BURGENLAND BUNCH -- FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Where is your Home Page?
The Burgenland Bunch changed domain names in August 2010 from www.burgenland-bunch.org to www.the-burgenland-bunch.org. So, this second address is now our home. It is possible that the first address will remain active but it should have an automated forwarding message for a while.

Can I contact other members?
Absolutely - this is the primary purpose of the Burgenland Bunch! Send an email to a member's address, as shown on the members, surnames or villages pages. Include BB or Burgenland Bunch in the Subject Heading of your email and be courteous.

A response, however, is strictly up to the contact. Generally, though the biggest problem you will have is that a member's address is obsolete (see What happens if I change or cancel my email address and don't advise the BB? below). Most members report that BB members are happy to share information and ideas directly with each other. Members frequently report that they got important questions answered by other members and/or that they found a new cousin they did not know about before. We now have many situations where multiple members are researching in the same villages. This enhances the opportunities for members to share resources, knowledge and research tips.

Is there a charge to be a member?
There is no cost or obligation to be a part of the BB. You help us by sharing your data and by linking with other BB members.

How do I join (or quit)?
To join (or quit), just follow the instructions found on the Homepage. There are New Member Information and Canceling forms, as well as other forms to communicate your requests to the right staff members.

How is the Burgenland Bunch organized?
The BB is an informal, volunteer organization. Tom Steichen handles the Home page and is the Editor of the monthly Newsletter. Heidi Herman handles the Membership, Surnames, Villages pages and Alan Varga handles the Links page. Klaus Gerger handles Austrian contacts, maps and research. There are also other editors (see the staff list) who handle other specific areas. Currently, Tom Steichen holds the office of President and Klaus Gerger holds the office of Vice President (but, given the nature of the BB, these are more honorary titles than anything else!). All other staff members are denoted as the "Editor" of their area.

How is the Homepage organized and how do I get to each section?
There are many parts to our Homepage. Just click on the hyperlinks (blue areas) to go directly to each area. These areas include Introduction, Member List, Village List, Surnames (Family Name) List, URL (Internet links) List, Albert's Village List, Archives, and Frequently Asked Questions.

The Homepage provides links to other useful websites including the WorldGenWeb for queries. We also have links to member web sites, other genealogy websites, the Austrian newspaper OZ (Oberwart Zeitung), and the Burgenlandische Gemeinschaft.

The Burgenlandische Gemeinschaft is an organization of Burgenland immigrants and their descendants throughout the world. They are headquartered in Güssing, located in southern Burgenland and issue a bi-monthly newspaper (in German). Membership costs $15/year. To join contact them or see our archives.

How do I receive the BB Newsletter?
The newsletter converted to a web-only approach in January of 2010. You will find a link to it on our homepage just below the "Notices" box. There are also links there to our archived newsletters.

The current newsletter is always found at http://www.the-burgenland-bunch.org/Newsletter/Newsletter.htm (then later archived under a sequential name), so if you bookmark that page, you can find the current newsletter in just one click. We also maintain a notification mailing list that informs receipients when the current newsletter is posted (but this required that you keep us informed of your email address!)

How do I find the parish for a specific Burgenland village?
Search "Albert's Village Data" on the BB Homepage. You will find that this is a wonderful resource for your research!

I joined last week; why is my data is not listed?
Depending on volume, it can take up to a month to enter new data. Remember, we are all volunteers and we do the best we can. We are a rapidly growing organization and sometimes it is hard for our volunteers to keep up.

What do I do if I wish to change my data?
Use the Change Member Information form on the homepage.

Why is my data correct on one list and not on another?
We do the best we can but, with multiple people updating lists, errors or omissions can sometimes occur. We sometimes lose a volunteer and it becomes necessary to delay or freeze a list (the Surnames list was frozen for a full year, April 1999 - April 2000). If you notice a discrepancy, please contact the BB with the corrected information by using the Change Member Information Form accessible from the homepage.

How can I find answers to my questions?
Many questions can be answered by searching the BB Archives. One of the best sources are the BB indexes which are published periodically. Check out BB Newsletters issues # 49A & B, for the latest comprehensive index of all topics covered in our newsletters. You can also post a query on the WorldGenWeb-Burgenland Query Board and other genealogy websites. These addresses can be found on our URL list. If you still have questions, contact anyone on our staff.

How do I become a BB volunteer?
Contact an editor and tell him or her what you would like to do. We welcome the involvement of our members! We need a wide variety of talent to make this organization work smoothly. You can volunteer for one-time only projects or for an on-going responsibility.

Who can help with downloading problems?
Check the URL list first to make sure you have the right address. If that does not work, then contact any member of our staff.

Can I get help translating some documents?
First of all, check the BB Archives to see if we have already translated a similar document. We have translated quite a few. A good resource for free translating assistance are the on-line "computer translator" sites mentioned in our URL list. While they are not always accurate, they do offer an inexpensive method for getting a rough translation. Some of them are very good. You can also try using a good German-Hungarian-Serbo Croatian or Latin dictionary. We do have a few members who are willing to occasionally assist others in translating short documents, but they expect you to do some work on your own first. We may also be able assist you in finding a professional translator to translate your documents for a fee.

I wrote to the Burgermeister/parish of my village but they did not answer me. Why?
Inability to read English may be the problem, but today, everyone who doesn't read English knows somebody who can translate. So these institutions are either overworked (many priests nowadays have to serve two parishes instead of one) or they are simply not interested. You can write again, but this time consider including a small donation for the parish and two or three International Reply Coupons (available at your local post office) to cover their postage cost. Also, be sure to check to see if there is already a microfilm of these church records. You may be able to obtain the information yourself at an Latter-day Saints Family History Center.

What happens if I change or cancel my email address and don't advise the BB?
You will automatically be dropped from the newsletter notification distribution if 3 email transmissions are returned as undeliverable. Also, your entries on the BB page will be marked as inactive when we become aware that your email address is invalid (which could take some time). Worst of all, you may miss making a valuable contact. Reinstatement will require submission of a request and may take a few weeks to complete.

Who do I contact if I have a suggestion or would like to submit an article for publication?
Contact any member of the staff with your suggestions. Send your article directly to the BB newsletter editor.