-----Original Message----- From: Tim Stowell <tstowell@chattanooga.net> To: BOARD-L@rootsweb.com <BOARD-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Thursday, September 02, 1999 1:38 AM Subject: [BOARD-L] Old Business >There were a couple of items left either undiscussed and/or unhandled by >the former Board. > >These items were, in no particular order: > >1. Discussion concerning a CC's right to ask for reimbursement of costs on >a county site and/or for contributions to further the site's offerings. > The county site whose coordinator was asking for donations, which started this discussion, has removed the "Funding FAQ" and all other requests for monetary donations. She's replaced it with a very nicely done "Volunteers & Contributors FAQ". She's got some great ideas for encouraging donations of transcriptions and such, and, actually, I think her approach could serve as a model for other CCs to emulate. A particularly good idea is a small mailing list she's set up on eGroups.com just for those who volunteer and contribute data to her site. The list is for general questions and discussion on how to improve the county site. So, the immediate problem has been taken care of. We need, though, to think of how we, as a Project, should handle similar situations in the future. Here are my thoughts: When you're getting into asking for cash money, in any way, shape, or form, you're starting down a very slippery slope. The potential would exist for abuse and dishonesty, and once those problems started, we'd have one heck of a mess. So, my personal opinion is that I'd rather see *less* data and maintain the pristine, commercial and money-free nature of the project. This is not any reflection of the CC mentioned above, or her site. I am confident that what she was doing was perfectly above-board. But, the next person may *not* be, and where do we draw the line? The best place is usually at the beginning. The recent discussions on the SC list seem to indicate that the State Coordinators generally feel this way, as well. Shari SE/MA SC Rep