Introduction to the Sinclair Discussion List

["John S. Quarterman" <jsq@mids.org>]

In case anyone has forgotten, here is the introduction to the list again.
Very few things are prohibited on this list.  Three of them are:

     o Virus reports
     o Chain letters
     o Religious proselytizing

I now return you to our regularly scheduled discussions.
Laissez les bon mots roulez.

John S. Quarterman <jsq@mids.org>, the list owner.


                  Sinclair Discussion List

Welcome to the list!

     This is the information you receive upon subscribing to the
electronic mailing list

    sinclair@mids.org

It is a mailing list for the extended Sinclair family.  All
relatives of the Sinclair family, including those with surnames
spelled St. Clair, Sinkler, and other related families throughout
the world are invited to participate.  There is a copy of this
message in the web page <http://www.mids.org/sinclair/list.html>

     Members of Clan Sinclair U.S.A.  are especially invited to
participate, as are our cousins in Canada, Scotland, England,
Wales, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and other
parts of the world.  All these organizations and locations are
listed in the web pages, <http://www.mids.org/sinclair/>.

     In this list we try to stir up information.  This is a
discussion list; it will be confusing at times, and it is has
many people going in different directions.  For refined stories
you will do well to also join one or more of the clan
organizations so you can get their newsletters.  And don't forget
the Prince Henry Sinclair Society of North America,
http://www.mids.org/sinclair/phssna.html.

How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe

Before you can send a message to the list, you must subscribe to
the list.

The List

To subscribe or to unsubscribe, use the web page
<http://www.mids.org/sinclair/listsub.html> Then you will receive
a copy of each message that is posted to the list.

The Digest

Alternatively, you can subscribe to the digest form of the list,
by using the web page <http://www.mids.org/sinclair/digest.html>
Then you will receive only one message a day, containing copies
of all the list correspondence from the previous day.

Change of Address

To change your subscription address, simply unsubscribe from the
old address and subscribe again using the new address.

How to Post

As a subscriber said: ``It appears that you have unwittingly
learned the beauty of this list -- post and they will respond!''
To post a message to the list, send an electronic mail message to
sinclair@mids.org, or use the web form
<www.mids.org/sinclair/listpost.html>

     When you subscribe, please also post a message to
sinclair@mids.org describing your relation (if any) to one of
these families.  You don't have to be a relative to subscribe,
and for that matter probably most of the subscribers have not
completely identified exactly how we are all connected.
See also the web pages Margaret has prepared about plain text
electronic mail, http://www.mids.org/sinclair/mail/.

Mail Problems?  Who Ya Gonna Call?

From: milamba <milamba@milamba.com>
Date: Mon, 21 Jun 1999 10:18:50 +1000

There seems to be a number of people having problems with their
email at the moment and since this is something I work with every
day, I've taken on the job of solving them!! :)
Anyway, if you're having any problems with your list mail please
write straight to me (off the list) at <milamba@milamba.com> (and
include the problem email if possible) so that we can get it
sorted out.

Regards
Margaret :)

How the List Works

Whenever anyone sends a message to the list, sinclair@mids.org,
each subscriber receives a copy of that message.  Any subscriber
can respond to that message, by sending another message to
sinclair@mids.org.  This way list subscribers can discuss topics
of interest to the list.

Topics

The topics that are of interest to the list are determined by the
discussion in the list.  Possible topics may include, but are not
limited to:
     o Sinclair family history,
     o Sinclair genealogy,
     o Sinclair organizations,
     o Sinclair families.
     o Notable Sinclair people.
     o Sinclair pictures.
     o Related publications.
     o Events that Sinclairs are likely to attend, such as
       Highland Games,
     o The 600th anniversary celebration of Prince Henry
       Sinclair's voyage,
     o Places Sinclairs came from, such as Roslin, Caithness,
       Orkney, Shetland, Argyll, England, Normandy, or Norway.
     o Information about religion can be helpful in determining
       where or when to search for an ancestor.

I would like to encourage list subscribers to copy (Cc:
sinclair@mids.org) answers to such questions to the list, rather
than responding only to the person who asked the question.  That
way, other interested parties on the list may find additional
information.

     Topics that are NOT appropriate for this list include:
     o Virus reports
     o Chain letters
     o Religious proselytizing
     o Lengthy excerpts (more than 50 words) from copyrighted
       material that is less than 50 years old.

