>Before volunteering to be part of an organization; >you would think a person would have enough common >sense to check out the bylaws and /or requirements >of that organization. When I became a volunteer, USGenweb had just started (1996), and most of these rules had not been put in place, I did not know anyone who was involved, I was brand new to the internet, and did not live in OK. Since then, the rules have changed.... a lot! The organization I joined does not exist anymore. It has evolved into a much more structured thing, with mandatory rules, and most importantly, an association with a commercial venture and I think that colors what the rules are. I know that we're supposed to be dedicated to "free" genealogy, but how can that be so if the server that most of us are on (and this list, by the way), is owned by a commercial genealogy company, ancestry.com? We were originally told it was not OK to have commercial links to our pages, but now most counties have query pages, bio pages, etc., which are hosted by ancestry.com. If our pages are on rootsweb, then everything we have on our pages are searchable through ancestry.com. If our mailing lists are on rootsweb, they are searchable through ancestry.com. Dont't you think this makes us "commercial" rather than "free" genealogy? I have been fighting with this in my heart for a long time, ever since rootsweb was sold to ancestry. I love my Kay County page and I have met many good folks in the OKGenweb. But I do not feel that I should "volunteer" my services to enhance a commercial venture and be restricted by increasingly arbitrary rules that say what I can and cannot put on my pages. I am, therefore, tendering my resignation as the OKGenWeb/USGenWeb coordinator for Kay County. I will be moving all material that I have contributed and/or written to another, more independent, server (not usgennet, by the way). I do not give my permission for my material to be used by OKGenweb, USGenweb or ancestry.com. I have consulted with my lookup people and they have agreed with me. I will be moving their materials also so that we can put together a truly free Kay County site. I think I make #5 in the coordinators who have quit since this last round of "discussions" about required elements. How many will it take to wake people up? Harriette ===== Harriette Host, Kay County OK and Sumner Co. KS web sites http://www.rootsweb.com/~okkay/okkay.htm http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/sumner/index.html Webmaster, Hoisington Family Web Site <http://oslo.okcomputer.org/hoisington/index.html> To join the free online Hoisington Mailing List, just ask me. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Shopping - Mother's Day is May 12th! http://shopping.yahoo.com
I am sorry to see you go, Harriette. Thanks for saying goodbye. Not that it makes any difference, but Rootsweb was a commercial venture, too. Most of us just didn't know it. David On Thu, 9 May 2002, Harriette Jensen wrote: > >Before volunteering to be part of an organization; > >you would think a person would have enough common > >sense to check out the bylaws and /or requirements > >of that organization. > > When I became a volunteer, USGenweb had just started (1996), and most > of these rules had not been put in place, I did not know anyone who was > involved, I was brand new to the internet, and did not live in OK. > Since then, the rules have changed.... a lot! The organization I > joined does not exist anymore. It has evolved into a much more > structured thing, with mandatory rules, and most importantly, an > association with a commercial venture and I think that colors what the > rules are. > > I know that we're supposed to be dedicated to "free" genealogy, but how > can that be so if the server that most of us are on (and this list, by > the way), is owned by a commercial genealogy company, ancestry.com? We > were originally told it was not OK to have commercial links to our > pages, but now most counties have query pages, bio pages, etc., which > are hosted by ancestry.com. If our pages are on rootsweb, then > everything we have on our pages are searchable through ancestry.com. > If our mailing lists are on rootsweb, they are searchable through > ancestry.com. Dont't you think this makes us "commercial" rather than > "free" genealogy? > > I have been fighting with this in my heart for a long time, ever since > rootsweb was sold to ancestry. I love my Kay County page and I have > met many good folks in the OKGenweb. But I do not feel that I should > "volunteer" my services to enhance a commercial venture and be > restricted by increasingly arbitrary rules that say what I can and > cannot put on my pages. > > I am, therefore, tendering my resignation as the OKGenWeb/USGenWeb > coordinator for Kay County. I will be moving all material that I have > contributed and/or written to another, more independent, server (not > usgennet, by the way). I do not give my permission for my material to > be used by OKGenweb, USGenweb or ancestry.com. I have consulted with > my lookup people and they have agreed with me. I will be moving their > materials also so that we can put together a truly free Kay County > site. > > I think I make #5 in the coordinators who have quit since this last > round of "discussions" about required elements. How many will it take > to wake people up? > > Harriette > > > > > > ===== > Harriette > Host, Kay County OK and Sumner Co. KS web sites > http://www.rootsweb.com/~okkay/okkay.htm > http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/sumner/index.html > Webmaster, Hoisington Family Web Site <http://oslo.okcomputer.org/hoisington/index.html> > To join the free online Hoisington Mailing List, just ask me. > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Shopping - Mother's Day is May 12th! > http://shopping.yahoo.com > [email protected] David W. Morgan Honolulu Hawaii http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~dmorgan/ http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/tx/txfiles.htm