This month's newsletter contains: * HOLIDAY GREETINGS * FAIR WARNING * HOTMAIL & MSN * GOOGLE BOOK SEARCH * GENEALOGY TERMS * GEEK SPEAK * SHOPS * THANK YOU * CURRENT STATS HOLIDAY GREETINGS As this is the last newsletter prior to the holiday season, the staff would like to wish you the best for this time of year. With over 4,000 volunteers I cannot begin to wish everyone a "Happy [fill in the name of the holiday you celebrate]" as I would surely forget someone. But have a Happy one, whatever it may be. FAIR WARNING There will be many people who will be receiving computers for the first time as Christmas presents. It is hard to believe that there is not a computer in every household these days, but there still are quite a few. Armed with this new found 'toy' there will also be folks who are either new to genealogy or new to researching genealogy on the Internet. Our statistics tell us that we get more unique visitors (first time users) during this time with an increase of requests being made. Please bear this in mind when receiving requests and think back when you were new to the hobby and the site as well. Treat your requesters as you would want to be treated. HOTMAIL & MSN Some volunteers using HOTMAIL & MSN in their contact address have been having problems receiving requests. Hotmail has always been flakey at times, but noticeable is the rising messages from volunteers with an @msn.com address having the same problems. We are hoping the problem will straighten itself out with time, but are not holding our breath. A suggestion would be to obtain another web-based email account such as Gmail (preferred) or Yahoo. Gmail you will need an invitation from an account holder, our staff has a very large supply of invites if you should want one. Just drop us a note at feedback@raogk.org with the subject line of "Gmail invite" (no quotes) and we'll get one out to you as soon as we can. GOOGLE BOOK SEARCH On Google Book Search http://books.google.com/ there are a lot of books that are copyright free which is nice for research. Just enter your keywords and your results will be "Full View", "Limited Preview", "Snippet View", or "No Preview Available". But you do have the option to limit your search as "Full Page" only, which will get you mostly the copyright free books. Another nice feature, your keywords are highlighted so they can be easily found. "Advanced Search" will give you a chance to search by Title, Author, Publisher, Publication Date, and even search by ISBN (barcode). Options when you find a book: * Browse: Will let you look at the book page by page. * Search within the book: Will let you search for more keywords within the book. * Buy the book: Doesn't guarantee that the book will be there but might help. * Find reviews: Doesn't pop up much on the copyright free books, but might help if you plan on buying the book. * Find it in a library: Will tell you if a library has it, and you might be able to use the inter-library loan to get it from your local library. * Learn about the publisher: Will get you to the publisher's website. For more information on Google Book Search can be found at http://books.google.com/intl/en/googlebooks/about.html. GENEALOGY TERMS Was hoping this little section would continue in this newsletter, but only received 3 new terms from last newsletter. If you should have any unusual genealogy terms that others may not be aware of please send them to feedback@raogk.org. Thanks Inst. or instant often seen in old obituaries as in "Mrs. Smith died at her residence in Buffalo on the 31st of October, inst." meaning in or of the current year, month or week. last in the same context as instant means in or of the last year, month or week. ult. or ultimo synonym for last in the same context as above. GEEK SPEAK Wisdom from our Tech Guru: What does the term header mean when using it with word e-mail? The header is the part of the e-mail that gives you who the e-mail was sent to, sent from, date, time and subject line. Easy to understand. Now let's talk about *COMPLETE* or *FULL* headers. Full headers can be loosely defined as a 'paper trail' the message you receive leaves behind on the way to your inbox. It will contain almost all of the information needed that the person who is troubleshooting a problem you may have with your mail. Most everyone uses the e-mail program that comes with their computer, which is 99% of the time some form of Outlook. I won't mention how vulnerable that email program is to virus attacks, but will give you instructions on how to get to your full headers. The instructions are from an early version of the program, but am sure it is still very close newer versions that you would be able to find them, and send them when asked for the headers. Select the message in your inbox area by clicking on it ONCE -->From the menu select PROPERTIES -->From the next menu select DETAILS -->From the next menu select MESSAGE SOURCE -->then do a ctrl+A (highlights all) -->then do a ctrl+C (copies to clipboard) -->Close window -->Create new message, address it, have subject line "Complete Headers" (no quotes) -->Body of message, do a ctrl+V (copies data into body) and send it If you are using Firefox: Select the message in your inbox area by clicking on it ONCE -->Select VIEW from the toolbar -->Select Headers -->Select ALL -->Forward message (making sure the Subject line states "Complete Headers" SHOPS Last month as I was writing up a blurb about what could be bought in our stores, and was mentioning Postage Stamps, they went "out of stock." I received several messages from folks wanting to be advised when they came back in stock. I wrote them back and said I would let them know, problem is I lost the emails (misplaced them really). Here's your notification, sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. RAOGK Logo Postage Stamps: http://www.cafepress.com/raogk.58148321?pid=2851439&tid=611 Postage stamps are only for USA use, however, there is an alternative as well for those international folks called Postage Pal. This is a sticker that has a design (or logo) on the left side and on the right you may put a regular stamp. RAOGK Logo Postage Pals: http://www.cafepress.com/raogk.45956844?pid=2851439&tid=611 Christmas is coming up and I have added several new designs pertaining to the holiday season: Christmas Lights (2 versions) http://www.cafepress.com/genealogyforyou/2159274?pid=2851439&tid=611 http://www.cafepress.com/genealogyforyou/2090137?pid=2851439&tid=611 Home is where the heart is: http://www.cafepress.com/genealogyforyou/1753979?pid=2851439&tid=611 Calendars? Yes we have 2007 calendars available: http://www.cafepress.com/genealogyforyou/864785?pid=2851439&tid=611 Calendars are on sale until December 3, 2006, marked down 20% ! The calendar prints would make great stocking stuffers with the price now being only $4.79. CafePress now has free shipping for orders over $50 (ground shipping and within the US). Free Shipping is good through December 20. Do you shop online quite a bit? Then you might want to stop by our Country Store (http://www.genealogyforyou.com). The Country Store contains links to various other sites online such as Amazon.com, Overstock.com, The Gap, Barnes & Noble, Sharper Image and more. We have specialty shops such as Bits & Pieces (for the jigsaw puzzle lover), Magic Cabin (which is a shop for children, and may take you down memory lane), CollectionsEtc. is a most unusual shop, with some of the most unique items. If you like to personalized items, I link up to two great sites for your needs. As with CafePress, if you go through the Country Store to purchase your items, we will be getting a fee. THANK YOU A great big THANK YOU goes out to one and all who have helped RAOGK to continue to be a presence online. Your purchases through one of our stores or by sending a donation via PayPal or check are very much appreciated. This past month donations helped us pay our connections fees. This past summer was a very hot one here, and the servers really need keep cool to run properly. If you would like to donate for the cause, details can be found at http://www.raogk.org/support.html CURRENT STATS Last month: 4197 This month: 4166 New: 52 Left: 40 Staff removals*: 45 November Requests (through November 27, 2006): USA volunteers received: 4,541 NON-USA volunteers received: 461 *Staff removals are those folks whose e-mail address has been reported bouncing and confirmed or volunteers who, over the course of trying many times, did not respond back to requesters or staff. The STAFF thanks you for volunteering and until next month. . . . . . THE STAFF Bridgett, Michele, Bill, Anja, Terri, Nancy, Jo, Bonnie, Melissa, Brenda, Dennis and Doc, the Tech Guru