First Steps - Third try: How to join the group and visit the page
Ralph
I have been generating mails for 24 hours and feeling guilty about bombing you guys with them, but I just realized that you probably didn't get the only important mail because you were no longer in the group. So here it is again.
Roger asked how to "jog over to the group..." like I had previously written, here are some slightly more detailed instructions. THIS LOOKS LIKE A LOT OF TEXT, and I guess it is, because it's more detailed, it was a lot of work to write it too. But if you take a moment and PLEASE read it through it should be easily understandable. I don't want to leave anything unexplained, because, like Roger said, lots of people don't know how to do this sort of thing.
By the way, if anyone is uncomfortable with the "Statesmen" group name we could change or modify it. I want to be sure that people like Mick and other musicians from the sixties feel at home in the group.
Now first, a step-by-step explanation as to how to get to the group. This is lots of text but it should be easy to follow. Lots of words because I want to be sure that all of you can understand and follow the steps. You might want to print this text out so it's easier to read while you're doing things.
There are only two major things to do: 1) Go to the group page in the internet, and 2) join the group.
FIRST, let's go there. Start up your trusty Internet Browser, the one you use to surf porn, etc., probably the "Microsoft Internet Explorer," or another program with the same function. The first step is to go to the following internet address
http://groups.google.com/group/the-original-statesmen?hl=en
If your system is set up right, you should be able to just double-click on the "link" in the line above this one, if it's underlined in this mail, and you should land there. If this doesn't work for you, then copy the "http..." line into your windows clipboard by marking it with the mouse and typing "Ctrl/C" or pointing at it with the mouse and using the right mouse key, or however you copy text, and then move the mouse to the very top line in your Internet Explorer and paste the internet address in there with "Ctrl/V" or by using the right mouse key again with "Paste", then press the ENTER key.
You should reach the "The Statesmen" Google Group page, you've successfully "jogged over to the group." You should see the photo of one of the old "Statesmen" flyers at the top of the screen, and some other stuff below it. I've attached the photo "startscreen_al.jpg" to this mail to show you what it should look like there. You might want to click on "Photos & Links" under the "Pages" header just for fun.
SECOND, now you join the group. Essentially you need only read what's on the screen and react to it. Everything is free, of course.
On the right side of the screen you should see a text link that says, "Join this group." Click on it, you'll see a Google page with a box on the right that says, "Sign in to Google Groups with your Google Account." At the bottom of the box there is a link that says, "Create an account now." I assume that you don't already have a Google account, so click on this link to create one, you go to a brief little form where you enter your email address and a password (which you enter twice to avoid typing errors). In the bottom part enter your Nickname - PLEASE use your first name for our purposes - and enter the anti-spam "Word Verification" (it's hard to read, you can press "refresh" and get a new word but you might have to re-enter the data), then click on the "I accept. Create my account" button and we're nearly finished!
This will bring you to a brief page for Email verification. YOU CAN IGNORE THIS FOR NOW, just click on "Click here to continue." Now you're back to the Statesmen "Join" page, everything should already be there (ensure that your first name is in the "Nickname" field, an email option is already pre-selected) and click on "Join this group."
You're in! You should see the screen like before, but now you should see the mails we've exchanged as "Discussions", a "Photos & Links" page, and more.
Now you MUST go to your email inbox and answer the mail that was sent to you by Google, asking you to double-click on a link. Do this, it finishes your registration.
To visit the group in the future, just click on the underlined "http://.." line at the start of this explanation to go there, and then click on "sign in." Let me know if there are difficulties!
Please do me a favor and answer me in some form within the next year or so, guys, so I know you're still out there and that you read this, it was lots of work. Our goal is to share photos etc. and I think that this is the most practical way to do it, while making it possible for us to meet other musicians as well.
All the best,
Ralph
