is not acceptable at SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN-ROOTS.

Actual names of subscribers
All subscribers should state their actual name at least at the end of the message. It may be helpful to other subscribers when sending their replies if you quote your country and/or city of residence within your message.

Can I include attachments with my message?
No, attachments of any kind may not be used in this list. This includes electronic calling cards (vcard) and similar material. You may offer this within direct mail addressed to the individual's personal address.

When one of my messages is returned by the list it may be preceded by strange notes concerning HTML. I did not write this, what caused it?
The mailing list does not accept any HTML commands. As a result, the Rootsweb server has converted your message to pure text (.txt) and that is the reason for the initial comments. Preferably, you should cancel the HTML option within your mail program and send text only.

I do not care for the tone in which a message was conceived. What can I do?
Send a personal note to the sender or notify the list owner.

I have a suggestion, a complaint or a favourable comment. How should I handle this?
Send a personal note to the list owner or the person you wish to address. You can reach the list owner at: SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN-ROOTS-admin@rootsweb.com

I posed a question and somebody answered. What do I do next?
Thank the respondent personally, not over the list. Each one who sent you an answer deserves an individual thank you note, not a general one via the list. The worst thing you can do is to fail to thank the respondent; you will find that helpful sources fade away if you fail to thank them.

I noticed that the subject line does not correspond to the contents of the message. How come?
When you use the reply function, the e-mail program automatically adds the original subject line preceded by Re:. In the course of a discussion back and forth people tend to digress. In that case the subject line should be adjusted to avoid that interested readers delete what they consider irrelevant mail. Thus, you might miss a chance directing important information to the proper parties.

May I CAPITALIZE my message?
This style is unusual and frowned upon. Capital letters in the Internet are considered shouting. Please use the customary method of capital and small letters. There is one exception, mentioned hereunder:

How do I quote family names in a message?
Typically, last or family names are inserted into the text in capital letters. This enhances the visibility of this important information and applies to the subject line as well.

Are the messages of this list archived?
Yes, Rootsweb servers archive all mailing lists.
You can search the SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN-ROOTS by date (month/year) at:
http://archiver.rootsweb.com/tj/index/SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN-ROOTS/
or search the archive by specific name at:
http://listsearches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl?list=SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN-ROOTS

I am indebted to Mr. Mike Pantel for his kind assistance by giving his permission to use portions of his (German) text from FAQ-BADEN-WUERTTEMBERG for creating this page.

I am indepted to Mr. Juergen P. Schultz, Canada, for the translation of the German text into an English text.

Copyright November, 2003 Hans Peter Voss, list owner of SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN-ROOTS

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