Mailing lists are a simple concept, really.  You join (subscribe to) a mailing list and as a result are sent copies of all messages posted to the list.  Some lists have a lot of traffic and some don't.  Some have hundreds of subscribers and some have only a handful.  You can be subscribed in list mode - where you receive each message separately - or you can subscribe in digest mode - where several messages are grouped together into one email and are sent periodically.  You can actively participate in the dialog on the list or you can "lurk" (be content to simply read the messages without participating).  Or you can fit in somewhere in between by posting (sending in) intermittently when you have something to ask or contribute.  All levels of participation are generally acceptable.  You must be a subscriber to receive or send messages to the list.

RootsWeb Mailing Lists

RootsWeb mailing lists are free to join and do not require an ancestry subscription to use.  You don't need to provide any personal info.  It's as easy as sending in a subscribe request to the appropriate email address and confirming your request to join the list.  There are literally thousands of lists for localities, surnames, and various topics related to genealogy.  You may join as many lists as you like - there's no maximum number you can belong to.  You can browse their multitude of mailing lists here or search for a list by name or keyword here. These mailing lists are run by automation.  There is usually a list administrator (manager) who oversees the list and makes sure that the subscribers stay on topic and don't abuse the list in any way.  List admins don't preview the messages that are sent in to the list by subscribers (except under extenuating circumstances that are condoned by RootsWeb's rules).  They are handled automatically by the list management software.  [List management software is a program that makes the mailing lists "work".]  List administrators are volunteers and are not paid for their services.

Mailing lists are a forum for exchanging information with other researchers.  You send a message to the mailing list address, and the message is re-sent to all of the subscribers.  There are subscribers of all experience levels - from "newbies" to experts.  There are many list members who will be more than willing to answer your questions about finding towns, locating records, and almost anything else you can think of to ask.  However, don't make the mistake of assuming that mailing lists are a way to request your research to be done for you.  Mailing lists are not a research service.

Subscribing to (joining) a list

To join one of RootsWeb's mailing lists, you would send an email to the list's request address - the address used solely for subscribing and unsubscribing - with the word subscribe in the subject and the body of the message.  (See below for more detailed information about list addresses.)  This message tells the list management software that the sending address wants to be added to the membership list.  In response, a message will be sent, requesting that the sender confirm that he/she wants to join the list.  This is done to prevent addresses from accidentally being subscribed or from being subscribed by a third party without the potential subscriber's consent.  Simply follow the directions in the confirmation request, and you will become a member of the list.  After doing this, you should receive two forms of confirmation of your subscription: a message that states your address has been added to the subscriber list and a Welcome Message.  The latter message will include basic info about the list and instructions on how to post messages to the list, how to contact the list administrator, and how to unsubscribe.  It's a very good idea to save this message for future reference.  You can only obtain the welcome message when you join the list.

The request address uses the following format, where the word LISTNAME is replaced by the actual name of the mailing list: [email protected].  So, if you wanted to join the KRAKOWSKI mailing list, the address would be [email protected].

List addresses

There are three addresses associated with each mailing list: the request address mentioned above, the list address, and the admin address.  Each has a distinct function and work separately from each other.

The request address is the one used to subscribe to and unsubscribe from the mailing list.  And that's all it's used for.

The list address is used to send messages to the list and follows the format [email protected] (notice the lack of the word request in the address).  As mentioned above, the word LISTNAME is replaced by the actual name of the list.  This address cannot process requests to subscribe or unsubscribe - it's used to receive messages sent in by list members and redistribute them to the addresses on the subscriber list.

The admin address is used to contact the list's administrator and is [email protected] (you know what to do with LISTNAME!).  This address forwards messages to the personal email address of the list administrator.  It can be used to contact the list admin about your subscription status, problems you may have with sending/receiving list mail or subscribing and unsubscribing, or any other reason you may have for contacting the admin.  You shouldn't send messages about administrative issues to the list address, because it's rather discourteous to the other folks on the list.

Responsibilities of Subscribers

The most basic responsibilities of list members are pretty simple: always be courteous, stay on topic, and don't send in virus warnings, hoax warnings, chain letters, jokes, Facebook invitations, or similar content.  It might seem a bit obvious, but you'd be surprised at how often folks can and do forget these principles in the heat/joy of the moment.

Email is generally impersonal.  It can be difficult to convey tone of voice in the written word.  Since you usually don't personally know the folks on the list(s) you belong to, you could easily misunderstand an attempt at humorous sarcasm to be rude or interpret an email that was intended as constructive criticism to be chastizing.  Because email can be so impersonal, it can be easy to shoot off a resultant nasty reply to someone when you don't have to address them face-to-face - and forget to send it to their personal email address and not the list address. 

In the same vein, it can be very easy to forget that when you send a message to a mailing list, every subscriber will get a copy of your message.  Your message could be reaching just a few or several hundred folks.  It might be exciting to chat back and forth with another list member about an ancestor you both have in common, but it's not so exciting for the other folks on the list when your messages fill up their Inbox.  When the content of your messages is only pertinent to you and another subscriber, it's best (and courteous) to take the "conversation" to private email.  It's for the benefit of all list members that you stick to the topic of the list.

Sending in virus and/or hoax warnings, chain letters, online petitions, and similar content to mailing lists is always inappropriate.  Yes, we realize that those who do this are just trying to be helpful, but that's not the purpose of the mailing lists.  Folks join these lists for many reasons relating to genealogy, but none join to learn about the latest virus, hoax, or petition circulating the internet.  Some lists, particularly those relating to places or topics and not surnames, have subscribers from many different countries.  Internet service in some places is limited to dial-up service and the user pays per-minute for the time spent online.  Those off-topic messages - and the inevitable flurry of complaints they tend to generate on the list - literally can cost someone money to download.  Those of us with cable and Fios service often forget how much time it takes to download mail using dial-up service.

In particular, it can be easy for social networking site users (Facebook, MySpace, Geni.com, etc.) to send invitations to all addresses in their personal address books without considering all of the mailing list addresses they have saved in their address books.  When this happens on a RootsWeb mailing list, some list admins will settle for sending the offender a reminder or warning, and others will simply unsubscribe the offender and ban them from the list.

You can read more about this topic here.  In addition to the above responsibilities of list members, there may be other rules that the list admin has instituted.  RootsWeb allows admins to create additional guidelines for the purpose of helping the list run smoothly.

Unsubscribing from a list

There might come a time when you no longer want to be a member of a mailing list.  To unsubscribe (remove your address from the membership list), you do the same thing you did to join the list with one exception - substitute the word unsubscribe in the subject and body of the message.  Therefore, you'd send a message with unsubscribe in the appropriate places to [email protected] (and you know what to do with the word LISTNAME!).  You'll receive confirmation that your address was removed from the subscriber list.  It's that simple.