Frequently-Asked Questions
Click
on any question below to see the answer:
I don't
have time to read this newsletter daily! How can I read it at my
leisure?
I am a PLUS subscriber and don't get the newsletter any more. I'm not sure why I don't...
I don't know how else to reach you. You need an e-mail support link.
How can I make a copy of the newsletter to read off line?
I prefer to read all the newsletters in one long list so that I do not need to continually be clicking the mouse. How can I do that?
I am an AOL subscriber and do not always receive the weekly newsletters in e-mail. Why not?
Can I read this newsletter in an RSS newsreader?
How do I find past issues of Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter?
Is there a copyright statement? Can I legally copy articles from this newsletter and publish them elsewhere?
Why do you send only the titles of articles in e-mail? I wish you would send the full text of all the articles in e-mail. I don't like receiving only the introduction to each article and then having to "find" the complete articles on the web site.
The text of the newsletter is too big (or too small). How do I change that?
I cannot log onto the Plus Edition subscriber' pages. I even had the system send my user name and password to me in e-mail and it still does not work.
I am a PLUS subscriber and don't get the newsletter any more. I'm not sure why I don't...
I don't know how else to reach you. You need an e-mail support link.
How can I make a copy of the newsletter to read off line?
I prefer to read all the newsletters in one long list so that I do not need to continually be clicking the mouse. How can I do that?
I am an AOL subscriber and do not always receive the weekly newsletters in e-mail. Why not?
Can I read this newsletter in an RSS newsreader?
How do I find past issues of Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter?
Is there a copyright statement? Can I legally copy articles from this newsletter and publish them elsewhere?
Why do you send only the titles of articles in e-mail? I wish you would send the full text of all the articles in e-mail. I don't like receiving only the introduction to each article and then having to "find" the complete articles on the web site.
The text of the newsletter is too big (or too small). How do I change that?
I cannot log onto the Plus Edition subscriber' pages. I even had the system send my user name and password to me in e-mail and it still does not work.
I don't have time to read this newsletter daily! How can I read it at my leisure?
All the
"daily" information stays here for months. You can stop by once every
day or once every week or even once every month or... You won't miss
anything.
For example, when reading the articles on the current newsletter, scroll down the menus on the right of the page until you see ARCHIVES. Click on any month shown there. You will see every article ever posted on the RSS newsfeed version since it was started.
A better answer is to subscribe to the Plus Edition newsletter that is sent by e-mail. You will receive a once-a-week mailing containing all articles posted in the past seven days, including the Plus Edition-only articles. Plus Edition subscribers never need to visit the Web site at all!
For example, when reading the articles on the current newsletter, scroll down the menus on the right of the page until you see ARCHIVES. Click on any month shown there. You will see every article ever posted on the RSS newsfeed version since it was started.
A better answer is to subscribe to the Plus Edition newsletter that is sent by e-mail. You will receive a once-a-week mailing containing all articles posted in the past seven days, including the Plus Edition-only articles. Plus Edition subscribers never need to visit the Web site at all!
I am a PLUS subscriber and don't get the newsletter any more. I'm not sure why I don't...
99% of the
time that is because a spam filter in your Internet provider's mail
server is blocking the newsletters. The same is also true for
newsletters produced by Ancestry.com, CNN, Consumer Reports, the New
York Times, Disney Corporation and many more organizations. Your e-mail
provider can explain how the spam filters work in the e-mail server you
are using.
Because of the many spam filter problems, this newsletter is available online on this Web site as well as in e-mail: we want to make sure it reaches everyone who wishes to read it. You can always read this newsletter in a Web browser or in an RSS newsreader.
If you have forgotten your Plus Edition user ID and password, go to http://www.eogn.com/amember/member.php and fill out the section that says "Forgot Your Password?" Your Plus Edition user ID and passwoid will be sent to you in e-mail within seconds.
Because of the many spam filter problems, this newsletter is available online on this Web site as well as in e-mail: we want to make sure it reaches everyone who wishes to read it. You can always read this newsletter in a Web browser or in an RSS newsreader.
If you have forgotten your Plus Edition user ID and password, go to http://www.eogn.com/amember/member.php and fill out the section that says "Forgot Your Password?" Your Plus Edition user ID and passwoid will be sent to you in e-mail within seconds.
I don't know how else to reach you. You need an e-mail support link.
We have
several methods of contact! You can click on "Contact Us" on the menu
to your right to contact us by e-mail, to see our USA and London
telephone numbers or to call us toll-free from anywhere in the world if
you have Skype
installed on your computer.
[Return to FAQs]
[Return to FAQs]
How can I make a copy of the newsletter to read off line?
You can do
that by using any of several different methods:
- The Plus Edition subscribers receive exactly that in e-mail: one week's newsletter in one long list. It is easily copied-and-pasted.
- Plus Edition and Standard Edition readers alike can view that by going to the current newsletter and scrolling down to the ARCHIVES section. Then click on AUGUST see see all the August issues or click on JULY to see all the July issues, etc. All articles will be displayed in one long list. It is easily copied-and-pasted.
