About Mailing Lists
Using mailing lists to further your research is simple and often rewarding. Mail lists are free to subscribe to, and you participate in specific
genealogical or historical discussions via e-mail. Using your own e-mail system, you send a message to the list's address. The list automatically
distributes that message to everyone who is subscribed to that mail list. You read your own e-mail each day to see the messages and replies. There are a
large number of genealogy mailing lists to choose from, depending upon your interests.
List Modes: Mailing lists may operate in different modes, particularly the larger ones, and give you a choice as to how you want to
receive the list.
- MAIL mode, where every post is sent to subscribers as a separate piece of e-mail. This is the most common mode.
- DIGEST mode, where about twenty posts are batched together and then sent to the subscribers. Digests produce less clutter in your mailbox,
but replying to an individual message may require a little extra effort.
- INDEX mode, where a list of the Subject: and From: lines for each post is sent daily to the subscribers. Subscribers can then request only
the messages they want to see.
Some mailing lists have low rates of traffic, others can flood your mailbox with several hundred messages per day. Your subscriptions to mail
lists should not exceed what you can handle.
Welcome packages, which contain instructions and information on using the list, are generally e-mailed to you when you subscribe. It is
recommended that you keep a copy in a mail folder since important information that will be useful to you in the future is given.
Mailing Lists of Interest For This Area
- MECKLENBURG-L. A mailing list for those interested in sharing and exchanging information on genealogy and history which has a connection to
the general area of Mecklenburg. This is an English-German multi-lingual list. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to majordomo@genealogy.net
(nothing on the subject line) with the following words in the body of your message: subscribe MECKLENBURG-L (Be sure to delete your signature line
or any other words in the message section of the e-mail.)
- POMMERN-L. A mailing list for those interested in sharing and exchanging information on genealogy and history which has a connection to
Pommerania, both the current Polish part and remaining German parts of the former Prussian province. This is an English-German multi-lingual list.
To subscribe, send an e-mail message to majordomo@genealogy.net (nothing on the subject line) with the following words in the body of your message:
subscribe POMMERN-L (Be sure to delete your signature line or any other words in the message section of the e-mail.)
- GERMAN-KINGDOMS, is a mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the Duchies of Thuringen (Thuringia) including Reuss altere
Linie, Reuss jungere Linie, Saxe-Altenburg (Sachsen-Altenburg), Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (Sachsen-Koburg-Cotha), Saxe-Meiningen (Sachsen-Meiningen),
Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach), Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, Anhalt, and Schaumberg-Lippe; Braunschweig
(Brunswick); Lippe (aka: Lippe-Detmold); Oldenburg; Waldeck; Mecklenburg-Schwerin; and Mecklenburg-Strelitz. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to
german-kingdoms-l-request@rootsweb.com (mail mode) or german-kingdoms-d-request@rootsweb.com (digest mode)- nothing on the subject line - with the
following word in the body of your message: Subscribe (Be sure to delete your signature line or any other words in the message section of the
e-mail.)
- GERMAN-AMERICAN. A mailing list for anyone interested in genealogy related to German immigrants and their families AFTER their arrival in
America. Please note that this mailing list is not intended for discussions of genealogy materials, sources, and places in Germany since other
mailing lists exist for these purposes. Rather, this mailing list focuses solely on the genealogy and families of these immigrants AFTER they came
to America. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to german-american-l-request@rootsweb.com (mail mode) or german-american-d-request@rootsweb.com
(digest mode) - nothing on the subject line - with the following word in the body of your message: Subscribe (Be sure to delete your signature line
or any other words in the message section of the e-mail.)
- OW-PREUSSEN-L. A mailing list for those interested in sharing and exchanging information on genealogy and history which has a connection to
the former East and West Prussia. This is an English-German multi-lingual list. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to majordomo@genealogy.net
(nothing on the subject line) with the following words in the body of your message: subscribe OW-PREUSSEN-L (Be sure to delete your signature line
or any other words in the message section of the e-mail.)
