HI all, I find this very disappointing. Of course Ancestry.com is a business and has to make money but a great many people donate their completed family histories to Ancestry, for free. Now I notice people are posting many old family photos on Ancestry. com as well. As family historians, most of us have an ethic of sharing and our research certainly works a lot better if we DO share what we have found out with each other. Should we all start posting our family histories and photos exclusively on free web sites? I personally have chosen to do this. It is for selfish reasons as well. I want to have the best possible chance of connecting with other people interested in the same family as me and its obvious that more people have access on a free site. I simply cannot afford to keep up an annual membership in Ancestry.com myself. Do people have suggestions to this dilemma other than trying to post as much as possible to free sites? Another option to write to our own government archives and request that they do more to make data which is, after all, our own property as citizens, available to us online. Virtually all of the information we want (vital stats, censuses, etc.) was created by "we the people" and should have ownership of it, within privacy limits, of course. We could all write to Ancestry.com in protest as well. Yours for a vital family history community, Lynne Quoting Deb Guildner <[email protected]>: > Wondering whether large public libraries be similarly affected? > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]>; > <[email protected]>; <[email protected]>; > <[email protected]> > Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 7:55 AM > Subject: [PORTSMOUTH-GOSPORT] Ancestry databases at the FHL's > > >> For those of you that use the free database access at the FHL's, you >> will >> be unhappy to learn that most will soon be discontinued. What follows is >> a >> partial quote from a posting at [email protected]_ >> (mailto:[email protected]) .net >> >> "I heard word today that Ancestry.com is discontinuing free access to >> the Ancestry.com Databases to all Family History Libraries worldwide >> as of April 1, 2007. After much disbelief and many e-mails, it is >> true as our local FHL director just received an e-mail message >> concerning this." >> >> "Free access through Ancestry.com to a few databases will continue - >> at this time. Complete information can be found on Everton's >> Genealogical NewsLine at: <http://genealogyblog.com/date/2007/03/16/>" >> >> Reasons and comments from Ancestry to the above announced discontinuance >> can >> be read at Everton Publishers blogsite at; >> >> _http://genealogyblog.com/ancestrycom/another-side-of-the-ancestrycom-removal- >> from-the-family-history-centers-5877_ >> (http://genealogyblog.com/ancestrycom/another-side-of-the-ancestrycom-removal-from-the-family-history-centers-5877) >> >> Donald >> Portland Oregon >> >> >> >> ************************************** AOL now offers free email to >>

Hi, I have always been willing to share my family history but will never put it all on a website. We can never be sure what that particular site will do with it. It's better to keep some control over the work we have done. Regards to all, Edna - Ottawa ----- Original Message ----- From: "lynne robinson" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2007 7:19 PM Subject: Re: [PORTSMOUTH-GOSPORT] Ancestry databases at Public Libraries HI all, I find this very disappointing. Of course Ancestry.com is a business and has to make money but a great many people donate their completed family histories to Ancestry, for free. Now I notice people are posting many old family photos on Ancestry. com as well. As family historians, most of us have an ethic of sharing and our research certainly works a lot better if we DO share what we have found out with each other. Should we all start posting our family histories and photos exclusively on free web sites? I personally have chosen to do this. It is for selfish reasons as well. I want to have the best possible chance of connecting with other people interested in the same family as me and its obvious that more people have access on a free site. I simply cannot afford to keep up an annual membership in Ancestry.com myself. Do people have suggestions to this dilemma other than trying to post as much as possible to free sites? Another option to write to our own government archives and request that they do more to make data which is, after all, our own property as citizens, available to us online. Virtually all of the information we want (vital stats, censuses, etc.) was created by "we the people" and should have ownership of it, within privacy limits, of course. We could all write to Ancestry.com in protest as well. Yours for a vital family history community, Lynne Quoting Deb Guildner <[email protected]>: > Wondering whether large public libraries be similarly affected? > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]>; > <[email protected]>; <[email protected]>; > <[email protected]> > Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 7:55 AM > Subject: [PORTSMOUTH-GOSPORT] Ancestry databases at the FHL's > > >> For those of you that use the free database access at the FHL's, you >> will >> be unhappy to learn that most will soon be discontinued. What follows >> is >> a >> partial quote from a posting at [email protected]_ >> (mailto:[email protected]) .net >> >> "I heard word today that Ancestry.com is discontinuing free access to >> the Ancestry.com Databases to all Family History Libraries worldwide >> as of April 1, 2007. After much disbelief and many e-mails, it is >> true as our local FHL director just received an e-mail message >> concerning this." >> >> "Free access through Ancestry.com to a few databases will continue - >> at this time. Complete information can be found on Everton's >> Genealogical NewsLine at: <http://genealogyblog.com/date/2007/03/16/>" >> >> Reasons and comments from Ancestry to the above announced discontinuance >> can >> be read at Everton Publishers blogsite at; >> >> _http://genealogyblog.com/ancestrycom/another-side-of-the-ancestrycom-removal- >> from-the-family-history-centers-5877_ >> (http://genealogyblog.com/ancestrycom/another-side-of-the-ancestrycom-removal-from-the-family-history-centers-5877) >> >> Donald >> Portland Oregon >> >> >> >> ************************************** AOL now offers free email to >> ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message