Dale,
What happens after you? You won't be the SC forever and if you move
the mailing to your server what about the next SC who maybe can't
afford to pay as you do for your server and then what happens to
mailing list communications?
<snip> If the mailing list is on our own domain on my server, <snip>
Why not some other free mailing list service like yahoo or google.
Also I would like to know where your heard or read that free services
that the parent company will put an end to its free services at some
future date. If this a fact or a prediction?
Sincerely,
Joan Asche
On Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 9:45 AM, Dale Grimm <dale(a)kbanet.com> wrote:
The only messages I get from the list (as an administrator) is
unsubscribed
users trying to post. And it's usually the same spam everyone gets. I have
yet to receive a request for information from the list. I get a lot through
the website, but not through the list.
That is not the reason I think a change is necessary.
There have been a lot of changes in Rootsweb over the past year. It is no
longer owned by people with a passion for genealogy. It is owned by venture
capitalists whose only purpose is to show a profit. Rootsweb is not a
profit-generating operation. It is a drain on Ancestry's resources. The
reason for the banners and the url changes is to drive more traffic to
Ancestry.com - and to improve their rankings. When they changed the URL's
to
rootsweb.ancestry.com, Ancestry.com's Alexa rankings dramatically
increased. Visitorship to
ancestry.com more than doubled. Rootsweb
apparently was getting more visitors than Ancestry.
As soon as Rootsweb is no longer conceived as a PR asset for Ancestry, all
free services will be discontinued.
I have never relied on free services. I pay for my servers. I pay for my
internet connection. And both are through smaller companies that value my
business more than a large conglomerate would. If I have a problem with the
server, I call the NOC and it's usually resolved within minutes. Same with
my ISP. I pay a little more, but I get better service.
I have been trying to get passwords for abandoned OHGenWeb sites from
Rootsweb since April and have yet to receive any response from them.
If the mailing list is on our own domain on my server, we have complete
control. We can create whatever mailing lists we want. We don't have to
petition Rootsweb.
Both lists are powered by Mailman, so there would be no difference in their
operation.
Dale