Carolyn Morelli, a mother of four, had a close call when her infant son received his second DBT booster. Carolyn's baby had an adverse reaction to the vaccine. For close to 24 hours he was running a high fever and screaming, while she scrambled for answers. After her experience 13 years ago, she now dedicates her time to helping inform other parents about vaccinations. Today Carolyn works with new and experienced parents alike via her ONElist e-mail community, sharing current and complete information on vaccines.
This past February, 26-year old Tiffany Johnson was searching the Internet for information to better
prepare herself for the hysterectomy surgery she was about to undergo. Through this search, she found the ONElist community, HysterSisters, and instantly had a network of friends, mentors, and comrades who understood the difficult experience she was about to go through.
Giving information, advice, and overall moral support to over 200 members, HysterSisters provided the wisdom, friendship, and general concern that Tiffany needed during a challenging time in her life. In addition to sharing information and advice, members take on specific roles that deepen the communal spirit. Some of these roles include "scheduling coordinators" who keep track of members' surgery schedules; "call people" who call members who are in the hospital and cannot access their email; and "prayer request people" who make sure all members have someone assigned to pray for them while in the hospital. Tiffany continues to be an active member of HysterSisters, providing support and information to other members who are preparing for surgery, as well as maintaining "off-line" friendships she has developed with fellow "sisters."
Through POFAK, Maggie has found a strong and loyal community of parents dedicated to educating themselves on the serious and sometimes life-threatening issues they deal with daily. Not only do they share information, advice and emotional support with one another, they also encourage each other to take the action needed to make life safer for their children. An example of this is Shane's new medical alert necklace that Maggie had put off getting for a long time until one of her fellow POFAK friends insisted that it was imperative for Shane to have one. Now Shane wears his necklace at all times and even thinks it's "cool" because it has a snake on it!
Maggie's friendships with other POFAK members has expanded beyond email and this past weekend she attended a FAN (food allergy network) conference with four of her POFAK friends. Maggie says that without the support and encouragement of her POFAK community, she would have been less likely to attend this conference. For those interested, several other food allergy related lists have spun off the POFAK list including "AllergyandAsthmaKids."
What she originally set up as a network for club members and fellow dance enthusiasts has become her own link to the outside world and her beloved dance community. Last year, two major life events caused Brenda to become physically isolated from her dance club and dance friends. First, she underwent back surgery, and then shortly following, she and her husband moved several hours away from her dance club in Detroit. Brenda all of a sudden found herself housebound and far away from close friends and colleagues. During this time her ONElist community, "DANCEMICHIGAN" has given her a vital link to friends and fellow dance lovers, keeping her connected and involved in a way that would not be possible without ONElist.
"The great thing," comments Turner, "is we're reuniting with classmates all over the world, not just in Decatur. In fact, we're back in touch with an old friend who is now working as a disc jockey for an American radio station in Taipei. And, the story gets better. We located another classmate who is a lieutenant colonel in the Marines and our d.j. friend was able to dedicate an entire day of 1970's music to him to listen to while at sea." ONElist truly is connecting people all over the world in wonderful ways!
Although the list is set up for open and casual discussion, LeAnne very clearly wants the main focus to be education so that members can truly learn new ways to grow their in-home Mary Kay businesses. She has created general guidelines so that the discussions are always educationally-based. Each week the group decides on a discussion topic or theme, such as recruiting, teaching a skin-care class, or marketing. The group actively uses ONElist's Shared Files feature to exchange articles and documents on these topics. LeAnne also uses Shared Files to post a complete set of materials that a new consultant needs to get her business started.
Before using ONElist, LeAnne did not consider herself computer savvy, but commented on "how easy the service is to use." LeAnne's M-K-ROSES is a great example of how small, independent business owners can use ONElist to network, share information and enhance their overall business success. Building on the success of M-K-ROSES, LeAnne recently created a spin-off list called "MKInternetDirectory@onelist.com" which is a confidential directory for all beauty consultants and directors.
"The ability to 'talk' to each other through the Internet is revolutionary for blind people. It literally has connected blind people from around the world in a way that would not be possible without this technology," Susan explains. She goes on to say that, "'Voice-Diary' has grown into a much larger and livelier discussion group than I had ever imagined. It's truly wonderful - new people join every day." The group uses "Voice-Diary" to exchange ideas on using the Voice Diary, and blind people who are researching the Voice Diary join the group to ask questions and learn more about it before making their purchase.
