Does anyone know how personal knowledge if this is true or not? I sure would not want to get mixed up with some scam and my GEDCOM > -----Original Message----- > From: Mark Howells > Sent: Wednesday, February 23, 2000 6:11 PM > Subject: Re: FW: [Fwd: EGS - Warning about KindredKonnections] > Don't waste your time or money on KindredKonnections > > > > > >Hi all - > > > > > >Just a note that reputable genealogists don't touch > > >KindredKonnections with a ten foot pole. > > > > > >I won't contribute any of the dozens of second-hand horror stories > > >which have been shared with me about this commercial organization > > >but I will relate my own personal experiences. > > > > > >1) KindredKonnections used the hard work of dozens of volunteer > > >web masters in order to generate spam to Internet users with family > > >history interests posted on the Web. They did this in direct > > >violation of written "acceptable use" policies on these volunteer > > >web sites. > > > > > >2) I received one of these spam e-mails and decided to investigate > > >this outfit. I paid to access the data they were claiming that > > >they had. I paid because I refuse to give my GEDCOM to those who > > >state that they will sell it as KindredKonnections does. Paying > > >the short term subscription cost me less than the use of my time to > > >help them build up their databases by transcribing some online > > records. > > > > > >3) I rapidly determined that they did not have the information > > >which they claimed they had. I complained to the person who sent > > >me the original spam. That person (Cindy Carmen at > > >[email protected]) claimed to have no affiliation > > >with KindredKonnections and was just "promoting" a service that she > > >thought highly of. > > > > > >4) Clearly seeing that this was a shady deal, I brought it to the > > >attention of the Utah Division of Consumer Protection > > >(KindredKonnections is a Utah-based company). With the law looking > > >at them, Cindy suddenly knew all about my account information at > > >KindredKonnections. So she did work for KindredKonnections after > > >all - what a surprise! My money was quickly refunded in order to > > >keep me quiet so far as the Utah state regulators are concerned. > > > > > >To summarize: KindredKonnections has attempted to make money off > > >of the hard work of volunteers on the Internet. They have use > > >misleading spam to promote themselves. They have lied directly > > to me. > > > > > >I now tell anyone who discusses KindredKonnections in a public > > >forum that they are "bad news" and should be avoided like the > > >plague. Please feel free to forward this message as you see > > >appropriate. > > > > > >> > Lately, I've been monitoring for KK advertisements using the > RootsWeb PML service. I saw four go out last week from a KK > Associate (they pay you to send traffic their way) and I replied > with what you see here. > > They have a pretty web site and some useful free stuff (Cornwall > 1871 census extract - but don't ask how they got it and you won't > find any Crown copyright statement on it) but they treated me like > trash and lied to my face. They used my volunteer time to make a > profit and I am still hot about it. > > If you submit your GEDCOM to them, the fine print says they have > the right to market it commercially. > > I have heard dozens of horror stories second hand about them. They > take GEDCOMs placed online by others. They will not remove > original research submitted by others who do not have a right to it > (they offer free time instead). Rumor hath it that they are in > receipt of stolen materials from the LDS church - which explains > their huge database available almost overnight. These guys are bad > news. > > They are probably the most talented of the "get-rich-quick" set > that has joined our little community. Compared to other like > "Genealogy Detective" software, etc., the Carmens are relative > saints (no pun intended). They just want to make a buck (which I > don't mind). But if their product was any good, they wouldn't have > to lie and mislead people. > > The Carmens will also sell you Essential Oils complete with > biblical references if you like: > > http://www.healthoils.com/ > > At least they'll have something to fall back on if the genealogy > scam doesn't work out. > > > >