> > I can appreciate that you would not feel good if this > > happened, but I fear that the reality is that the only > > thing that you can change is your reaction. > > > > Chris J Dixon > > I'm a descendant of Puritans with a strong law-and-order streak, > what can I say? > > I doubt "change your reaction" would be your response if someone > stole from you. I really don't see that I should get MY case jumped > when all I'm wanting is to make it a bit more difficult for a thief > to steal from me, and I see it as no different from locking my doors > and windows to make it difficult enough for a thief to get into my > house, or my truck, that he'll decide it's not worth the effort and > will move on. I really don't see why I should be criticized for not > wanting to become a victim while I DO want to assist others by > providing my information to those who will use it legitimately and > who will be kind and courteous enough to render proper credit to the > person who did the work. > > I really can't see any of y'all wanting any less for yourselves, > either. > > "Karen Rhodes" <[email protected]> I don't think Chris was jumping on your case. I think the message here is there is no way to control your data once you put it on line. If it were in a jpeg format, that might hinder the automated data collectors, but it would not necessarily stop the individuals who are name collectors from taking your info and adding it to their trees. Is it wrong not to give credit to the creator of the data? Well of course it is, but many people operate under the assumption that if it's on the internet, it is free, or free to use as the copier wants. [And yes, this is a copyright matter, but let's not go there] I don't think there is anything that can be done to stop someone from taking your work posted on line, so the only choices left are to not publish on line, or put your information out there, and don't worry about who takes it. That is what I took from Chris' message to you. If you were to post the facts, and only the facts without the sources - but with a note that sources are available, a serious researcher will contact you for more information. The people who take your data and incorporate it into their own - well who cares about them? Even if they go on to publish it in a book or on another web page, they can't pass their work off as well researched, or reliable if they have no sources to back up their data. They will not be taken seriously by people interested in factual genealogy research. Lisa "Lisa Lepore" <[email protected]>