I have no problem with ancestry or any other business charging for THEIR product or information. However, the problem that I DO have is that YOUR product (in this case compiled information, sometimes put together at great cost and time) is just that .... YOURS .. It is something YOU did, it is not THEIRS and in the case of your family history they did NOTHING to create that family tree. Yet, they talk people into putting it online on THEIR site, they pay you and give you NOTHING for that family tree (except ... big deal .. a place to put it online ... something you can do elsewhere without any hostage holding). Then, they turn around and charge YOU and anyone else who wants to see YOUR information money which they keep in THEIR pocket. Just like the person who wrote in relating how a computer crash wiped out their home database, which they had previously submitted to ancestry. The person asked for the simple help or courtesy of allowing them to retrieve a copy of their OWN information and was told "Sorry, not unless you pay for your own information by subscribing." Ancestry gives you NOTHING in return for anything you give them .... no free access to anything ... not even the Social Security Death Index is free at ancestry. That is why ancestry is the LAST place ... if even that ... that I would post my family tree on. With search engines, it is easy to find a family tree you create and put online and there are too many other places that dont engage in unfriendly customer relations. In my humble opinion, ancestry may, indeed, have a wealth of information, but they have some of the most arrogant and predatory practices and take advantage of others in an effort to line their own pockets. They use OUR information to make money for themselves when it comes to family trees. I will have no part in helping them make money for themselves with my and my cousin's efforts. If they want to sell and make money with their OWN efforts, that is just fine .... that's free market economy. Compile information, buy, catalog and put online documents, etc But taking and demanding YOUR money for YOUR efforts and giving you nothing in return, not even appreciation, is not free market economy ... it has another name. Please understand that I DO use ancestry. I use it for free in libraries that have chosen to pay for a subscription. I have found great information on it. My objections to ancestry come from practices occuring with information such as family trees or gedcoms submitted by other people for which ancestry pays nothing to acquire and then charging others for it.... including the people who submitted it. > From: Edythe98@aol.com> Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2008 08:43:27 -0500> To: ohmiami@rootsweb.com> Subject: Re: [OHMIAMI] Ancestry charges for almost everything> > How may I ask would Ancestry be able to continue if they did not charge for > subscriptions? They have to pay employees, pay for obtaining information, pay > for internet space, and just like any other company, pay all taxes, etc., > covering employees, buildings, etc.> > I, for one, have used Ancestry for almost ten years and have had no problems. > I have a few family trees posted and have corrected with no problems. I > have asked for assistance from their tech service and received help with no > problems.> > I think it boils down to a person's choice - either join or not. No one is > forced to pay a membership fee. BTW - my trees are still on Rootsweb as well > as Ancestry. They have also had my credit card number for almost ten years and > I always get an advanced notification that they will automatically renew my > subscription unless I contact them.> > For every person that has had a problem, there are many more that have had > none. Just like dealing with any other company.> > As far as finding information on the internet through societies, libraries, > et al - it takes volunteers. So ask yourself when was the last time you walked > a cemetery and transcribed it. Or gone to a court house and looked up birth, > marriages, and deaths and transcribed them and offered to a library or > genealogical society. Or even offered yourself as a volunteer look-up on any > publications you have or looking up items at your local facilities for people who > cannot get to your area.> > Now can we please get back to what this site is all about? Sharing > information and helping each other.> > Shirley> > Shirley> > > > **************The year's hottest artists on the red carpet at the Grammy > Awards. Go to AOL Music. > (http://music.aol.com/grammys?NCID=aolcmp00300000002565)> tdn-net.com/genealogy> -------------------------------> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to OHMIAMI-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

