A response to your Help Desk message, "Family Tree Ties - Jim Cowan," of Tuesday, 12 March 2002, at 10:14 p.m. follows: Please revisit the form located at helpdesk if you wish to respond. Thank You!! The message reads as follows: ------------------------- Facts such as names, births, and marriages are a matter of public record and are available from many sources, not just genealogy sites. RootsWeb strongly encourages our submitters to withhold information on living people, however, they are under no legal obligation to do so. Because the information you are questioning is public record, it is legal for anyone to post it. Because the information is public record, no permission or prior authorization is required. Becuase the information is public record, it cannot be owned by anyone, and because it cannot be owned, it cannot be stolen. RootsWeb will not change or adopt any policy to be in contrast with public policy in the United States. Thank you for allowing us to clarify our policy for you. Further communications from you will be ignored. -------------------------