Not all web sites are accessible to blind people. Susan explains that, "ONElist is a fantastic service because it is available in text, therefore blind people can access it through software (Jaws for Windows) that outputs the text into verbal format. Sites that are available only in graphical format cannot be accessed through this special software." The Voice Diary was developed in Israel in 1997. It is a hand-held organizer designed especially for blind people, allowing them to store information such as names, addresses, phone numbers, as well as providing a calendaring feature. The president of the company, who resides in Israel, is an active member of "Voice-Diary," answering questions and sharing information with fellow list members.
Soon after joining "PAFind" and sharing her story, list members put Marsha in touch with a person in the Philadelphia court system who acts as a "search facilitator" for people trying to locate birthparents. In less than a year, Marsha was reunited with her birthmother - a fraction of the time she had spent searching on her own.
Marsha, who works in the computer industry, always knew that the Internet would be the way she would eventually find her mother and ONElist opened the door for her. Needless to say, Marsha's life has been forever changed by this reunion. If you are trying to locate someone from whom you've been separated by adoption, you can search the ONElist communities for an adoption list that provides information on the state you live in, or you can easily create your own.
To keep up with the growing demand for information and "updates" on the site and the featured children, Alexandra has created two main lists at ONElist. The general list, Make_A_Child_Smile has about 1300 members and provides updates on new features to the site as well as information on the children. Alexandra also creates special lists dedicated to individual children. Currently she has a list for a child named Katy, who is in the hospital after undergoing bone marrow transplant surgery. "Katy's" list (Katy_Updates) provides specific updates on how she is doing in the hospital.
Alexandra believes her site is so popular because it is so personal. "People know exactly who they are giving to - they see a face, read a story, follow the updates and this is very satisfying for them. And ONElist provides an important tool for helping me better communicate with these wonderful people who come to my site and give to the children."
School Violence Watch Network's purpose is to allow for the exchange of information to track rumors of potential violence within schools. Included are general threats, threats against school property and personnel and bomb threats. The School Violence Watch Network's list at ONElist is used to tie together the fabric of the system's "virtual community" of law enforcement officials and school administrators, effectively creating a strong medium by which critical information is exchanged. Personnel who share the common idea of preventing school violence are no longer separated by state borders, busy phones, and slow mail. Apprising a law enforcement office or school administrator of a "rumor" of potential threat occurs now in close to real time, with quick follow-up and discussion capabilities, thus threats can be addressed much more quickly and efficiently.
Everyone who is a member of the School Violence Watch Network has direct access to every other member, thanks in large part to ONElist. Membership of the School Violence Watch Network already ranges from Massachusetts to Colorado - and is continuing to expand daily.
For more information on the School Violence Watch Network, you can go to www.cybersnitch.net.
Comprised of about 20 members, "Knicks" provides a great forum for die-hard Knicks fans for discussing their beloved team, analyzing games, discussing draft picks, and sharing their enthusiasm for basketball in general. With the Knicks making history as the first eighth seed ever to advance to the NBA finals, there was anything but a shortage of discussion. Now that the finals are over (the Knicks fell to the San Antonio Spurs in the best of a seven game series 4-1), June finds there is still plenty to discuss. Analyzing the Knicks' most recent draft pick, talking about next season's outlook, or discussing another New York sports franchise are just a few topics that come up. The off-season is now here, but you can bet that the list discussions will heat up again as next year's season approaches. As June describes, "That is one tough group of New York fans that I belong to. Glad to be a part of that community!"
With limited resources and frequently-changing residences, Tracy has turned to ONElist as her main resource for connecting to others in similar situations. Tracy created the "Military-EFMs" list to build a network for other military parents with special-needs family members. Tracy says, "It's the friendship and emotional support that is so compelling and life-changing about these lists. When my son David underwent surgery this past May and my husband was out of town, it was my friends at ONElist who provided support and kept me sane during this traumatic time."
Tracy explains that, "online support groups are much more appealing than live support groups because they provide a constant flow of communication. Also, the convenience is critical. With three young children, it is difficult to arrange for a babysitter - but with online groups, I can participate from home."
