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?

If I subscribe to the Plus Edition, how can I be sure that my credit card information is secure?

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?

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?

AOL converts the Plus Edition newsletter to a ZIP file but I cannot read it. How can AOL members read the Plus Edition newsletter?

Gmail only displays the first half of the Plus Edition newsletter. How can Gmail  members read the Plus Edition newsletter?

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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!

 

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If I subscribe to the Plus Edition, how can I be sure that my credit card information is secure?

When you sign up for a Plus Edition subscription to this newsletter, your credit  card information is never stored on the eogn.com servers. In short, I don't want the security headaches of storing your credit card information. The easiest way to avoid those headaches is to not store that data.

When you subscribe or when you renew an existing subscription, you are taken to a web page that is fully secure. An SSL connection is used. (You will notice that the padlock icon shown as closed in your web browser.) You can safely enter your credit card information.

The web server then places a (secure) query to the bank that issued your credit card that asks, in effect, "Will you pay for this charge?" If the bank replies "Yes," the subscription is completed. If the bank replies "No," an error message is shown to you.

Regardless if the reply is Yes or No, your credit card information is then erased. Your private information is only stored on the server for a few seconds. I never see your credit card numbers and, to be blunt, I don't want to see those numbers. I have no need to see them.

When you renew next year, you will again be asked for your current credit card information and, again, the new information will only be stored for a few seconds. The primary purpose of this process is to make sure your private information remains just that: private.

There is no capability of automatic renewals. I hate automatic renewals and I won't do that to my subscribers.

If you send a check through the mail, the process is much more risky. Thousands of checks get stolen from the postal system every month. Checks are normally not insured by the banks or anyone else. If a thief steals your check from the mail and cashes it, you lose the money. To be safe, always pay online where your transactions are insured against theft.

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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.

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I don't know how else to reach you. You need an e-mail support link. 

We have an e-mail link and several other methods of contact! You can click on "Contact Dick Eastman" in the menu to your right to contact him by e-mail. You will also see his USA and London telephone numbers or you call him toll-free from anywhere in the world if you have Skype installed on your computer. Even better, there is a method of calling him toll-free from anywhere in the U.S.A. from a standard telephone.

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How can I make a copy of the newsletter to read off line?

You can do that by using any of several different methods:

1. The Plus Edition subscribers receive exactly that in e-mail: one week's newsletter in one long list.
2. Plus Edition subscribers can view the current newsletter and the two previous weekly newsletters at http://www.eogn.com/wp/.
3. Plus Edition and Standard Edition readers alike can view articles 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.
4. 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.

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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:

1. The Plus Edition subscribers receive exactly that in e-mail: one week's newsletter in one long list.
   
2. Plus Edition subscribers can view the current newsletter and the two previous weekly newsletters at http://www.eogn.com/wp/.
3. 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.
 
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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.

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How do I find past issues of Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter?

Use the menus near the top of the page and click on Search Past Newsletters.
 
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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 or click here.

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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 $7,000 for the bulk mail service and expect to pay more than $8,000 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.

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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, including on www.eogn.com.
 
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. Many people do not realize how simple it is to increase and decrease the display sizes of web pages. Here's how you can easily zoom in (magnify), zoom out, and reset the zoom level back to its default condition in seconds:

• To zoom in, press and hold down the CTRL (CONTROL) key while pressing the + key.
• To zoom out, press and hold down the CTRL (CONTROL) key while pressing the - key.
• After zooming in or out, to reset your web page zoom settings back to their original / default size, press and hold the the CTRL (CONTROL) key while pressing the 0 (zero) key.

If you have a mouse with a scroll wheel situated between the left and right mouse buttons, as an alternative to using the keyboard, you can press and hold down the CTRL (CONTROL) key, while turning the scroll wheel forward to zoom in, or backward to zoom out.

NOTE: Macintosh users should use the Apple key (also called the Command key) instead of the Control key. Otherwise, operation on a Mac is identical to that of Windows and Linux.

This method of zooming in and out has been tested and works well with the following web browsers:

• Mozilla Firefox v3.X and later
• Microsoft Internet Explorer v7.x and later
• Google Chrome
• Apple Safari
• Opera

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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 when finished!) 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.

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AOL converts the Plus Edition newsletter to a ZIP file but I cannot read it. How can AOL members read the Plus Edition newsletter?

Contact AOL customer service. They can help you. Also, please remember that you can read the current Plus Edition newsletter and the two previous editions AT ANY TIME at http://www.eogn.com/wp/

This week's edition is available at http://www.eogn.com/wp/thisweek.htm

Last week's edition is available at http://www.eogn.com/wp/lastweek.htm

The two-week old edition is available at http://www.eogn.com/wp/twoweeks.htm

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Gmail chops off the bottom of the Plus Edition newsletter. How can I read the entire newsletter on Gmail?

Gmail apparently cannot display long email messages in its normal email viewer. Indeed, the Plus Edition newsletter is long! However, you will note that the last line of the email message sates, "[Message clipped]  View entire message" and the words "View entire message" are a hyperlink. Click on theat.

Also, please remember that you can read the current Plus Edition newsletter and the two previous editions AT ANY TIME at http://www.eogn.com/wp/

This week's edition is available at http://www.eogn.com/wp/thisweek.htm

Last week's edition is available at http://www.eogn.com/wp/lastweek.htm

The two-week old edition is available at http://www.eogn.com/wp/twoweeks.htm

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