- LUTHERAN-ROOTS. A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the Lutheran Church, both Evangelical and Reformed. Additional
information can be found on the Lutheran Roots Mailing List Page (http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~mdtaffet/lutheran-roots_list.htm).To subscribe,
send an e-mail message to lutheran-roots-l-request@rootsweb.com (mail mode) or lutheran-roots-d-request@rootsweb.com (digest mode) - nothing on the
subject line - with the following word in the body of your message: Subscribe (Be sure to delete your signature line or any other words in the
message section of the e-mail.)
- PRUSSIA-ROOTS. A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in Brandenburg, Hannover (or Hanover), Ostpreussen (East Prussia),
Pommern (Pomerania), Posen, Provinz Sachsen (Province of Saxony - northern Saxony), Schleswig-Holstein, Schlesien (Silesia), Westpreussen (West
Prussia), Lubeck, Hamburg, and Bremen. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to prussia-roots-l-request@rootsweb.com (mail mode) or
prussia-roots-d-request@rootsweb.com (digest mode) - nothing on the subject line - with the following word in the body of your message: Subscribe
(Be sure to delete your signature line or any other words in the message section of the e-mail.)
- GERMAN-TEXAN. A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in German and Central European immigrants to Texas, especially Germans
in the 19th century. The list will also discuss current events and societies related to genealogy and history in Texas. To subscribe, send an e-mail
message to german-texan-l-request@rootsweb.com (mail mode) or german-texan-d-request@rootsweb.com (digest mode)- nothing on the subject line - with
the following word in the body of your message: Subscribe (Be sure to delete your signature line or any other words in the message section of the
e-mail.)
- AUS-QLD-SE-Germans. A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the descendants of the Germans who migrated to South East
Queensland, Australia. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to aus-qld-se-germans-l-request@rootsweb.com (mail mode) or
aus-qld-se-germans-d-request@rootsweb.com (digest mode)- nothing on the subject line - with the following word in the body of your message:
Subscribe (Be sure to delete your signature line or any other words in the message section of the e-mail.)
- GERMAN-RUSSIAN. A mailing list for individuals who are researching the Black Sea Germans. These are families who migrated from Germany to
the Black Sea Area of Russia. The focus of this list is The Greater District of Odessa including the villages of Alexanderhilf, Fransfeld,
Freudental, Grossliebental, Guldendorf, Helental, Josephstal, Klein-Leibental, Lustddorf, Mariental, New Freudental and Peterstal. To subscribe,
send an e-mail message to germanrussian-l-request@rootsweb.com (mail mode) or germanrussian-d-request@rootsweb.com (digest mode) - nothing on the
subject line - with the following word in the body of your message: Subscribe (Be sure to delete your signature line or any other words in the
message section of the e-mail.)
- PREUSSEN AMERICANS. A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in Prussian immigrants to America. To subscribe, send an e-mail
message to preussenamericans-l-request@rootsweb.com (mail mode) or preussenamericans-d-request@rootsweb.com (digest mode) - nothing on the subject
line - with the following word in the body of your message: Subscribe (Be sure to delete your signature line or any other words in the message
section of the e-mail.)
- LOWLANDS-L. An e-mail discussion list for people who share an interest in Lowlands languages and cultures. "Lowlands languages" are those
Germanic languages that developed in the "Lowlands": the low-lying areas adjacent to the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. These are primarily Dutch,
Frisian, Limburgish and Low Saxon (Low German). Before you apply for subscription, you might prefer to read more about Lowlands-L.
- THESHIPSLIST. A mailing list for anyone interested in the ships our ancestors migrated on. Subjects include emigration/immigration, ports
of entry, ports of departure, ship descriptions and history, passenger lists and other related information. To help with your questions, there are
many regular members of the list, with a wide range of expertise and resources, who are ready and willing to assist and guide you on your search. To
subscribe, send an e-mail message to theshipslist-l-request@rootsweb.com (mail mode) or theshipslist-d-request@rootsweb.com (digest mode)- nothing
on the subject line - with the following word in the body of your message: Subscribe (Be sure to delete your signature line or any other words in
the message section of the e-mail.)
- For other genealogical mail lists go to Genealogical Resources on the
Internet - Mail Lists.
About Newsgroups
Mailing Lists and Newsgroups are very similar to one another in that they are free to subscribe to and you participate in specific genealogical
or historical discussions via e-mail. However, to participate in a newsgroup, you need to have news reader software, or the news reader program that is
already provided in many web browsers.