Other military-related lists that Tracy has either created or joined include: DCMarinesWives and AFW (Armed Forces Wives), a lighthearted list for military wives. Health-related lists which Tracy has joined or started to research to her son;s medication conditions are: PEDPID (Pediatric Immune Deficiency), POFAK (Parents of Food Allergy Kids), SBHydro-Friends, SpecialneedsFamily, Preemiefamily, HIPP, IVH-Hydrocephalus, New View, and NICU Families.
Kelley Barrett, moderator of The_Coalition, understands how helpful social services can be to those in need. Five years ago Kelley was homeless in Humboldt County. She spent a month and a half on her own before she came across a service that finally helped her. These days Kelley volunteers her time to the Arcata Endeavor to work with the needy. After working in the social services field in Humboldt County for years now, she says that the resources are there, it's just a matter of making them more readily available to people in crisis. The_Coalition is the communication tool that can make this possible.
Kelsey was given special recognition and received an award at her D.A.R.E. graduation for her inventive idea of using ONElist to educate other kids about drugs and alcohol. "Sayno2drugs" currently has about 10 members, but Kelsey hopes the list will grow as soon as her school re-opens in the fall.
Each of the 100+ members on the list works actively to help the breed, sharing information with one another in an effort to find homes for lost, abandoned, or abused dalmatians. Recently, the DalmatianRescue list community had a great success story with "Tommy," a 10-year old dalmatian who had been abandoned by his former owners. Tommy is deaf and blind and was left alone in his backyard when his owners moved. Through the coordinated efforts of the members of "DalmatianRescue," and other lists including Deaf Dogs and Blind Dogs, a new home was found for Tommy. Tommy's story is especially poignant as it's not easy finding a home for a grown dog, especially one that is disabled.
Jan explains that the success of the community is due to the "interactivity between members." All kinds of interesting topics related to food production, storage, as well as food supply issues related to preparing for Y2K are discussed. The majority of members live on 5-10 acre properties, but Jan says that even some city dwellers are getting interested in the idea of producing their own food. Jan explains that, "you don't need a lot of space to produce your own food." Some city folks are setting up very small "homestead" gardens in their limited spaces, whether it be a small patio, deck, or on a stair landing!
Rebecca Taylor, active member of IM-USA@onelist.com, will be competing in this Sunday's Ironman USA competition and has been using the community as a way to get training, nutrition, and equipment tips, as well as overall emotional support. Rebecca claims, "this online community was the catalyst that accelerated my interest in and enthusiasm for the event. I believe I would not be competing in this level of triathlon so soon without the support, information, and advice I receive from this loyal group of fellow online athletes."
One of the main topics that comes up in IM-USA discussions is injury prevention and maintenance. Athletes competing at this high level are vulnerable to serious injury and Rebecca claims that, "half the battle is remaining injury-free, or learning how to wisely manage injuries when they do occur." At one point in her training, Rebecca experienced a foot injury and was referred to a podiatrist by a fellow IM-USA community member. On another occasion, a fellow IM-USA member thought he had an injury that would prevent him from competing. He described his condition to the group, and other members advised him to seek another medical opinion and re-consider his race status. Last week, he sent out an email to the group that he will be competing this Sunday, with many thanks to the supportive emails he received from group members!
The Ironman USA in Lake Placid will be the first time an Ironman-length qualifying event for the World Championships has been held on the mainland United States. Rebecca and other members of IM-USA@onelist.com will be wearing ONElist tattoos as a way to identify one another and to show their community spirit.
For more information on Ironman USA, go to http://www.ironmanusa.com
In May of 1996, Richard, thinking he was within weeks of finalizing his adoption, was concerned that upon becoming a new father he would not have the time necessary to manage his increasingly active email community. Passionately devoted to the cause, it was crucial to Richard that "a-parents-china" continue to grow and provide invaluable support and information to the many people going through the arduous process he had just experienced. To ensure the long-term existence of "a-parents-china," Richard handed off the leadership of the community to Bill McLean, a nurse in Minnesota. As an extension of "a-parents-china," Bill created the "post-adopt-china" community in September of 1996 to provide a support and information forum for individuals dealing with post-adoption issues and challenges.
Just weeks after Bill took over the voluminous responsibility of managing "a-parents-china," a political shake-up occurred in China which resulted in a major reorganization of the Chinese adoption program. During this time of upheaval, "a-parents-china" became an even more critical resource for people immersed in the system and struggling to find answers. Through their own channels, members often knew more about the political climate in China than the adoption agencies did, and, thus were able to educate, inform, and provide guidance to other community members.
