I have just updated the Decatur GenWeb home page, adding links to the new
directories to Rootsweb resources for Decatur County and for other
categories, and Family Tree Maker's Decatur County Genealogical Forum.
I've also updated the local Decatur County Resources page.
The Rootsweb and FTM pages devoted to each county are the latest evidence
of a campaign by non-profit and commercial organisations to attract
resources to their own websites. Many of these, including Yahoo and
Geocities, which have just merged, claim the right to use for any purpose
material which is placed on websites which they offer without charge to
those who wish to put genealogical and other material out on the web.
Rootsweb, which hosts the Decatur County pages, remains non-profit but has
accepted corporate sponsors, has recently established itself as a
corporation and has issued a similar policy statement. This has generated
heated debate among those who co-ordinate the county and state websites
affiliated with USGenWeb. While some Indiana GenWeb county co-ordinators
have moved their sites from Rootsweb, others like myself have chosen to
remain while watching developments closely.
John
John Ballard, Decatur Co IN GenWeb co-ordinator
http://www.rootsweb.com/~indecatu/indecatu.html