There is a big bad world out there and here are a few things to look out for in regard to sites: 1. Anyone at all with the know-how to create a website and upload it to the net can self proclaim himself or herself a "family guru" or "geographical guru" with all the answers. They can even be very helpful (till you cross em thinking they are there for the same reasons you are). Personally I know of at least one pretty site that has managed to have my ancestry in a tangle...and refuses to change it, although I have evidence to the contrary, and this self proclaimed guru has none. Claims she "checks things before posting", then it is "set in concrete"...but she can't find or remember where she got her "evidence"...well it conflicts with the actual descendents of that line....hmmmm...call it a case of stubborn ego I guess. But BEWARE of "pretty sites" unless they have hard core evidence and documents to back the claims, OR admit they may have mistakes and do so prominently on their site. 2. Beware sites that: a) want copyright on any material you send them, b) have been known to sell material you send them in book format, etc. (if you agree, ok...but if you don't? HMMMM), OR more common, c) get testy if you post the same photos/info/etc. to multiple lists or sites. Now why would a site legitimately in the biz of helping others do that? 3. Beware list-site owners that seem to be overly jealous or "nasty" about others that deal with their geographical area, families, whatever, or that seem prone to promoting offlist gossip about folks who work in the same area, surnames, whatever. Hmmmm....what are we in this for? Helping or power and full control? Believe what you KNOW to be true, folks. And as my pop used to say, "a dog that will bring a bone will carry one." 4. Beware list-site owners that do not understand ethics and copyright. Some examples I have seen include: a) you can't copyright a list of folks in a cemetery , b) you should not post the living, c) you can't "make" folks contribute only to your list or site, etc. etc. Know this: most folks who put in the hours at this are doing it for one reason only-they want to "give back" what they have been given. But now and then you have someone with "a book in the back of their head", or you have one who likes the ego trip real well and perceives it as a position of power...UGH. Just be careful out there....don't play in the street and don't get mowed down by a Mac truck, ok? After all ANY of us, and ANYONE out there, can do this anytime we want to learn to make a website! You don't get "screened" by a panel of ethics and values judges and your content is not screened by an editor. "Let the viewer beware".