I know what you mean. Presto, like all email services, is interactive. If people start including Mom in their email lists, she'll use it and enjoy it. If they rarely do, she won't use it as much, won't check it every day, will get left out, and will lose interest. You don't want that to happen.
FIrst, find those members of your extended family to like to send email to groups of you -- my Uncle Hugh likes to send jokes to a lengthy mailing list of friends, for example. My sister has us all on a group list. Get them to add Mom to their mailing lists, so she is automatically included in those general emails, jokes, family discussions.
Second, make it a habit, every time you get an email from a family member yourself, to check to see if Mom was included -- if not, then Forward the email to Mom, and "cc:" the person who sent the original email -- Put a note at the top of the forwarded message saying "Mom, here's a note Janice sent, wanted to make sure you were included." Janice will notice, and with luck will realize the slight, and will *eventually* start remembering to include Mom in the conversation!
Third, you initiate group conversations that include all those grandkids and your mother in law. Group decisions, group discussions -- when are we getting together for Thanksgivign dinner? At whose house? WHen they do a Reply All, Mom will automatically be in the conversation.
What you are doing is building a "community" and it sometimes requires a nudge - or a whole bunch of nudges. Fortunately, once things get rolling, they keep themselves rolling. Then all you have to d o is check to make sure Mom is putting paper in and checking the machine for messages regularly!
best regards,
mac in California
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