This was a very emotional time for people, especially Richard Smith, whose adoption papers were put on hold for nearly six months. Richard continued to be active in the "a-parents-china" discussions, both providing and seeking insight and emotional support. On October 6, 1996 (one year from the date he decided to adopt), Richard asked the members of "a-parents-china" to wish on a star that night to "bring Rebecca home." "Rebecca" was the name he had chosen for his unknown daughter. Finally, on December 12, after fourteen long months of agony and waiting, Richard departed for China to pick up his two-year old Rebecca. Before leaving, though, he drafted a letter, a "promise" to Rebecca, that he planned to give her on her thirteenth birthday. He distributed this letter to the members of "a-parents-china" as a way to give witness to his promise and to send inspiration to those individuals still waiting to meet their "Rebecca's."
She claims, "this email community has proven to be one of the most effective resources for uncovering treasure troves of information on Gene Vincent that would have been difficult, if not impossible, to find through traditional research methods." VanHecke goes on to say, "using my Gene Vincent ONElist community to conduct research has saved me invaluable time and money on phone bills and travel that would have been necessary without the ease and efficiency of email."
Not only do fellow community members themselves provide valuable information on Vincent (many of them actually knew him personally or worked with him), they also have put VanHecke in touch with obscure people and/or resources that she never would have found on her own.
VanHecke, a Gene Vincent fan for years, is just about to embark on another rock 'n' roll biography, that of Eddie "Summertime Blues" Cochran, and plans to make full use of the collective knowledge of the Eddie Cochran ONElist community.
Now the Endeavor is using ONElist again with the recent launch of The_Coalition. The_Coalition@onelist.com facilitates communication between the numerous social service agencies in Humboldt County in order to provide better resources to those individuals in need. With 290 agencies scattered across the diverse, low income county, communication is difficult and often agencies only look out for themselves as they compete against one another for grants. The people in need lose out as their resources for help are diminished. The idea behind The_Coalition is to encourage agencies to work together and to make better use of funds. If the agencies begin sharing information and ideas more readily, they can potentially acquire larger grants, identify additional funding opportunities, and gain more respect in the eyes of the funders.
Kelley Barrett, moderator of The_Coalition, understands how helpful social services can be to those in need. Five years ago Kelley was homeless in Humboldt County. She spent a month and a half on her own before she came across a service that finally helped her. These days Kelley volunteers her time to the Arcata Endeavor to work with the needy. After working in the social services field in Humboldt County for years now, she says that the resources are there, it's just a matter of making them more readily available to people in crisis. The_Coalition is the communication tool that can make this possible.
"The community allows the social workers to share information about classes, programs and projects that will benefit their clients," she says. "The enthusiasm from local agencies in our community over this has been overwhelming, and people are just thrilled about the opportunities the ONElist service is providing."
MSers_Online, comprised of approximately 100 members, was created for anyone who has MS, family members or friends with MS, or is the caregiver of someone with the illness. The group provides support, advice, friendship, wisdom, and insight to one another, and in Cindy's case, this invaluable online community actually saved a life.
To augment her web site and help new and experienced writers alike, Joyce created thefictionwriter. The diverse group is comprised of all levels and types of writers, providing a valuable sounding board especially for emerging writers. Members can draw on the collective experience of the community by submitting their writing for review by the group. In addition to these group critiques, which are vital to new writers, members share tips on developing an individual style and voice, secrets on dealing with editors, and advice for handling rejection. Additionally, members can seek advice on what writing markets best suit their particular style.
Being published can be very difficult. "It's tough, but not impossible," says Joyce. Understanding one's own style and the different writing markets can help increase a person's chance of turning aspirations into reality. By educating writers on the numerous facets of fiction writing, Joyce's ONElist community strives to help people accomplish their writing dreams.
Pursuing her Master's Degree in Education with an emphasis on Special Education, Doretta decided to build AuTeach as a communication forum for professionals who work with children with autism. Over the past seven months, AuTeach has grown to almost 100 members, with a core group of about fifteen who are extremely active. While the majority of members are professionals, some of the members are parents of children with autism. As community moderator, Doretta works hard to be sensitive to the different needs and issues that arise between these two groups and often will initiate separate communications with the parents, hoping to help them with their individual situations. One of the original members falls into both groups: she is an educator as well as the caretaker for an individual with autism. Her feedback to the group is invaluable.
