I have been researching copyright law and how it relates to email. I have sent several posts to our "private" Executive-list but decided to share what I am finding with our volunteers in order that they not unwittingly violate the copyright laws. First, email is protected under the copyright statute. Check it out here: http://www.benedict.com/basic/basic/scope.htm Check out this URL: http://www.benedict.com/news/headlines/headlines.htm and the reference. Reference: SOURCE: Boardwatch Magazine, Vol. IX, Issue 5, May 1995 Here we find that the CRIMINAL copyright statute was used against a BBS operator. Email wasn't in question here but since email is covered under the law the same applies. Then go to this URL: http://www.benedict.com/news/headlines/headlines.htm Reference: SOURCE: Wired, Warez Wars, April, 1997 Here we are talking about civil law. The Software Publishers Association (SPA) sued to show that ISP operators are responsible for the content carried on their servers. They stayed prosecution, which apparently means the other party agreed to desist from the action. So summing this up. Those who forward, receive, republish and carry such on their server are all punishable under the copyright statute, either criminal or civil. Now don't let this scare you about forwarding innocent messages with no desire to malign. But technically every message forwarded requires the approval of the sender or list owner. Pirated messages from closed lists or parts thereof, attached and posted elsewhere without permission are actionable under criminal and/or civil statute. The proof that this happened resides in abundance on computers throughout the Project. This Board, your Board, cannot be effective if it is constantly held up to ridicule. The present members of this Board have taken every opportunity to make our deliberations open and available to our member volunteers. We endeavor to answer every email and act on those with merit. I personally have never failed to respond to a message which was sent in an honest attempt to get an answer, whether from a constituent or not. But I will not respond in the future to messages whose only clear intent is to ridicule and down grade this potentially wonderful Project for mean and small reasons. I shall do all in my power, along with my fellow Board members, to insure that the pirating of email on and from the Board lists stops. If that means pursuing legal action, so be it. In the future if someone wants to use Board list materials for reprint or reposting I would strongly suggest they get permission from our National Coordinator, Tim Stowell. Joe -- Zsedeny Genealogy - http://www.rootsweb.com/~jzed/home.htm NDGenWeb Archives - http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/nd/ndfiles.htm Pembina County, ND - http://www.rootsweb.com/~ndpembin/pembina.htm Ramsey County, ND - http://www.rootsweb.com/~ndramsey/ramsey.htm