<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

What is a mailing list?

First, it is important to distinguish between mailing lists and web sites. Both have addresses so you can reach them on the Internet but they are different in their function and content, and in how you access them..

~ Let's start with web sites.

You'll know when you are going to a web site because it will have an address that starts with "http://" or "www" or both. This type of address is called a URL (which stands for Universal Resource Locator). Think of a URL as being like the call numbers on a library book which enable you to find it on the library shelves. In the same way, a URL enables you to find a site on the Internet among all the other sites.

A web site is a specific place that you can go to on the Internet. It's like a booklet of information, similar to a paper booklet in many ways. For example, it's been put together by an individual or individuals and its purpose is to communicate a package of information to you. Right now, you are on the Huguenots-Walloons Europe Mailing List web site. It has information about the H-W-E list specifically but it also includes related topics which might be of interest to subscribers and other genealogists.

The first thing you see when you arrive on any web site is the home page. That's like the front cover of the booklet. The home page will usually have an introduction of some kind, as well as a listing of contents or topics. But, instead of turning the pages as you would with a booklet, you click on links (which are in blue or purple letters, and underlined). Clicking on a link will get you to further information (or let you go back to previous information), just like turning pages in a booklet. You can visit a particular web site anytime, browse through it for information, and then leave. Just like picking up a booklet, leafing through it, and then putting it down. You don't stay (although you may re-visit on other occasions) and you don't have to join a web site.

~ Now about mailing lists.

Unlike a web site, a mailing list is not a specific place on the Internet. Instead, it's a method of sending e-mail messages to a group of people simultaneously, all of whom have joined the list (or subscribed). It's a great way to share information with other genealogists who are interested in the same area or are researching the same surname as you are. Once you have joined, you can stay on a mailing list as a subscriber for as long (or as short) a time as you like.

Mailing lists have an address something like this one: LISTNAME@rootsweb.com. For example, the address for the H-W- list is Huguenots-Walloons-Europe-L@rootsweb.com. When you send a message to this address, it reaches every other subscriber on the the H-W-E list, including the list administrator. Similarly, when anyone else on the list sends a message to the list address, you (and all other subscribers) will receive it. A copy of your message will also be saved in the list archives. If you'd like to learn more about the archives, please click here: archives.

For further information about mailing lists, go to the Rootsweb site at: http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/help/mail1.html.

~ Please note: A mailing list will not give you all the answers you are looking for in your own research. It does not replace the need for you to conduct your own personal research, in original records. Everyone else on the list is probably an amateur genealogist just like you are, looking for their own answers. Hopefully, the mailing list will provide you with useful research information and clues which will help you. If you are very lucky, someone else on the list may have information which connects to your family lines. But this is not an everyday occurence. Finally, any information you find on the Internet, including on mailing lists, should be checked in original records in order to verify it.

__________________________________________________

~ Home Page ~ The Basics ~ Beyond the Basics ~

_________________________________________________