- Plus Edition and Standard Edition readers alike can view that by using an RSS newsreader made by a third party. There are many free ones to choose from and all vary in details. However, several will display all the articles in one long list.
One of the
major advantages of this newsletter's format is that it provides you
with many options so that you may choose what works best for you.
[Return to FAQs]
[Return to FAQs]
I
prefer to read all the newsletters in one long list so that I do not
need to continually be clicking the mouse. How can I do that?
You can do
that by using any of several different methods:
- The Plus Edition subscribers receive exactly that in e-mail: one week's newsletter in one long list. It is easily copied-and-pasted.
- Plus Edition and Standard Edition readers alike can view that by going to the the current newsletter and scrolling down to the ARCHIVES section. Then click on AUGUST see see all the August issues or click on JULY to see all the July issues, etc. All articles will be displayed in one long list. It is easily copied-and-pasted.
- Plus Edition and Standard Edition readers alike can view that by using an RSS newsreader made by a third party. There are many free ones to choose from and all vary in details. However, several will display all the articles in one long list.
One of the
major advantages of the newsletter's format is that it provides you
with many options so that you may choose what works best for you.
[Return to FAQs]
[Return to FAQs]
I am an AOL subscriber and do not always receive the weekly newsletters in e-mail. Why not?
We often
receive e-mail messages stating that the newsletter was not received
this week. It is interesting to note that about 95% of those messages
come from AOL members. You will want to read the article by Dick
Eastman and all the follow-on comments from AOL members at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2004/08/aol_mail_proble.html.
As the world's largest Internet Service Provider (ISP), AOL is constantly targeted by spammers and receives over a billion spam messages per day. The company handles the problem by simply deleting huge quantities of mail without delivering it, but errors are inevitable and legitimate messages are often deleted along with the rest.
AOL deletes thousands of legitimate newsletters, including many from the Ancestry.com, RootsWeb, The New York Times, Consumer Reports, stock market reports and many more. There was a furor when AOL blocked 6,000 mails from Harvard University to prospective students telling them they had been accepted on their courses. AOL's spam filters thought the messages were spam. The same mail filters often think that Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter is also spam.
In order to compensate for AOL's mail server problems, you may need to read the newsletter on the Web or in an RSS newsreader. Both the Standard and Plus Edition newsletters are available online. Start at http://www.eogn.com. If you are already using an RSS newsreader, use the URL of http://eogn.com/index.rdf to read all the newsletter articles without the problems of AOL's mail servers.
[Return to FAQs]
As the world's largest Internet Service Provider (ISP), AOL is constantly targeted by spammers and receives over a billion spam messages per day. The company handles the problem by simply deleting huge quantities of mail without delivering it, but errors are inevitable and legitimate messages are often deleted along with the rest.
AOL deletes thousands of legitimate newsletters, including many from the Ancestry.com, RootsWeb, The New York Times, Consumer Reports, stock market reports and many more. There was a furor when AOL blocked 6,000 mails from Harvard University to prospective students telling them they had been accepted on their courses. AOL's spam filters thought the messages were spam. The same mail filters often think that Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter is also spam.
In order to compensate for AOL's mail server problems, you may need to read the newsletter on the Web or in an RSS newsreader. Both the Standard and Plus Edition newsletters are available online. Start at http://www.eogn.com. If you are already using an RSS newsreader, use the URL of http://eogn.com/index.rdf to read all the newsletter articles without the problems of AOL's mail servers.
[Return to FAQs]
Can I
read this newsletter in an RSS newsreader?
Yes. Use the
menus on the right side of the page and click on RSS feed of all articles and podcasts.
[Return to FAQs]
[Return to FAQs]
How do I find past issues of Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter?
Is there a copyright statement? Can I legally copy articles from this newsletter and publish them elsewhere?
The
copyright statement may be read by clicking on the Copyrights link in the menus to the right of this screen.
[Return to FAQs]
[Return to FAQs]
Why
do you send only the titles of articles in e-mail? I wish you would
send the full text of all the articles in e-mail. I don't
like receiving only the introduction to each article and then having to
"find" the complete articles on the web site.
We do send
complete newsletters with every word to Plus Edition subscribers'
e-mail in-boxes. Plus Edition subscribers do not need to go to the web
site to read the articles. Only Standard Edition subscribers need to do
that.
The reason is simple: money.
All the newsletters are sent by a bulk mail service, Plus Edition and Standard Edition alike. I pay for that service by the number of bytes sent. Last year I paid more than $5,000 for the bulk mail service and expect to pay more than $6,000 this year. (There are more subscribers now and the newsletters keep getting longer.)
Those fees are for sending full newsletters to Plus Edition subscribers and abbreviated newsletters with only the titles to Standard Edition subscribers. If I sent the full newsletter to each Standard Edition subscriber, the annual bill for bulk mailing would probably be more than $18,000!
I feel that those who pay to support the newsletter deserve first class delivery. Therefore, they always receive the full Plus Edition newsletter in e-mail every week.
Sending abbreviated e-mails to Standard Edition subscribers still costs some money but those expenses are far less than what would be required to send the full text Standard Edition newsletter every week. Standard Edition subscribers obviously save money but do suffer some inconvenience because they have to read the articles the low cost way: on the web site.
