In a message dated 8/7/2003 1:32:48 PM Eastern Daylight Time, Ruhi19(a)cox.net
writes:
I myself am leery about participating in a "Project"
affiliated with US Gen
Web and Rootsweb because the hosts of those sites have a tendency to take
your work, put it on a CD and then sell it to other people. They don't
check the work either.
Cynthia,
I believe you have been misinformed about Rootsweb and the GenWeb. These
organizations are run solely by volunteers. All the information contained at
their web sites has been donated by volunteers just like you and me. These
volunteers have donated their time and talents, and have shared their research,
just to help others. And the information HAS NOT BEEN sold for profit, and is
protected by copyright laws.
A couple of years ago, Rootsweb had to have financial help in order to stay
online, and they are now sponsored by
Ancestry.com. But all their resources
are still free to us all, and the information contributed IS NOT SOLD by
Ancestry, and as far as anyone knows will never be sold. This was spelled out in the
agreement when Ancestry took over sponsorship of Rootsweb [which hosts the
GenWeb].
The CD's that are produced and sold by Ancestry contain information that they
have acquired from other sources -- public records, as well as books and
other sources for which they own the publishing rights.
However, I'd be a little leery of contributing my information to
FamilyTreeMaker which is a part of
Genealogy.com. THEY ARE THE ONES that take your
information and put it on CD's and then sell it for profit. And they tell you this
up front ..... that any information you share via their web site becomes their
property, and they have the right to use it as they see fit.
Having said that, no one knows what the future holds, and all of us need to
keep up with what is happening in the world of Genealogy web sites and the
companies that own them.
I'm sure most of you know that
Ancestry.com is under the umbrella of
MyFamily.com. But did you know that
MyFamily.com JUST BOUGHT
GENEALOGY.COM, i.e.,
Family Tree Maker, etc.?
So now that ONE COMPANY owns most of the sites that we all use, both free and
subscription, who knows what will happen next?
I still trust Rootsweb to do the right thing, and MyFamily/Ancestry to honor
their agreement to keep the GenWeb and other Rootsweb sites free to all, and
NOT to profit from information shared freely by its patrons.
So please feel free to contribute your family group sheets, and anything else
that you may want to share to Rootsweb or any of the GenWeb sites. You will
be helping others, and in turn, hopefully, you and I will get the help we
need. That was the original intent and founding principle of Rootsweb and the
GenWebs.
Joyce Carey,
List Mom
care5678(a)aol.com