MESSAGE FROM THE ROOTSWEB HOME OFFICE
by Jake Gehring, Executive Producer,
RootsWeb.com
Wow, what a week it has been. The messages have really been
flying. In an effort to improve communication from RootsWeb to
you (and vice versa), I will be sending out a message every so
often which addresses current issues on the RootsWeb site. The
RootsWeb staff has received lots of questions since the merger
of
Ancestry.com and
RootsWeb.com last summer, and I think
there's a general need for our users to have regular information
on RootsWeb's efforts to provide valuable services to the
genealogical community.
I also want to make a few comments about our new message boards
system which was launched last week. We're grateful for the
excellent feedback many of you have provided. The feedback has
been generally positive when addressing the value of the
combined datasets and the increased search functionality.
However, I also recognize that any significant change requires
some getting used to and may create some temporary inconvenience
and frustration. I would like to address some of the concerns
we've heard from you, the users.
By popular request, we will shortly add the ability for users to
filter by message category within a message board (for queries,
obituaries, deeds, etc.). For the benefit of the message board
administrators, we are extending the board re-adoption deadline
from July 15 to July 23.
There is some confusion about RootsWeb's position regarding the
ownership of messages posted on the boards. Let me clarify by
excerpting from the Acceptable Use Policy, which reads, "When
you post messages to mailing lists, message boards, and other
facilities at RootsWeb, those posts remain your property under
copyright law." The same is true for those using the message
boards at
Ancestry.com. In short, if you posted it, you own it.
As far as the message boards or any other RootsWeb features are
concerned, if you're not happy, we're not happy. Please continue
to give us your comments and concerns at
http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/help.cgi
or at [TWO-LINE URL]
http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec?htx=board&r=rw&p=RootsWeb-20-
Topics-20-and-20-Localities.AdminCenter.suggestions
In the meanwhile, experiment with the newly merged message
boards. You might discover some previously buried information or
make an invaluable connection that will enable you to leap over
a proverbial genealogical brick wall problem that you had almost
given up on solving.
Karen Mitchell
2001 has been declared "The Year of "Love". Pass it on.
km1109(a)rmi.net
US GenWeb Project County Coordinator
Huerfano County Coordinator
http://www.rootsweb.com/~cohuerfa/index.htm
Huerfano County List Owner
COHUERFA-L(a)rootsweb.com
Taos County Coordinator
http://www.rootsweb.com/~nmtaos/index.htm
Taos County List Owner
NMTAOS-L(a)rootsweb.com