If you upload information to Ancestry.com, of course they're going to use it. If you don't like your information being used by Ancestry, don't upload it to Ancestry. Most of what's free at Ancestry.com has been uploaded by users, so blame other users for the errors, not Ancestry.com. At least in the case of RootsWebWorldConnect / AncestryWorldTrees (same database, different interface), you can add Postems supplying the correct information for any errors you find. Most of what's really valuable at Ancestry.com requires a paid subscription to access. It's not a question of knowing, ahead of time, where to look. Whatever they have, their search engine will find, provided you try enough spelling variations of the name. Most of their databases will allow you to add a correction to the index, so it behooves all of us to add the standard spelling for names that are misspelled in the index, as an aid to future workers. Some indices will even allow you to add a comment to, for example, indicate the correct relationships in a census record that is, on the face of it, misleading (e.g., that a young boy is a nephew, not a son). If you see a fellow genealogist is in error, don't complain about it, correct them. The more we share our information, the faster we will all advance. All IMO, of course, Diana > -----Original Message----- <snip> > > I am not very good at Ancestry and avoid like the plague to put any > information on line at their site. They love to use every > bit of it and some is incorrect! Maybe you have an idea where to > look on Ancestry that I have missed. > <snip> > > Nora

IMHO.....Ancestry TOOK all of the info that was downloaded to Rootsweb by people who contributed it to a free site which was all of our family info........they took it and started charging for it. What gall! I and many others have NEVER and would never upload to Ancestry. At 01:40 PM 12/15/2009, you wrote: >If you upload information to Ancestry.com, of course they're going to use it. >If you don't like your information being used by Ancestry, don't upload it to >Ancestry. > >Most of what's free at Ancestry.com has been uploaded by users, so blame other >users for the errors, not Ancestry.com. At least in the case of >RootsWebWorldConnect / AncestryWorldTrees (same database, different >interface), >you can add Postems supplying the correct information for any errors you find. > >Most of what's really valuable at Ancestry.com requires a paid subscription to >access. It's not a question of knowing, ahead of time, where to >look. Whatever >they have, their search engine will find, provided you try enough spelling >variations of the name. > >Most of their databases will allow you to add a correction to the index, so it >behooves all of us to add the standard spelling for names that are >misspelled in >the index, as an aid to future workers. Some indices will even >allow you to add >a comment to, for example, indicate the correct relationships in a >census record >that is, on the face of it, misleading (e.g., that a young boy is a >nephew, not >a son). > >If you see a fellow genealogist is in error, don't complain about it, correct >them. The more we share our information, the faster we will all advance. > >All IMO, of course, >Diana > > > -----Original Message----- ><snip> > > > > I am not very good at Ancestry and avoid like the plague to put any > > information on line at their site. They love to use every > > bit of it and some is incorrect! Maybe you have an idea where to > > look on Ancestry that I have missed. > > ><snip> > > > > Nora > > >------------------------------- >To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >BROWN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the >quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Eleanor is right. Ancestry.com owns RootsWeb.com. If memory serves me, they bought it in 1999. The files people contributed to RootsWeb are still online and still free. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ Ancestry has gradually morphed the old RootsWeb GenConnect Boards into Ancestry's own message boards, but they're still online and still free. Ancestry has merged the data from their WorldTrees into RootsWeb's WorldConnect, but the database is still free. Other than the considerable extent of my contributions to RootsWeb via mailing lists and message boards, I haven't uploaded information to RootsWeb or Ancestry, nor do I ever intend to do so (all of my information is online at my own web site, so I can guarantee it remains freely accessible by anyone). If you give something to someone, they can use it any way they please. That was true back in the 1990s, and it's true now. RootsWeb always was a for-profit business, even before Ancestry.com bought it. RootsWeb never had -- and never applied for -- status as a non-profit organization, though they long led donors into believing they were doing so. When RootsWeb finally incorporated (in 1998 if my memory serves me), they did so as a for-profit corporation, much to the outrage of many RootsWeb donors. People who think RootsWeb was ever a non-profit organization are laboring under a mis-conception. So, if you weren't angry, then, why are you angry, now? The situation has not fundamentally changed. Please tell me what you think was donated to RootsWeb that Ancestry is now charging to access. Diana > -----Original Message----- > From: brown-bounces@rootsweb.com On Behalf Of Jessie Davis > Sent: Wednesday, December 16, 2009 7:15 PM > To: brown@rootsweb.com > Subject: Re: [BROWN] Uploads (?) to ancestry > > > > IMHO.....Ancestry TOOK all of the info that was downloaded to > Rootsweb by people who contributed it to a free site which was all of > our family info........they took it and started charging for > it. What gall! I and many others have NEVER and would never upload > to Ancestry. > > > > > > > At 01:40 PM 12/15/2009, you wrote: > >If you upload information to Ancestry.com, of course they're > going to use it. > >If you don't like your information being used by Ancestry, > don't upload it to > >Ancestry. > > > >Most of what's free at Ancestry.com has been uploaded by > users, so blame other > >users for the errors, not Ancestry.com. At least in the case of > >RootsWebWorldConnect / AncestryWorldTrees (same database, different > >interface), > >you can add Postems supplying the correct information for > any errors you find. > > > >Most of what's really valuable at Ancestry.com requires a > paid subscription to > >access. It's not a question of knowing, ahead of time, where to > >look. Whatever > >they have, their search engine will find, provided you try > enough spelling > >variations of the