 If
you are at a crossroads and don't know what direction to go or
even where to begin your journey of learning more about your
family history you might want to try one of these family forums.
Some are e-mail only and others are a combination of internet
posting and email correspondence.
Message Boards/Mailing Lists and the Gateway
Q. What are the advantages of the message boards versus a mailing
list?
A. Both mailing lists and boards are valuable research tools. A mailing
list is an excellent place for in depth discussion among list subscribers
who are usually serious researchers of the list subject. Discussion
on a mailing list tends to cover a topic at length, and when that
topic is exhausted a new discussion begins on another subject. The
strength of a mailing list is the ability to include a large number
of people and opinions in an ongoing, in depth, discussion benefiting
list subscribers immediately.
By contrast, message boards like those at Ancestry.com and RootsWeb.com
provide a resource to be used by anyone who chooses to post a message
or search the boards, quite possibly involving a surname or topic
only indirectly related to their research. There is no requirement
to subscribe to a discussion group to make a contact through a search,
or post a query or reply on a board. A board is often a great place
to post a query about your "dead end" or "brick wall" ancestors.
A far larger audience will search the boards over a period of time
than will subscribe to any one mailing list.
Q. What is the gateway which links message boards and mailing lists?
A. This exciting feature was designed to integrate a message board
with the mailing list for the same subject (surname, locality,
etc.). Many mailing list administrators opt to have a mailing list
receive "gatewayed" messages--messages which are originally
posted on a corresponding message board. When the list and board
administrators agree to use the gateway all messages posted to
the corresponding board are instantly copied in full to the allied
list.
When you see gatewayed messages on a mailing list to which you subscribe,
and you wish to reply to the message, you should be aware that the
poster of the message is most likely not subscribed to the list.
Replies should be made on the board by going to the URL (address)
in the gatewayed message. Your reply on the board will then be "gatewayed" back
to the list as well.
If you can click on the URL to access the message you should do
so, and others (mainly AOL users) who cannot should copy and paste
the URL into the browser window. By replying on the board you ensure
that the poster will see the reply to the message he posted and also
that the thread of the message is preserved on the board for the
benefit of future researchers who may find the messages in a search.
For additional information, see Message Board Help at Ancestry.com.
Tripp-L@rootsweb.com
What is ROOTS-L? ROOTS-L is a discussion list where people who are interested
in genealogy may communicate, requesting and sharing information,
sources,
and techniques, not only about our own family research but
also about broader matters that possibly affect genealogical
research in
general. Subscribers to ROOTS-L form what is in effect an
electronic community. We help each other out, we celebrate
when
one of
us has a success, we bicker and quarrel (but hopefully not too
much!). The membership of this community spans many different
countries. Everyone is welcome.
To find out how to subscribe to the Tripp-L mailing list Click
Here
To find out how to access the Tripp-L mailing list Archives Click
Here
Tripp Surname Message Board
Ancestry.com is the host of this site. Messages posted
to this board also appear in the "TRIPP-L@rootsweb.com" mailing
list. As of July
10, 2003 there were 832 messages posted.
Tripp Family Genealogy Forum
The Tripp forum currently serves all variations that seem obvious.
An example of an obvious variation would be Tripp, Trip and Trippe.
This is hosted at Genealogy.com and presented as Genforum. As of
July
10, 2003 there were 1665 messages posted.
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