> We knew Mom was fooling around with genealogy, but the extent was a > surprise! > > We (I and eldest son) want to do it right, save this stuff to > electronic format, make it available on a website (that's no > problem). > > The problem is to get the right software the first time. Probably > other problems ...... tell me. Not much money available. > > Any good advice is appreciated. I don't want to start entering > data, only to find the effort wasted due to poor choice. > > Using my "handle" for now, until I figure how you people get away > with letting your names and email addresses hang out for SPAM > harvesting... > > "Ol' Bab" <olbabNO-SPAM@rochester.rr.com> I like "free" whenever possible and am still happy with the free product from the Mormons: PAF. I use other free gedcom to html products also gencircles is good for putting it up on the web and looking at the tree and so far no spam from them. Someone correct me here but I think the Mormons created Gedcom and possible created the first *huge need* for genealogy computer programs. So, since Family Search also has a genealogy program they are a good basic FREE program to *start* experimenting with. The way I see it after all the others go out of business PAF will probably still be around because ancestor research is part of their religion. Also, I ditto the hard copies especially the records put into non-acid archival sheets, boxes, etc. as technology changes rapidly. In case computers are still here in the next hundred years do make CDs or DVDs of everything you can get onto your puter. Others wrote: > Dunno -- my spam generates from another source, not the > newsgroups. [also] Newsgroups are generally not the source of spam. Newsgroups "per-se" are not usually sending out spam. However, they are archived for 20 years on Deja/google groups so that is possibly why I have received junk mail on email addresses I used exclusively on newsgroups. There are also other archives such as Kornet, Mailgate, etc and some like RootsWeb "mail-archives" where some of their mail-groups get "feed" from newsgroups and they archive all that too. On my websites I have my email address placed in an html page as a gif on the "send me an email page". Adding NOSPAM etc to your email works a little but as someone else pointed out some spam spyders trolling the net automatically delete the obvious - nospam, antispam, etc. My personal experience with newsgroups is that it seems best "for me" to fake, and often change, the automatic email address in the "properties" menu for the newsgroup setup. Then add something like the following at the bottom of the post every once in a while: Hope this helps, Paula ...........Disregard reply email in header My email address is at yahoo dot com addressed to paulanigro .................. "Tea Cup" <not-here@antispam.edu>