A matter has come to my attention which I feel compelled to post to
all of my lists here at Rootsweb.
One of the listowners at Rootsweb has been sending out messages
asking his subscribers for money or donations to him and his 100 lists. He
also has a giant questionaire which borders on intrusive. Some reports have
been that if you do not answer these questions, he unsubscribes you.
PLEASE BE AWARE...At no time, are you required to send any money to
any list connected with Rootsweb.
PLEASE BE AWARE...At no time, are you required to send ANYTHING to
any list at Rootsweb.
Once you become a member of one of the mailing lists at Rootsweb,
you have no obligation to do anything...AT ALL.
This man came to Rootsweb at a time when a hacker/spammer sent out
messages that damaged the mailing list which was then known as MAISER, which
is short for MAI.L SER.VER. When it all broke down, (computer and all,)
Rootsweb stepped in and took over most of the mailing lists. They ask for
donations from us listowners but, they do not require them. There are
various levels but I can only rememeber the largest is for $24.00 and at
that level we are called sponsors. However, we are not required to send in
anything, ever. But, most of us list-owners know how valuable their service
is and so we send in whatever we can. Although I have been a sponsor since
November of 1997, I plan to send another $25.00 as my Happy New Year
goodwill offering. You do not have to own a mailing list to be a sponsor.
Now, imagine, both Brian Leverich and Karen Isaacson took over for
about 1300 + mailing lists which have now grown to over 2000. As well as the
surname mailing lists there are regional mailing lists and even lists that
have nothing to do with genealogy. They have had to put out dollar after
dollar since about June when MAISER first went down.
The discussion on the list-owners mailing list is that this person
was invited to bring his 100 lists from MAISER at no cost or requirement,
ever. Also, I have learned that most of the persons who came from MAISER
have NOT become sponsors and I find that kind of sad, especially when I
think of the alternative.
Rootsweb is the most unique place in the world, especially for
genealogists. There have been many who have ran other lists, but none at the
magnitude and efficiency of Rootsweb.
In a brilliant stroke of managership, they have imposed no rules nor
requirements to own or run these lists. We list-owners are given these lists
in the hopes that we will use wise judgement and NETIQUETTE but they are
ours to run or not run as we see fit.
This is just a notice, especially to the new persons, after you get
on the mailing list, nothing is required of you, ever.
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FOR A LIST OF LISTS AT ROOTSWEB & HOW TO JOIN, GO TO:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~maillist/
HOW TO ACCESS THE ARCHIVES FOR OPEN LISTS
http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/members/archives.html
FOR A LIST OF HUNDREDS OF GENEALOGY SITES, GO TO:
http://www.oz.net/~cyndihow/sites.htm
Anyway, the most important part of this message is that if you
belong to other lists and are asked to do anything, your only choice may be
to comply if you want to remain on the list. Most of the list-owners at
Rootsweb have no such requirements. As for me, my most important agenda is
to provide a place where you can post your queries and get answers, for that
is the magic of these mailing lists. Some have sent me letters that they
were upset because they had been on the list for several weeks and had not
found their genealogy. They just needed a little guidance to learn that if
you do not ask questions, you can expect no answers.
As for my mailing lists, all I ask is that if you get any good
answers to your genealogy questions, that you please share them with the list.
If you have any questions or comments, please do not send them
through any of the lists, but send them directly to me.
Sandra Duncan
purplevw(a)sl.net
If you have had any knowledge of events similar to the above, you
may wish to contact Brian or Karen directly. They are not taking votes, but
they are weighing comments as to the future of this person at Rootsweb.
Again, they are wisely refraining from taking any action until they get an
idea of how much this man's actions have hurt the entire mailing list aims
and ideals.
__________________________________________COMMENT FROM BRIAN---
We're a little perplexed as to how best handle this problem. We'll
listen to what the listowners and the users say and then try to
resolve things in a way that reflects everyone's best judgment. -B
--
Dr. Brian Leverich Co-moderator, soc.genealogy.methods/GENMTD-L
RootsWeb Genealogical Data Cooperative
http://www.rootsweb.com/
P.O. Box 6798, Frazier Park, CA 93222-6798 leverich(a)rootsweb.com
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KAREN'S E-MAIL ADDRESS
karen(a)rootsweb.com
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Sandra Eleanor [T.Y.L.E.R] D.U.N.C.A.N purplevw(a)sl.net
SURNAMES & MAILING LISTS CAN BE SEEN AT:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/3577
I AM A PROUD "S P O N S O R" OF ROOTSWEB AS OF 11 SEP 1997
Support RootsWeb! Go "NOW" to:
http://www.rootsweb.com