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Archiver > SOUTH-AFRICA > 1997-07 > 0870297449


From: "Conrod Mercer" <>
Subject: soc.genealogy.african newsgroup
Date: Wed, 30 Jul 1997 21:17:29 +0000


Hi all,

Just after I got my web site up and running and before I got the mail
list running, various people sent me messages saying that we should
have a purely South African Genealogy Newsgroup.

The soc.genealogy.african newsgroup seems to concentrate primarily on
African American genealogy, perhaps with a bias toward American Slave
genealogy and information.

In addition, this group experienced a great deal of racist non
genealogy related mail when it started up about a year to 18 months
ago and has subsequently become a moderated newsgroup (in other words
messages are approved before they appear in the newsgroup). In
addition there are not many postings to this group.

I have contacted the moderator of this newsgroup to obtain his views
and opinions on starting a South African Genealogy specific newsgroup
and he makes a number of valid comments, including:

1. The newsgroup is aimed at all African (i.e. the continent of
Africa) genealogy.

2. There is room within this newsgroup to accomodate the aims of this
mail list (i.e. South-Africa-L).

3. Perhaps we should work together to expand the newsgroup before
starting yet another list.

I have posted some of my own comments back to him and I await his
response.

Giving the matter some thought, perhaps the newsgroup could be more
successful and have more meaning for us, who are interested in South
African specific research, if we started posting messages to this
specific newsgroup.

I have raised the idea of cross-posting the messages from this list
to the soc.genealogy.african newsgroup, together with any postings to
a genealogy-african mail list, which I think does exist.

I would like to hear your comments and suggestions on this idea.
Please post your responses to the list so that we can get some debate
going and also share our ideas on this matter.

I
Regards

Conrod Mercer
28 Hosking Street, Brenthurst, Brakpan, 1541 Republic of South Africa
eMail :
http://home.global.co.za/~mercon/
SOUTH-AFRICA-L and SOUTH-AFRICA-D Listowner

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