CURRENT VOLUNTEER NUMBERS

Welcome aboard all new volunteers; we are really glad to have you.
We currently have 4461 volunteers across the globe.

Since the last newsletter was sent out in August, we have gained 123
new volunteers.  And for those new since the last newsletter, we send
out one about this time every month. This newsletter is mandatory to
receive, and if you do not wish to receive it then you need to remove
yourself from the site (http://www.raogk.org/change.html). This
newsletter is sent out for two reasons, the only way to keep in touch
with ALL the volunteers letting everyone know what might be new on
the site, etc. The second reason, it is a way of finding out whose
address is no longer available.

Probably we could add a third reason. When folks sign up for the site,
and receive no requests they tend to forget they are volunteers for
RAOGK. This newsletter serves as a reminder of your volunteerism as well.


RAOGK-ANNOUNCE vs. RAOGK-L

RAOGK-ANNOUNCE is the newsletter mailing list, and as stated above,
mandatory to be subscribed.

RAOGK-L, is the mailing list that volunteers can subscribe to if they
wish. This list can be quite active at times with everyone getting to
know other volunteers across the globe. The purpose of the list is to
help each other on methods of researching. This list should not be
used to get personal researching done, although sometimes it is
allowed when the request is unusual and the techniques used by some
can help others in their quest. Out of the 4,461 volunteers there are
only 340 subscribed to the RAOGK-L list.  If you should like to join
this group, please go to http://lists.raogk.org/mailman/listinfo/raogk-l


COPIES OF REQUESTS

At this present time we are unable to archive requests that are sent
to the volunteers. If you should have a computer crash, or the requests
that you have received were deleted in some way, we can not help you
in retrieving them. We are currently working on upgrading the back
end of the site and the possibility of archiving requests in the
future is on the list.

Our suggestion is to print out your requests, making sure the e-mail
address of the requester is on the print-out, and filing them away
in a folder.


HELP US OUT PLEASE

The staff works very hard in trying to get new volunteers listed on
the site and the changes made that are sent in via the change form
(no changes will be made to a listing that does not come through that form) http://www.raogk.org/change.html. However, although we may be
genealogists and used to having to decipher information, we are not
mind readers <grin>.

Lately we have been receiving a few changes where volunteers want to
go on temporary status* and they have checked both the remove box and
the temporary status box. Now which change are we supposed to perform?
Only check one.

Please make sure the e-mail address you are filling in as the one
appearing on your listing is the one that is actually listed on the
site. The best way to find this out is to go to the area where you
are volunteered and find your listing to see what address is actually
listed before you fill in the change form. Several volunteers use
forwarding services for their e-mail, this is fine, except remember
that you are doing so when filling in the form, you are listed on the
site by that e-mail address. We might not find you under another one
to handle your request.

*Temporary status is when a volunteer will be away from 2 weeks to
several months, doesn't want their listing removed from the database,
but does not want to have their listing viewed by requesters during
that time frame. We would appreciate it, however, if you are going to
be away for more than 3 months, to remove yourself from the project.
If you are requesting temporary status, please enter a date that you
will be returning. While on temporary status, if any newsletters or
unforeseen events and a special mailing needs to be sent to the
volunteers, you will still receive them.

HELP PLEA #2

As good as you volunteers are at helping folks, as many great reviews
that we receive in genealogy newsletters and apparently mentioned quite
a bit during genealogy society meetings, we still have some "bad apples."
The number of these apples are not very large, but even one can make the
whole group look bad. When you switch roles and become a user of our
services and you run into a volunteer that does not acknowledge they
have received your request after several tries, please let us know.

Procedure to follow would be to send the 2nd request two weeks after
you sent your first. If this second request isn't acknowledge within
in two weeks, then write to the section coordinator
(http://www.raogk.org/vol.htm) and advise them of the problem. The staff
member will in turn write to the volunteer once again, and if no answer
is forthcoming within two weeks, the volunteer will be removed.

The above procedure gives the offending volunteer 6 weeks to reply to
either your request or answer the staff member's e-mail. We feel this
gives the silent volunteer ample time to speak up before being
unceremoniously removed from the site.

The staff wishes to thank all of you very much for making RAOGK the
best genealogy volunteer site on the 'net.

Until next month,

RAOGK Staff