Archives

The list is archived, and the archives are searchable via
http://kingcrest.com/Sinclair/dListSearch.cfm, courtesy Paul
Sinclair.  The archives are also available to list members
through Majordomo; for how, send mail to majordomo@mids.org with
the word "help" in the body (not subject) of the message.

Guestbook

Paul has also set up a GuestBook,
http://kingcrest.com/Sinclair/Guestbook.cfm, and he has arranged
that entries in the guestbook are forwarded automatically to the
list.  He has even arranged for replies to guestbook entries on
the list to be automatically forwarded to the person who made the
original entry.

Related Web Pages

Much related information may be found in
     o the Clan Sinclair web pages,
       http://www.mids.org/sinclair/,
     o in Paul Sinclair's history and genealogy pages,
       http://kingcrest.com/sinclair/,
     o and in the Clan Sinclair Association U.S.A. web pages,
       http://www.clansinclairusa.org/,

or through the many links they contain.
List Etiquette

There are numerous online compilations of etiquette guidelines,
such as for example:
<http://www.mids.org/matrix/et.html>
Just to mention a few examples that have come up lately,
     o Please DO NOT SEND MESSAGES IN ALL CAPS; people think
       you're shouting.
     o When it comes to mailing lists, HTML can cause a lot of
       problems. Not everyone has the newest software, and not
       all email programs can read HTML. So, if you're on a
       mailing list, it helps to make sure that your email is
       going out in a fashion that everyone can read, and that
       means plain text electronic mail,
       http://www.mids.org/sinclair/mail/.
     o Do not send virus reports to this list.
     o Do not send chain letters to this list.
     o Do not use this list to try to convert someone to your
       religion.
     o Discussion concerning the immediate ancestors of living
       people is not welcomed if it would discomfit the living.
     o Subscribers use this list to discuss both genealogy and
       history; arguments about which should predominate are
       fruitless.
     o Use the Subject: line to really tell what your message
       is about, don't just use the previous subject line that
       might not be applicable now.
     o If you want to send pictures for all on the list to see,
       it is often better to send them to the maintainer of the
       web pages rather than posting them to the list.
     o Remember that everyone's opinion is valid.  If you
       disagree about what you are reading please do it in a
       polite manner.

Etiquette for posting genealogical information to this list:

     o Do some background reading on the web pages, especially
       the ones on genealogy, which include links to many related
       web servers and pages.
     o Join a clan organization so you will get a clan
       newsletter.
     o It is best to post a genealogical query to the entire
       list, because it is impossible to predict who among the
       many subscribers may know something about your query.
     o When you post your query, tell us all you can about dates
       or approximate dates of your oldest ancestor, where they
       lived and who they married.  Include county names whenever
       you can.  We hope to be able to search on locality one day
       and having county names will help to link up people.
     o Keep trying periodically.  The person that could help you
       with your search might not not be able to answer you
       immediately or they might not yet be a subscriber to the
       list.
     o Also enter yourself in the web form GuestBook, courtesy
       Paul Sinclair.
     o Please don't just listen in and not let us know your
       information.  You very likely have something important to
       share with others.  Speak up!

Etiquette for posting historical information to this list:

     o Do some background reading on the web pages, such as those
       on history, the FAQ, and the Sinclair 2000 gathering.
     o Join a clan organization so you will get a clan
       newsletter.
     o Be careful with copyrighted information.
     o Cite your sources.
     o Speak up!  Your historical tidbit may be just as
       fascinating as anything about a famous historical
       personage.

Don't be afraid to ask; we're all learning here.

List Maintainer

The list maintainer is John Sinclair Quarterman (jsq).  Please
note, once again, that what gets discussed in the list is
determined by the members of the list.  I am not a moderator; I
do not decide what gets posted or not.  I merely set up and
maintain the mechanics of the list.  The content of the list is
up to you, the subscribers.

>From the List to the Web Pages

Messages posted to this list often find their way into the Clan
Sinclair web pages, http://www.mids.org/sinclair/.  In fact, the
great majority of the material in those web pages came from the
list.  The web page maintainer asks permission before using
material in the web pages, with the exception of brief anonymous
excerpts for use in the comments about the list and the comments
about the web pages.
[ This is the Sinclair family discussion list, sinclair@mids.org
[ To get off or on the list, see http://www.mids.org/sinclair/list.html