name. > > > >Most of their databases will allow you to add a correction > to the index, so it > >behooves all of us to add the standard spelling for names that are > >misspelled in > >the index, as an aid to future workers. Some indices will even > >allow you to add > >a comment to, for example, indicate the correct relationships in a > >census record > >that is, on the face of it, misleading (e.g., that a young boy is a > >nephew, not > >a son). > > > >If you see a fellow genealogist is in error, don't complain > about it, correct > >them. The more we share our information, the faster we will > all advance. > > > >All IMO, of course, > >Diana > > > > > -----Original Message----- > ><snip> > > > > > > I am not very good at Ancestry and avoid like the plague > to put any > > > information on line at their site. They love to use every > > > bit of it and some is incorrect! Maybe you have an idea where to > > > look on Ancestry that I have missed. > > > > ><snip> > > > > > > Nora > > > > > >------------------------------- > >To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > >BROWN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > >quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > BROWN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' > without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > >

I agree with Diana completely. All the tree info that we up-load to either Rootsweb or Ancestry is free to anyone to access. If you don't up-load your info, you are missing out on a great resource. I make contact with new cousins all the time that found my data on one of these sites. I assure you these n ew cousins are great resources for researching my extended family. If you don't want to use the pay portion of ancestry, that is your choice, but the free partrs are of great value to a long time researcher. I update my on line trees at least three times a year. Good luck in your searching, but don't forget to look for the good stuff that is available in other people's trees. Just remember those trees aren't proven genealogies, but some are very good clues. Bob ________________________________ From: Diana Gale Matthiesen <DianaGM@dgmweb.net> To: brown@rootsweb.com Sent: Wed, December 16, 2009 7:56:46 PM Subject: Re: [BROWN] Uploads (?) to ancestry Eleanor is right.  Ancestry.com owns RootsWeb.com.  If memory serves me, they bought it in 1999.  The files people contributed to RootsWeb are still online and still free.  http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ Ancestry has gradually morphed the old RootsWeb GenConnect Boards into Ancestry's own message boards, but they're still online and still free. Ancestry has merged the data from their WorldTrees into RootsWeb's WorldConnect, but the database is still free. Other than the considerable extent of my contributions to RootsWeb via mailing lists and message boards, I haven't uploaded information to RootsWeb or Ancestry, nor do I ever intend to do so (all of my information is online at my own web site, so I can guarantee it remains freely accessible by anyone).  If you give something to someone, they can use it any way they please.  That was true back in the 1990s, and it's true now. RootsWeb always was a for-profit business, even before Ancestry.com bought it. RootsWeb never had -- and never applied for -- status as a non-profit organization, though they long led donors into believing they were doing so. When RootsWeb finally incorporated (in 1998 if my memory serves me), they did so as a for-profit corporation, much to the outrage of many RootsWeb donors. People who think RootsWeb was ever a non-profit organization are laboring under a mis-conception. So, if you weren't angry, then, why are you angry, now?  The situation has not fundamentally changed.  Please tell me what you think was donated to RootsWeb that Ancestry is now charging to access. Diana > -----Original Message----- > From: brown-bounces@rootsweb.com On Behalf Of Jessie Davis > Sent: Wednesday, December 16, 2009 7:15 PM > To: brown@rootsweb.com > Subject: Re: [BROWN] Uploads (?) to ancestry > > > > IMHO.....Ancestry TOOK all of the info that was downloaded to > Rootsweb by people who contributed it to a free site which was all of > our family info........they took it and started charging for > it.  What gall!  I and many others have NEVER and would never upload > to Ancestry. > > > > > > > At 01:40 PM 12/15/2009, you wrote: > >If you upload information to Ancestry.com, of course they're > going to use it. > >If you don't like your information being used by Ancestry, > don't upload it to > >Ancestry. > > > >Most of what's free at Ancestry.com has been uploaded by > users, so blame other > >users for the errors, not Ancestry.com.  At least in the case of > >RootsWebWorldConnect / AncestryWorldTrees (same database, different > >interface), > >you can add Postems supplying the correct information for > any errors you find. > > > >Most of what's really valuable at Ancestry.com requires a > paid subscription to > >access.  It's not a question of knowing, ahead of time, where to > >look.  Whatever > >they have, their search engine will find, provided you try > enough spelling > >variations of the name. > > > >Most of their databases will allow you to add a correction > to the index, so it > >behooves all of us to add the standard spelling for names that are > >misspelled in > >the index, as an aid to future workers.  Some indices will even > >allow you to add > >a comment to, for example, indicate the correct relationships in a > >census record > >that is, on the face of it, misleading (e.g., that a young boy is a > >nephew, not > >a son). > > > >If you see a fellow genealogist is in error, don't complain > about it, correct > >them.  The more we share our information, the faster we will > all advance. > > > >All IMO, of course, > >Diana > > > > > -----Original Message----- > ><snip> > > > > > > I am not very good at Ancestry and avoid like the plague > to put any > > > information on line at their site.  They love to use every > > > bit of it and  some is incorrect!  Maybe you have an idea where to > > > look on Ancestry that I  have missed. > > > > ><snip> > > > > > > Nora > > > > > >------------------------------- > >To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > >BROWN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > >quotes in the subject and the body of the message >  > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > BROWN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' > without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to BROWN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message