Normally, you won't see me writing editorials or what-I-think-about-this or that. I like to present the information and stick to the issues. I think, however, that this is the right time to give you an idea of what goes into the making of this newsletter, and the rationale behind its formation.

Some of you already know that The Roundabout has been in existance for about 4 years. Before we went on-line, it was created using a standard 32 gig Windows-based PC and a Hewlett Packard 700 series printer. The hardware was not readily accessible to us and we had to content ourselves with publishing The Roundabout on a quarterly basis. Its format at the time was rather simple, some of which we retain unto this very day: birthday and anniversary announcements, special family news, as well as the odd bits and ends that we used as filler. I would forward the newsletter by regular mail, stubbornly plodding on. Why? Because I am proud to be a member of this family. Because we have a special bond that makes us unique. And because, at the risk of sounding trite, "we are family!".

Approximately two years ago it became possible to publish The Roundabout on-line. Using the same hardware, but now having access to the Internet, we published the newsletter every other month. As I knew very little about web design and programming, I set out to teach myself as much as I could handle (I am not a computer expert nor a web design professional!) Soon, The Roundabout boasted a new background, several graphics. It was on its way! Enthusiastic fervor blinded me to the reality that there were only two families on-line and their Internet access was limited, and most probably monitored by their respective employers. I toyed then with the idea of reverting to the paper version, but discarded that in favor of waiting it out.

Slowly, more and more of you came on line. Suggestions made by you helped make The Roundabout a more refined newsletter, although I always made it clear that I did not want it to lose its family atmosphere.

The Roundabout was begun in order to keep us close, to maintain our ties. We are a very diverse family, and this is our greatest strength. I firmly believe in The Roundabout and feel it has a great potential. As more of you are coming on-line, it is becoming clear that The Roundabout can serve not only as a means to provide information on the niceties that we sometimes take for granted (like birthdays and anniversaries), but to share information that may help another. Bear in mind that this site is not managed nor maintained by anyone except myself. There are no fees being paid to anyone. I am its sole owner and webmaster. The Roundabout is strictly a family affair and all contents within it are our property. This is exactly how I envisioned it. We can determine what will go on it and what will not.

I will be very honest with you and tell you that there was a time I toyed with the idea of disbanding The Roundabout. Some of you, however, talked me out of this notion and I stuck with it for another six months. And in that space of time I have seen you respond. There have been times you have asked us to provide information on specific subjects and we have responded. On other occassions, we have forwarded emails you have been unable to send. We have provided uploading and re-formatting services. This is what I had envisioned. Working together. This is the ultimate goal of The Roundabout.

In closing, I'd like to clarify several points, that although have not been addressed publicly, have nonetheless been addressed to me privately.

We do not provide email addresses to anyone on-line. If any individual is attempting to contact someone else, we ask that they write to us privately and we will forward the letter to the appropriate individual. The reason for this is quite simple really: I hate spamminators and spiderbots. The former are individuals that collect email addresses and then send you unsolicited email. If enough spamminators clog up your mailbox, your ISP may very well complain. There are many methods of blocking senders, but why have to bother when we can stop it right here? Spiderbots are another thing altogether. These are programs that scan web pages and catalog the content of the page into their database, making the information available to numerous sources, like search engines, mailing lists, etc. Our email is listed because I receive email from many sources, but if you point your mouse to it, you will notice it is a hotmail account. I do not list my private email anywhere on the Internet.

We absolutely, positively do not provide anyone's names, addresses, telephone numbers, or any sort of vital information to anyone, for any reason. That's one of my biggest rules. The Internet is a fascinating place, but there are certain things one should never do.

This is a personal, non-profit site. That means that the links or banners found on The Roundabout are placed for informational purposes only and I do not collect a fee for doing so. As a matter of fact, I have never, ever collected any monies pertinent to any of our four websites. For me this is a true labor of love as I not only enjoy what I am doing, but I find an enormous amount of personal satisfaction if only just one person can benefit from these pages and the information contained therein. On the plus side, I have also learned so much in the making of these sites and hope to be able to continously improve. For this reason, we I have decided to expand The Roundabout and looked for a new host. Having used GeoCities in the past, I am very familiar with their excellent service and features, and do thank them for their gracious assistance. The Roundabout is finally taking the shape I had envisioned long ago. I am glad that I was able to rescue past issues, so you can see for yourself how it has evolved, how my own knowledge of editing and creating has evolved with it, and most importantly, how your input has refined and re-structured it. Although it may not be apparent to you, your feedback is pivotal in the success and continued existance of this Family Newsletter.

Now that I got that out of the way, I want to assure all of you that your contributions are very much desired. I have no way of measuring what topics you'd like to see, or what subjects you are interested in. I do quite a bit of surfing and at times will share information I think may be of interest to others. I also know there is real talent out there and that you can make The Roundabout the best it can be. To you I say: You are more than welcome to send in articles, links to far out places, places to visit or places to avoid. That is the goal of The Roundabout, A Family Newsletter. Thank you all for being such a great family!

Connie