> > > 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 Lepore" <[email protected]> But the problem is that erroneous information does everyone an injustice. Tell a lie, even inadvertently, often enough and it attains some credibility. If anyone knows better don't you have a problem with them thinking you don't know better either? That happens if you're a pretty well-known researcher of your line. I don't want to be known as a good researcher but very loose with "facts". Hugh [email protected] (J. Hugh Sullivan)