From: "John M. Scroggins" <scroggjm@erols.com> To: "Jack Cox" <jack_cox@kc.net>, <MADMANSMON@aol.com>, "Gloria Frazier" <glofra@townsqr.com> Subject: RE: [ILMACOUP-L] Uploads to CD Suppliers Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 08:00:11 -0500 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook 8.5, Build 4.71.2173.0 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.3110.3 Importance: Normal Gloria: Since this could be construed as a commercial message, I'll leave it up to you whether to put it on the list to correct the mistaken impression that Ancestry.com sells CD's with user-contributed files. Contrary to what Mr. Cox and Mary (MADMANSMOM@aol.com) imply, Ancestry.com does NOT sell family tree information on CD's and does NOT charge for access to such information users post in order to share with other users. Gedcom files submitted to Ancestry.com by users are freely available to all visitors to the site without subscription; they are not put on CD's; and the data is not sold to anybody and never will be. Ancestry.com both makes it easy to contact the submitter directly by providing email addresses, but no personal information. And Ancestry.com makes it easy for a user to withdraw a file at any time for any reason (as was recently done by another Scroggin researcher who plans to update his large, well documented file that includes information about a few early Macoupin County settlers). Most of the CD's produced by Ancestry.com for sale are searchable copies of standard reference books ("The Source," "Ancestry's Red Book," "The Library," "The Library of Congress," the Allen County Public Library's "PERiodical Source Index," etc.), not family tree information. Most of Ancestry.com's subscription databases are ones for which there was a substantial conversion cost and/or a need to compensate the copyright owner. As a result, there is a growing amount of information online that simply wouldn't be there otherwise. Ancestry.com does post large amounts of information that is freely available without subscription and will continue to do so. And Ancestry.com will make user-contributed data available for free if there is no purchase or conversion cost. John M. Scroggins Director of Electronic Records Ancestry.com Subscriber to ILMACOUP-L (Scroggins, Gaskill, Tatum in Macoupin and Madison before 1856) > -----Original Message----- > From: Jack Cox [mailto:jack_cox@kc.net] > Sent: Tuesday, March 16, 1999 9:28 PM > To: ILMACOUP-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: [ILMACOUP-L] Uploads to CD Suppliers > > > I share Gloria Frazier's concerns about posting information > up to the various on-line "collectors" such as Ancestry and > Family Tree Maker. All of these CD makers encourage you to > post your information in order to "share" it with other > researchers. If it was sharing, they wouldn't be charging > what they do for the disks. I don't begrudge them a profit, > but earning money on my hard earned information - > particularly after I shelled out the money for their > software - seems a bit off center to me. > > I see a real problem here. If we don't share our > information, then how will we continue to help the other > researchers out there? On the other hand, if we do share, > our information can be misused, and at best will lead people > down the wrong path. > > Personally, I have never bought a CD from any of the family > tree program companies. I have looked at their info when > they have "free" promotions, but have found little that > hellps me, and unfortunately, the "proofs" are very thin and > usually nonexistant. Unfortunately, I have even found many > serious errors in the information provided by LDS. > > I do, on occasion, add information to my "cousins" part of > the tree without complete verification - at least from > people I trust, and if there are enough clues to indicate a > probable fit. However, if no annotation of source is > included, I take it as unproven. > > My recommendation . . . don't post information you have > gotten from others without their permission, and never post > it without credit. Posting unproven data is probably the > worst idea of all. > > I have long had a personal rule that I will never "post up" > my information to one of the "CD" sites. However, I will go > out of my way to share information with anyone who needs > help. > > My two cents worth . . . > > Jack Cox -----Original Message----- From: MADMANSMOM@aol.com [mailto:MADMANSMOM@aol.com] Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 1999 12:20 AM To: ILMACOUP-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [ILMACOUP-L] Uploads to CD Suppliers In a message dated 99-03-16 21:35:48 EST, you write: << I share Gloria Frazier's concerns about posting information up to the various on-line "collectors" such as Ancestry and Family Tree Maker. >> I agree with both Jack and Gloria. The only good thing I see about FTM and Ancestry is that maybe someone will purchase the CDs and happen to be connected to you and then contact you to share and update the information. Maybe that is a dreamers attitude. Mary