[Return to FAQs]
The reason is simple: money.
All the newsletters are sent by a bulk mail service, Plus Edition and Standard Edition alike. I pay for that service by the number of bytes sent. Last year I paid more than $5,000 for the bulk mail service and expect to pay more than $6,000 this year. (There are more subscribers now and the newsletters keep getting longer.)
Those fees are for sending full newsletters to Plus Edition subscribers and abbreviated newsletters with only the titles to Standard Edition subscribers. If I sent the full newsletter to each Standard Edition subscriber, the annual bill for bulk mailing would probably be more than $18,000!
I feel that those who pay to support the newsletter deserve first class delivery. Therefore, they always receive the full Plus Edition newsletter in e-mail every week.
Sending abbreviated e-mails to Standard Edition subscribers still costs some money but those expenses are far less than what would be required to send the full text Standard Edition newsletter every week. Standard Edition subscribers obviously save money but do suffer some inconvenience because they have to read the articles the low cost way: on the web site.
[Return to FAQs]
The text of the newsletter is too big (or too small). How do I change that?
Don't
forget that YOU control the font size on all web sites at all
times.
We
sometimes receive reports that the font size is too big or too small.
We have never found a single font size that works well on all video
boards and all sizes of monitors and resolutions.
Font
size is controlled by the web browser or e-mail program that you use.
Most web browsers and e-mail programs allow you to change the text size
as you wish. Always check your program's HELP files for specific
instructions. However, here are abbreviated instructions for several
common programs:
Internet Explorer
Netscape (both Windows and Macintosh):
Thunderbird (Windows, Linux and Macintosh):
Outlook (Windows)
Macintosh
Computers:: In Internet Explorer, press command + as many times as you
need to get a good size
Windows computers: In Internet Explorer, View menu, Text size, select Larger or Largest.
Windows computers: In Internet Explorer, View menu, Text size, select Larger or Largest.
Netscape (both Windows and Macintosh):
In
Netscape, go to menu Edit, Preferences, Appearance,Fonts and select a
different font.
Thunderbird (Windows, Linux and Macintosh):
Press
and hold the ALT key, then press the plus (+) or minus (-) leys on the
numeric keyboard as often as necessary to create the size you
want.
Firefox (Windows,
Linux and Macintosh): Press and
hold the ALT key, then press the plus (+) or minus (-) leys on the
numeric keyboard as often as necessary to create the size you want.
Outlook (Windows)
Select VIEW
and then select FONTS. There you can vary the text size from very small
to very large or anything in between.
I cannot log onto the Plus Edition subscriber' pages. I even had the system send my user name and password to me in e-mail and it still does not work.
We have had
similar reports from perhaps a dozen other subscribers. In every single
case, the problem has ALWAYS been an issue in the subscriber's
computer. The most common problem is a software firewall, such as
Norton Firewall or ZoneAlarm
Software firewalls have a myriad of options available. Depending upon what options you select in the firewall you use, you may be blocking the log-in process. The eogn.com web site needs to set a cookie in your browser when you log in so that it knows who you are as you navigate from page to page. This cookie is the "key" that unlocks the closed doors for you.
If you have cookies blocked or otherwise have specified super high security settings, you are in effect "locking yourself out" of the web site. This will happen on www.eogn.com as well as on many other web sites that use user IDs and passwords.
One way to test this is to temporarily turn off your firewall software, then go to http://www.eogn.com/amember/member.php and log in. (Don't forget to turn the firewall software back on!) Another way to test this is to go to another computer and try from there. Use a friend's computer or one at the office or one at a local public library. Make sure that computer does not use a software firewall. The log-ion process will work there.
You need to change the parameters in your firewall to allow eogn.com to query your computer to see that you are the person you claim to be. In most firewall programs, there is a list of "trusted sites." Add eogn.com to the list of Trusted Sites and everything will work properly.
Hardware firewalls do not seem to have this problem.
[Return to FAQs]
Software firewalls have a myriad of options available. Depending upon what options you select in the firewall you use, you may be blocking the log-in process. The eogn.com web site needs to set a cookie in your browser when you log in so that it knows who you are as you navigate from page to page. This cookie is the "key" that unlocks the closed doors for you.
If you have cookies blocked or otherwise have specified super high security settings, you are in effect "locking yourself out" of the web site. This will happen on www.eogn.com as well as on many other web sites that use user IDs and passwords.
One way to test this is to temporarily turn off your firewall software, then go to http://www.eogn.com/amember/member.php and log in. (Don't forget to turn the firewall software back on!) Another way to test this is to go to another computer and try from there. Use a friend's computer or one at the office or one at a local public library. Make sure that computer does not use a software firewall. The log-ion process will work there.
You need to change the parameters in your firewall to allow eogn.com to query your computer to see that you are the person you claim to be. In most firewall programs, there is a list of "trusted sites." Add eogn.com to the list of Trusted Sites and everything will work properly.
Hardware firewalls do not seem to have this problem.
[Return to FAQs]
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