In Doretta's words, the group is so effective because, "a true sense of unity and group membership has been forged among members. We laugh and cry together over different stories that come up, and we always try our best to offer thoughtful suggestions to every question that is asked."
Before finding ONElist, Jill used her personal email system to manage an email community for ACRP members belonging to three local chapters. As the community grew, the upkeep became overwhelming. A friend introduced her to the ONElist service and she transferred the community. Since moving to ONElist, Jill admits the community is much easier to manage.
With three separate ACRP chapters in close vicinity, ACRP_NJ_Phila is used to announce all meetings and speaker engagements. The community keeps local ACRP members apprised of each chapter's activities in case a chapter other than their own has a planned event that piques their interest. In addition to being used as a planning and awareness tool, the postings at ACRP_NJ_Phila often include general clinical research questions for discussion. Since each of the three local chapters in the New Jersey/Philadelphia area meets every other month, this email community provides a valuable way for members to communicate and share ideas between meetings.
Woodbury founded the print version of the Out West Newspaper in 1987 and has been featured on ABC World News Tonight, the Today Show, and in People, USA Today and in hundreds of daily newspapers. As a seasoned writer and savvy media expert, he is fascinated by the possibilities offered by the Internet and email, in particular. He believes, "email communities provide one of the greatest tools ever for communicating in a direct and immediate way to large numbers of people."
Born and raised in Fresno, California, Roy began playing the guitar at a very early age. In 1948, at 16, Roy got his first start with the Maddox Brothers & Rose and began to set the tone for California country music. After touring for a couple years with Lefty Frizzell, Roy recorded with some of the best in the country music field including Buck Owens, the "Father of the Bakersfield Sound." Roy later moved on to Las Vegas and played a number of years with Wynn Stewart. While playing with Wynn, the yet unknown Merle Haggard joined the band as a bass player. Roy and Merle had met previously, but it was in Las Vegas that they bonded a lifetime friendship. In 1965 Haggard officially formed his first band, The Strangers, and Roy was the first member he hired for what turned out to be a magnificent 25 year stint as lead guitarist.
Jim, the RoyNichols community moderator, is a local Bakersfield musician. Jim and Roy became friends after they had an opportunity to play with each other locally in 1986. They've been good friends ever since and spent a lot of time playing the guitar and riding motorcycles together in the Bakersfield area. A year ago, Jim was searching the web for information on Merle Haggard and came across a Merle Haggard ONElist community. While using the community, it dawned on him to create a community to honor and help his buddy. He subsequently created the RoyNichols ONElist community. The community now contains members worldwide. "Roy's been an idol of mine all my life," says Jim of his good friend, "ONElist has helped me pay tribute to him." Additionally, the community was used last year to promote the release of a tribute CD featuring numerous West coast country artists including Bonnie Owens and Joe Manuel, and was produced by Kathy Robertson. The proceeds of which went to help offset the high cost of Roy's medical bills.
Lydia explains that there are times when she is disoriented and confused about her feelings and has a hard time deciding what she needs to do to grieve, and sometimes feels guilty if she believes she’s not doing what she should to honor Jacob’s memory. One example is her difficulty in determining how often she should go to the cemetery. At first, she felt she should go weekly, for Jacob, but it often was too draining for her. Members of the SIDS community guided her through this conflict, helping her understand that it’s important for her to do what feels right, and if going to cemetery less frequently is better for her, it does not mean she does not love Jacob any less.
Lydia believes that she trusted other members of the community for this type of advice because they’ve experienced the same loss and they truly understand what she is going through. They share and communicate on a common ground of pain and loss that cannot be understood by those who have not been there.
SIDS is the sudden and unexpected death of an apparently healthy infant, whose death remains unexplained after the performance of an adequate postmortem. SIDS is a classification that is used to describe a deceased infant. It is not a disease, nor can it be a diagnosis for a living baby. SIDS is the leading killer of infants. Nine infants die each day of SIDS, 90% before 6 months, and 98% before 12 months. (American SIDS Institute)
Community member Lynett Price joined beyond_breastcancer after her aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer. Lynett explains, "the group has given me so much information to help me understand the disease. I have received so much support from Ginny and all the group members."
There are numerous other breast cancer support communities at ONElist, both for those with the disease and those close to someone with it. To find these communities, simply go to our Health Category at http://www.onelist.com/directory/15/ and search for breast cancer.
