Joan & All Members I posted the message to the list as a hot topic to "READ" about over the weekend. I did not say "discuss" on the email list. But since you wanted to comment on list on how you thought it was not appropriate and should not be on the email list, I will answer you on list so that all the members will know how I, as the moderator stand on the topic of what is or is not appropriate on the list. I don't want any of the new list members to be afraid to post a message they feel is relevant, in fear of upsetting someone else on the list. All members have a right to share anything they feel is worth mentioning about Genealogy and History to the list. New ways to research, helpful tips or like the Ancestry.com issue. I think it is great when a post is made on new records available, free viewings or even news paper articles that mention things going on in the area. If we don't share these sort of things how are we to know what is going on? If someone wouldn't have passed on the information about the changes NARA made I would have been in the dark about their fees changing. NARA is not "Randolph County" but it does pertain to Genealogy and it was a very important issue. I don't even mind DNA discussions on the list unlike some moderators. I made it clear in the subject line what my post was about. As I have said on more than one occasion, when someone posts something that is not of interest to you, then by all means use your delete button. The Randolph County Email list has over 200+ members. There is no way that every post is going to be one that everyone wants to read or feels is "appropriate". The diversity of this list is what has made the Randolph County list so great, there is usually something for everyone here and it has been an open and friendly environment. I too am a paying member to Ancestry.com and I use the site often and have for years. I am not attempting "an all out attempt" to take them down. I love Ancestry.com but I don't agree with some of their tactics. Nor do I feel that all the work that me or the other volunteers have completed is our "private" property. If I felt that way I would not spend my time and money volunteering on the websites making it available for free. As for the relevance to this email list, I say again, it is for Genealogy and History for Randolph County and a place to share tips and ideas for researching. The issue does pertain to genealogy and genealogy records and the ability to access them. It also brings up the question of copywrite which has frequently been an issue for researchers who want to share records with the websites. As moderator of this list, I felt it was worth sharing and as I said in my first message I think it is very important for all of us researchers to keep up on what is happening in the Genealogy world and how it may affect our ability to access information. With all that said I hope everyone understands I was not trying to get a huge debate started on list, I was just passing along information. As with all posts do with as you please, read it or delete it. For all others who don't like the read or delete function there are directions located at the bottom of each post explaining how to avoid the posts from being delivered to your email address. <G> Have a great and safe Labor Day! Gina Richardson INGenWeb County Coordinator Delaware County IN http://www.rootsweb.com/~indelawa/ Randolph County IN http://www.rootsweb.com/~inrandol/ Rootsweb Admin. [email protected] Rootsweb Admin. [email protected] ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joan Sickles" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, September 02, 2007 12:44 PM Subject: Re: [INRANDOL] INRANDOL Digest, Vol 2, Issue 181 >I am a paying member of Ancestry.com. Over the years I have had much > success in learning about my family. For research purposes, this site has > surpassed going directly to the library, visiting the locale, writing > letters, and searching all other internet sites. So, I have a a few > thoughts before we try an all out effort to bring this site down. > > 1) We need to consider when is a copyright notice not really valid. A > discussion of copyrights really belongs elsewhere. > > 2) I know that many of us spend a lot of time and money gathering > information that is in the public domain (over the many years, I have > spent > a great deal of time and money on this hobby), but we need to recognize > the > fact that this does not make the information we gather our "private" > property. > > 3) I hate to say this, but this topic has no place on this discussion > board. >