> > However, a serious researcher will always acknowledge the original > transcriber. First, it is courteous to acknowledge the time, money, > and/or > effort expended. But for purposes of scholarship, a competent researcher > recognizes that most transcriptions contain errors. Old handwriting may > be > difficult to read. Newspaper type setting may result in a lower case RN > (rn) looking like M (m). Typos are more frequent than we would like to > admint. [ed. note: I didn't mistype "admit" on purpose, but since I did, I > left it as a perfect example of how errors can creep in <g>). Sometimes, > our brains or fingers simply short-circuit and type 1981 instead of 1781. This brings up something that I have been pondering. Another researcher recently sent me her transcriptions of two documents from public records and informed me that I could use them if I gave her credit. Now, I am scrupulous about documenting and about giving people credit; and if the documents she transcribed were some that I did not have access to, I would use her transcriptions and definitely credit her. However, I have access to these documents, and it is my usual practice, to retranscribe them myself and to use simply the public record citation as my source. On the other hand, I don't know how long it might have taken me to find these particular documents. To satisfy courtesy should I both credit the other researcher and do my own transcription? I must admit that no one has ever told me that I could use something that he or she provided only if I gave him or her credit. [Again, I do that anyway.] I fully understand how Bruce feels about other people using his work with attribution. As others have said, that is a problem of courtesy and ethics, not copyright. However, when I send someone a text report on a genealogical line, I always include this request on the title page of the report: "Although facts cannot be copyrighted, I would appreciate credit for my research if you share it with others." I don't know whether it does any good, but it makes me feel better, LOL! Sara Binkley Tarpley