Newsgroups are also often referred to as Internet Discussion Groups (IDGs) or Usenet. Within each Newsgroup are messages, also referred to as
postings. They look like e-mail between one user and another, but instead of just being sent between people, they're available for anyone in the world
with Newsgroup access to read.
Usenet is the name given to the loose network of sites that carry Usenet newsgroups. These sites, called newsservers, involving thousands of
computers worldwide, pass postings back and forth. The users of these newsservers can read them online using newsreading programs and World-Wide Web
browsers with news capability (like Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer, for instance). Most Newsgroups are completely open, which means
that anybody can just jump into the discussion by posting a message. Others are moderated, which means that there is a Newsgroup moderator who reviews
postings sent before allowing them to appear in that newsgroup.
Because of the tremendous amount of data posted on Newsgroups daily, almost all newsservers delete postings after a short period of time. They
are not viewable by users any more on the newsgroups. However, these deleted past postings are archived and indexed by groups.google.com and can be searched. You can search these archives to see if anyone else has ever posted a
message about your surname or about a particular subject that interests you.
Some newsgroups are also linked, or gatewayed, to a mailing list. This means that all messages sent to the newsgroup are also sent to the mailing
list. Thus people who can only use e-mail can still take part in the discussions by subscribing to the mail list and sending messages through it.
Be sure to read the Frequently Asked Question list (FAQ) for the appropriate newsgroup or mailing list before posting anything. When you join a
list, monitor the messages for a few days to get a feel for what common questions are asked, and what topics are deemed off-limits. This is commonly
referred to as lurking. When you feel comfortable with the group, then start posting.
Newsgroups of Interest For This Area
The two Usenet newsgroups of interest to German genealogists are soc.genealogy.german and soc.genealogy.surnames.german. If your purpose is to
find someone else who is researching the same line as you, your post belongs on soc.genealogy.surnames.german. This group is for surname posts only. If
you are trying to understand something, find a resource, or get advice on how to do something pertaining to German genealogy, post to
soc.genealogy.german. No surname posts belong on this newsgroup.
- Soc.genealogy.german is an unmoderated Usenet news group for queries and discussion of all matters relating to German genealogy. "German"
here refers to language, and thus explicitly includes German, German-American, Austrian, Swiss, Alsatian, Luxembourger, and Eastern European German
genealogy. The FAQ (frequently asked questions) is available at German Newsgroups
- soc.genalogy.surnames.german is an automoderated Usenet newsgroup with strict subject line requirements. Surname postings belong there for
all German surnames. For more information on this newsgroup, go to Surnames.
All articles posted to this group are reviewed by the automoderator, a computer program, for correct format. The automoderator will send an
acknowledgement after posting your article. If your article's subject line does not follow the standard format, the automoderator will notify you
that your article was not posted, and make suggestions for rewriting the subject. For the correct format, go to:Surname Format.
Introduction to soc.genealogy.surnames.german is at Surnames Introduction
Deja News Access to Newsgroups
Now you can read these genealogy newsgroups directly from Deja News without going through your own mail system.
For those without news access, soc.genealogy.german and soc.genealogy.surnames.german newsgroups are mirrored to e-mail lists in digest or
message form. These are both very large mail lists as several hundred messages are posted to these groups each month.
- SURNAMES-GERMAN. Gatewayed with the soc.genealogy.surnames.german newsgroup for surname queries related to German speaking countries. To
subscribe, send an e-mail message to surnames-german-l-request@rootsweb.com (digest mode), surnames-german-m-request@rootsweb.com (mail mode), or
surnames-german-i-request@rootsweb.com (index mode) - nothing on the subject line - with the following word in the body of your message: Subscribe
(Be sure to delete your signature line or any other words in the message section of the e-mail.)
- GEN-DE. Gatewayed with the soc.genealogy.german newsgroup for the discussion of German genealogy. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to
gen-de-l-request@rootsweb.com (mail mode), gen-de-d-request@rootsweb.com (digest mode), or gen-de-i-request@rootsweb.com (index mode) - nothing on
the subject line - with the following word in the body of your message: Subscribe (Be sure to delete your signature line or any other words in the
message section of the e-mail.)
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