I do agree that they should always let you have access to your information and that you should have complete control over the ability to edit it. That's why I do not put mine on there anymore but use tribalpages, which offers you a great website of your own free. They also have paid ones without advertising but there's really not much advertising on the free ones. I have never been asked or had them try to talk me into putting it on there, though. All I have seen is that they promote it so that you know the service is available if you want to put it on there. I understand not everyone wants to or is able to have a subscription but I do know that the library addition doesn't have as many resources and records accessible. Debbie Carder Mayes http://allencogenealogysociety.homestead.com/Main.html www.tribalpages.com/tribes/deb6102 www.tribalpages.com/tribes/dac6102 www.rootsweb.com/~ohallen/ ----- Original Message ----- From: "RAY FRIESS" <rayfrijr@msn.com> To: <ohmiami@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 9:22 AM Subject: Re: [OHMIAMI] Ancestry charges for almost everything > > I have no problem with ancestry or any other business charging for THEIR > product or information. > However, the problem that I DO have is that YOUR product (in this case > compiled information, sometimes put together at great cost and time) is > just that .... YOURS .. It is something YOU did, it is not THEIRS and > in the case of your family history they did NOTHING to create that family > tree. > > Yet, they talk people into putting it online on THEIR site, they pay you > and give you NOTHING for that family tree (except ... big deal .. a place > to put it online ... something you can do elsewhere without any hostage > holding). Then, they turn around and charge YOU and anyone else who > wants to see YOUR information money which they keep in THEIR pocket. > > Just like the person who wrote in relating how a computer crash wiped out > their home database, which they had previously submitted to ancestry. > The person asked for the simple help or courtesy of allowing them to > retrieve a copy of their OWN information and was told "Sorry, not unless > you pay for your own information by subscribing." > > Ancestry gives you NOTHING in return for anything you give them .... no > free access to anything ... not even the Social Security Death Index is > free at ancestry. > > That is why ancestry is the LAST place ... if even that ... that I would > post my family tree on. With search engines, it is easy to find a family > tree you create and put online and there are too many other places that > dont engage in unfriendly customer relations. > > In my humble opinion, ancestry may, indeed, have a wealth of information, > but they have some of the most arrogant and predatory practices and take > advantage of others in an effort to line their own pockets. They use OUR > information to make money for themselves when it comes to family trees. I > will have no part in helping them make money for themselves with my and my > cousin's efforts. > If they want to sell and make money with their OWN efforts, that is just > fine .... that's free market economy. Compile information, buy, catalog > and put online documents, etc But taking and demanding YOUR money for > YOUR efforts and giving you nothing in return, not even appreciation, is > not free market economy ... it has another name. > > Please understand that I DO use ancestry. I use it for free in libraries > that have chosen to pay for a subscription. I have found great > information on it. My objections to ancestry come from practices occuring > with information such as family trees or gedcoms submitted by other people > for which ancestry pays nothing to acquire and then charging others for > it.... including the people who submitted it. > > >> From: Edythe98@aol.com> Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2008 08:43:27 -0500> To: >> ohmiami@rootsweb.com> Subject: Re: [OHMIAMI] Ancestry charges for almost >> everything> > How may I ask would Ancestry be able to continue if they >> did not charge for > subscriptions? They have to pay employees, pay for >> obtaining information, pay > for internet space, and just like any other >> company, pay all taxes, etc., > covering employees, buildings, etc.> > I, >> for one, have used Ancestry for almost ten years and have had no >> problems. > I have a few family trees posted and have corrected with no >> problems. I > have asked for assistance from their tech service and >> received help with no > problems.> > I think it boils down to a person's >> choice - either join or not. No one is > forced to pay a membership fee. >> BTW - my trees are still on Rootsweb as well > as Ancestry. They have >> also had my credit card number for almost ten years and > I always get an >> advanced notification that they will automatically renew my > ! > subscription unless I contact them.> > For every person that has had a > problem, there are many more that have had > none. Just like dealing with > any other company.> > As far as finding information on the internet > through societies, libraries, > et al - it takes volunteers. So ask > yourself when was the last time you walked > a cemetery and transcribed > it. Or gone to a court house and looked up birth, > marriages, and deaths > and transcribed them and offered to a library or > genealogical society. > Or even offered yourself as a volunteer look-up on any > publications you > have or looking up items at your local facilities for people who > cannot > get to your area.> > Now can we please get back to what this site is all > about? Sharing > information and helping each other.> > Shirley> > > Shirley> > > > **************The year's hottest artists on the red carpet > at the Grammy > Awards. Go to AOL Music. > > (http://music.aol.com/grammys?NCID=aolcmp00300000002565)> > tdn-net.com/genealogy> --! > -----------------------------> To unsubscribe from the list, please se > nd an email to OHMIAMI-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' > without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > tdn-net.com/genealogy > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > OHMIAMI-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message