Dear people, Because so much of the mail on this list seems to be from and between Americans, it seems to be assumed that everyone knows what the acronyms stand for. It would help us non-Americans if the acronyms are spelt out, including on the subject headings, because then we are able to decide on the relevance or otherwise of the message. Similarly, a lot of towns/cities etc. are referred to without giving their country (it seems they usually refer to American places, although sometimes the names also apply to places in other countries). Again, we non-Americans do not necessarily know where these towns are, or even that they are in America. All this will help us to make an effective contribution to this list. Cheers Maryanne McCubbin Head, Department of History Museum of Victoria (a case in point), AUSTRALIA [log in to unmask]