Started just over a year ago, CustomDolls has steadily grown to a diverse membership base of over 160 people. There are members from Europe, Taiwan, Australia, Japan and Canada. CustomDolls acts as an education tool for amateurs in the doll making industry while also providing a valuable forum for those who are more advanced in the art. Many members have been recognized for their work in national magazines such as Miller's Fashion Doll and Barbie Bazaar. One member from Britain was even featured in a documentary on CNN.
For some, customizing dolls is a hobby. Others are collectors, and still more are simply interested in the profitability of their own work. CustomDolls holds raffles, contests, auctions, and swaps. Their current contest involves an Alice in Wonderland theme. Participants will post their completed Alice in Wonderland themed dolls in the CustomDolls shared files to be voted on by other members. Raffles are also common on CustomDolls. Often, five to seven members in the community contribute to the customization of a doll. The doll is then shipped across the country from one member to the next so that each can contribute. Finally, a relatively small amount of tickets are sold to a collector's market and the winner is chosen at random. Members can also auction off dolls they have customized. Some have sold for nearly $1700.
While the main focus of CustomDolls is the restoration and customization of fashion dolls, Rebecca finds that it is the community and newfound friendships that make the group particularly special. "Our discussions aren't always exclusively about dolls," she says. "I've made new friendships I cherish. Some members have even flown across the country to meet one other."
Even though many members live thousands of miles away from one another, some are finding that they have quite a bit in common. One member in Australia discovered that a fellow member lives in the small East Coast (United States) town where she had spent her honeymoon forty years earlier. Since learning this, the two members are in regular contact with one another, trading stories about this small town and life in general. An example of how small the world really is!
THE_GOLDCOASTERS is named for The City of the Gold Coast, home to Stewart. This city, known as Australia’s "Retirement Capital," enjoys a beautiful sub-tropical climate and is one of the South Pacific's premier tourist destinations.
Nikki Thomason, creator and moderator of LyPSupport at ONElist, says that, “most folks with this condition will never meet another patient offline.” Knowing this and looking for a support network, Nikki decided to use email as a way to connect people with the disorder. She initially started an email loop with 4 members in September 1998. As the loop grew, the management became overwhelming. In April 1999, Nikki moved her email loop to ONElist, and thus the email community LyPSupport was born, providing
a vital connection between people with this rare disorder.
Today LyPSupport has over 70 members, including a gentleman from Tasmania who is the only person in Australia’s Island State reported with the disease. Members share the latest medical information and treatments, provide advice on living with the disorder, and offer each other invaluable emotional support. Nikki says, “the silver lining of this disease is all the wonderful friends I’ve made through this ONElist community.”
Not only do members help each other, they also are helping the medical community learn more about LyP. One member, who just observes the dialogue, is an employee at the MeritCare Foundation in Fargo, North Dakota (the fundraising arm of the medical institute that is home to retired dermatologist and clinician, Dr. Warren Macaulay. Hence, LyP is also known as Macaulay’s Disease). Additionally, some members have participated in a research study.
Community members also do their part in helping the outside world through charity projects. An example is their effort to give something to poor children in El Salvador by collecting and sending stickers and sticker books.
"Stickermoo" is a great example of how ONElist brings people together around common interests and keeps them together through the friendships that are made. Sometime next year group members are planning an in-person get-together.
To build awareness, promote understanding and encourage self-reliance among the American Indian population, Jim Windwalker created an email community at ONElist called Indianlaw. Through Indianlaw, Jim is bringing together a group of individuals who are well versed in the laws that apply to American Indian people, thus providing resources and information to people who otherwise cannot afford adequate legal help. "The members of Indianlaw are promoting communication and in the process, educating American Indian people about the laws that apply to them," Jim describes. "Our people are dying out. We want to preserve our culture for the future and prevent assimilation from occurring."
Another theme within the community is positive communication. "We want to lower the anger level between both sides and prevent counterproductive ideas," says Jim. "Screaming and yelling is not tolerated in this community; we are here to work together. ONElist has made it possible for us to put the law in the hands of people who need it most. By passing that knowledge along we have been able to make a strong legal stance on Indian law."
