Dear ATHG-Lers: From time to time I get email requests from young students or other questioners about some aspect of alcohol & temperance history--I had two in my in-box this morning. I think I'm the primary target for these because of being listed at the ATHG website. Often, these requests touch on areas where my knowledge is weak. Therefore, I've referred some of these questions to ATHG-L, hoping someone else would pick up the ball. One problem with that approach is that I've never been quite sure any answers were actually sent the questioner. Therefore, I'd like humbly to propose the following. 1. Will ATHG-L members with some knowledge of the questioner's subject matter kindly regard themselves as needing to put in a measure of "public service" minutes--and respond to, say, at least one question every now and then. 2. Will responders be kind enough either to post their response or a brief notice that they have responded to ATHG-L (virtually all questioners will not be ATHG-L members and thus need to be emailed directly). 3. Might we, in the process of all this, build some sort of repository of ready resouces (esp. web pages) for questioners--and lodge it perhaps at our website? Please give this small proposal some consideration. I think it is important that questioners get useful responses from us, and obviously I can't do the whole job myself. This morning's two questions follow (in succeeding posts). Trial balloons for the above? Thanks! Ron -- Ron Roizen, Ph.D. voice: 510-848-9123 fax: 510-848-9210 home: 510-848-9098 1818 Hearst Ave. Berkeley, CA 94703 U.S.A. [log in to unmask] [log in to unmask]