Mailing lists

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Genealogy

Rootsweb INDIA

The most popular list for those researching family history in India is the INDIA List hosted by Rootsweb. You can exchange ideas, suggestions, queries, questions and family details with a group of people (from beginner to expert) who are interested in the same subject. The List currently has over 700 members.

Before submitting queries to the List, it is recommended to first search the INDIA List archives to see if your question has been asked before. You may also use this search page to search for surnames that may have been mentioned before. As you may appreciate, asking the same beginner questions to the list can become tiresome for the regulars on the List. It is also recommended to 'lurk' in the background if you are new to mailing lists (or even the INDIA List) and get a 'feel' for the format of questions and 'list etiquette'.

To join the List, simply send an email to INDIA-L-request@rootsweb.com with the word subscribe in the subject line and body. Please do not include anything else (even a signature). You may unsubscribe at anytime. More details are found on the INDIA List page. If you subscribe to the India List, you receive emails individually at different times during the day. If you subscribe to the Digest, the emails are batched together and come at less frequent intervals. If you unsubscribe for a period, perhaps while you are on holidays, you can browse the archives for any dates you have missed.

Sometimes long URLs in India List posts do not appear correctly and it is not possible to access the relevant website with just a click. It is necessary to copy, adjust and paste the link in terms of this India List question and response.

Sometimes a message appears on the India List which says: This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list... The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board. This India List post discusses the procedure of writing a reply on the Message Board.

Some researchers have had problems when sending a reply to a previous India List email, as the administrator has rejected their response due to formatting problems. Perhaps the rejection letter has said that headers and footers from the original email should not be included in the reply. Note also that you must be a subscriber to the List to send either a reply or a new email.If you receive an email from the India List which you wish to reply to, this is the procedure:

First of all click on reply. This will give you the address to reply to (which is just the normal India List email address) It will also give you the subject heading, which will be the same heading as on the original India List email. Then you basically delete almost everything else. The only thing you leave in will be an extract from the original memo, perhaps the question which was asked. If it was not too long perhaps you could leave in the whole of what was said previously. However all the wording you leave in must be relevant to your reply. At the end of each email received from the India List there will be some general information under the heading “===== India Mailing List =====”. This wording is the "footers" referred to above. All this information must be deleted before you send you response to the India List. After deleting all the previous email except for the brief extract mentioned, add your response and send. If you do not delete as specified, the administrator is likely to reject your email.

Rootsweb INDIA-BRITISH-RAJ

According to its website it is: A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the period of British rule of most of the Indian subcontinent (present-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and Myanmar (Burma)) which lasted from 1858, when the rule of the British East India Company was transferred to the Crown, until 1947, when the independence of British India was granted and Pakistan was formed.

Many people subscribe to both the India List and the India-British-Raj List. In practice, most genealogical queries are sent to the India List, while the India-British Raj List tends to be more concerned with social and general topics. Subscribe to the India- British- Raj List or Digest, on a similar basis to the India List above. Search the Archives Browse the Archives

Other Mailing Lists

Rootsweb

All Rootsweb Mailing Lists. This website gives the following mailing lists, all of which seem fairly small

Other

The St Helena Institute's 'Forum for Family History', a Mailing List/Message Board for anyone interested in St Helena family history and genealogy (including Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha).

Message Boards

  • The posts on the Rootsweb India Message Board are gatewayed (reposted) to the India List so you only need to post once. For other countries, refer All Rootsweb Message Boards
  • Genforum is the website presented by Genealogy.com. Messages can be left on specific surname boards in addition to the India Genealogy Forum –or that of any other country. There are also general interest boards. All these message boards (or forums as they are called) can be browsed or searched by entering a specific word search. In addition to hosting message boards the site contains topics of general genealogical interest.
  • FIBIS Members can post queries on the forum message board in the FIBIS Members Area. A particularly useful feature is the facility to upload attachments - perhaps a photograph for help in identifying a uniform or place or a section of an historic document where the old handwriting cannot be deciphered easily.

Military

  • Britregiments is a list for general questions about British Regiments (including those in the Indian Army). Their website says “Questions about a unit's history, movements, heritage, practices and regalia are most welcome and encouraged”.
  • Victorian Wars Forum, a message board for British Military Campaigns from 1837 to 1902
  • The Great War Forum is a message board for the First World War . It has subcategories Middle East and North Africa and India where archived threads may be read. To place a post, reply to a post or search, you need to be a subscriber