Harold Batie is an old shipmate of Art's who relishes the opportunity to re-connect with old friends with whom he'd lost touch a number of years ago. "It takes me back to a time when I was very impressionable. I enjoy reflecting," says Harold. "For a number of years I often wondered what had happened to my former shipmates of the Albany. My contact with former shipmates in this community has given me the inspiration to go even further in my search for those people with whom I shared some of my most memorable years. Our past has greatly influenced who we are today and what we have become."
As a member of the Albany Alumni Association, which has 800 members nationwide, Art discovered about 40 names of people with whom he had served while looking through the Association's official website. He decided to create the ONElist community in order to "provide a place for them to go to share memories." So far there are about 30 members including the president of the Alumni Association.
Since starting his community at ONElist, Art has made contact with three shipmates with whom he is in regular contact, and occasionally hears from a few others. "All too frequently we hear people describe those with whom they had served as 'former shipmates', but to me a shipmate who has shared a part of my life while serving together is always a shipmate, no matter how many years have passed."
There are four ships that bore the name USS ALBANY and currently a submarine bears the name. The Alumni Association and the ONElist community are open to crewmembers of any of the four ALBANY vessels. Harold enjoys catching up with former shipmates but finds he is making new friends too. "If we have the opportunity to contact some individual and thank them for the positive way in which they have influenced us, by all means we should do so. My connection with the ONElist community has afforded me this chance to thank some of these individuals and it is my hope that in the future, as the community grows, I will have even more opportunities to talk to more former members of that great ship, the USS ALBANY (CG-10)."
Group members share the many ways they are learning to live with CMT and maintain a positive outlook on life. Of course, the group welcomes members to share their challenges, and they are ready to offer suggestions, comfort, affirmation and support while staying true to the positive tone that Gretchen established the day CMTUS was created. Members also share their resources and new treatment/research projects that they are involved in or read about in journals, magazines and newspapers.
For many with CMT, winter can be an especially isolating time due to harsh weather in many parts of the world, making it difficult to leave the house and therefore interact with others. By creating CMTUS at ONElist, Gretchen has found that the CMTUS email community allows for a 24 hour, 7 day a week "interaction" for CMTers worldwide. CMTUS makes it easy for members to stay in touch AND stay positive!
On Sundays, Gretchen invites members to post an inspirational quote, poem or thought. Often, it is these simple, yet touching statements that have the greatest impact on members. One example is a quote by Mark Twain: "Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you CAN do!"
In less than 4 months, CMTUS has grown to a membership of 85 and continues to expand, not only in the US but around the world as well.
CMT, the most common inherited neurological disorder, affects approximately 150,000 Americans, and is found in all ethnic groups.
After Jessica was found, Patty decided to take what she had learned about the Internet's power to communicate worldwide and create a forum dedicated to finding missing children. 4thekids@onelist was established in March 1999.
4thekids is comprised of a diverse group of volunteers who are passionate about returning lost children home. These dedicated individuals use the community to share information and to publish verified notices of missing children, and in rare cases, missing adult.
Among the community's 90+ members are law enforcement officers, lawyers, private detectives, in addition to numerous average citizens who just want to help a good cause. The community is very careful about adhering to strict criteria established for each case. For example, community members do not pursue a case until they've first received approval from the law enforcement agency that is handling it.
Members of 4thekids get their motivation from knowing that if they help to return just one child safely home, their hard work has paid off. Recently the community heard from a woman who had seen a child on one of the posters the group had posted, and immediately called the police.
What happened next took Tamra completely by surprise. Her small newsletter/discussion group with a distribution of about 50 people, quickly grew to over 400. More and more people started to take notice of and find value in the information she was distributing and the related dialogue that emerged. Soon, independent artists began calling Tamra to solicit her help in finding new songs for vocalists, new talent for labels, and much more. All of a sudden, Tamra was becoming a valuable information and networking resource to the independent music industry.
As Tamra's grass-roots group began to grow at a rapid pace, she soon realized that she needed a resource for managing what was becoming a large email distribution list. Tamra joined ONElist and moved "HotTopicsMusicNews" to the service.
Since transferring "HotTopicsMusicNews" to ONElist in September 1999, the membership has accelerated to over 1000 members! Tamra is grateful for the easy-to-use service that ONElist provides.
As Tamra explains, "through HotTopicsMusicNews, I have met many great people who are sincere about helping other people. I listen to artists and assist them in finding the right people to help them. [This experience] has enriched my life more than words could ever tell."