Joan and Elsi, Instead of repeating my thank you, I'm sending this to the both of you. Thank you both for your advise. I'm also posting this reply on the RootsWeb list incase Peggy Tebbetts of: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~peggy/plymouth.html is lurking. I just sent her an E-mail asking: 1. To turn over the administration of the Surname Helper for Plymouth County to me by giving me the password. or 2. For her to go in and change the settings to indicate the correct USGenWeb Plymouth County, MA site, etc.... I'm worried I might never hear from her for she may not be active on-line anymore because her site hasn't been updated for over a year and it contains several old links. As to whether she was ever CC of USGenWeb Plymouth County, I haven't the foggiest because I took over from CW in Dec 2000 and he had been CC for a few years. I asked him how all the surname/query pages on the site operated and he didn't know or couldn't remember. I also asked him about the administration of the board: RootsWeb Message Boards [ Plymouth ] He said something to the effect he hadn't done anything with it and didn't know or couldn't remember if any passwords were involved with any of it. If he was the official administration of the board and he doesn't know how to change it, etc.... What should be done - what should I do? ****Help!!!!**** Are all these utilities: Surname Helper, the board, etc.... under separate administration or does it come under the responsibility of the cc of the county? TIA. --- Susan SGTAYLOR1@att.net My Genealogy Website - sgt http://home.att.net/~SGTAYLOR1/ ----------------------------------------------- USGW Mansfield, CT - http://home.att.net/~SGTAYLOR1/mansfield.html USGW New London, CT - http://home.att.net/~SGTAYLOR1/newlondon.html USGW Norwich, CT - http://home.att.net/~SGTAYLOR1/norwich.html USGW Windham, CT - http://home.att.net/~SGTAYLOR1/windham.html USGW Coordinator Plymouth Co., MA - http://www.rootsweb.com/~maplymou/ USGW Plymouth, MA - http://www.rootsweb.com/~macplymo/ ********************************************************* At 09:58 PM 3/31/02 -0500, you wrote: >In a message dated 3/31/02 9:42:56 PM Eastern Standard Time, >SGTaylor1@att.net writes: > > > The other pages may not say USGenWeb but this one does andddd the others > > say the search results are stored on on her page. > >Susan- > >Ah...okay. I didn't look back as that page. You could let Peggy know to >correct her page listing on the Surname Helper Site Manager page: > http://surhelp-bin.rootsweb.com/sitemgr.pl > >She needs to correct the type of site from USGenWeb/WorldGenWeb to personal >genealogy page and submit the change. > >Joan >Susan: >>If Surname Helper is indexing the queries in your account, then someone had to edit the site manager setup to cause it to look in your pages. << >>It appears as if Peggy might have been the former USGenWeb CC and set Surname Helper up and simply failed to update the Site registration when she was no longer the CC.<< >>When I recently took over a county, the former CC transferred the Surname Helper administration to me by sending me the password to log into the SH site manager.<< >>If this is not the case & Peggy wants to continue to manage the Surname Helper registration, she just needs to update the site manager utility so that it no longer indicates that this is a USGenWeb site.<< >Regards, >Elsi

In a message dated 3/31/02 9:42:56 PM Eastern Standard Time, SGTaylor1@att.net writes: > The other pages may not say USGenWeb but this one does andddd the others > say the search results are stored on on her page. Susan- Ah...okay. I didn't look back as that page. You could let Peggy know to correct her page listing on the Surname Helper Site Manager page: http://surhelp-bin.rootsweb.com/sitemgr.pl She needs to correct the type of site from USGenWeb/WorldGenWeb to personal genealogy page and submit the change. Joan

At 08:41 PM 03/31/2002 -0600, Susan Taylor wrote: >Joan, > >>Susan- >> >>Not all sites that are registered with Surname Helper are *USGenWeb* sites. >>Anyone can register a site with Surname Helper. Apparently Peggy has >>registered a page for Plymouth County, MA (I don't see any reference anywhere >>that says her site is connected to USGenWeb) with Surname Helper and these >>are the results you found in your search. > > http://surhelp-bin.rootsweb.com/sitelist.pl > >This site definitely said her site was USGenWeb/WorldGenWeb for Plymouth >County. This was the link to the list of Surname Helper Registered Sites >for Massachusetts. When I tried it again after your reply, it comes up with >the message too many to list. Soooo to get to that MA list again do it via: > >http://surhelp.rootsweb.com/sitelist.html > >Select: >All >USA: Massachusetts > >It has: > >USGenWeb/ WorldGenWeb Plymouth Co., Massachusetts 2002-03-29 23:27:0 > >with Plymouth Co., Massachusetts hyperlinked to: > >http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~peggy/plymouth.html > >The other pages may not say USGenWeb but this one does andddd the others >say the search results are stored on on her page. They aren't, they are >stored on the official USGenWeb for Plymouth County and on RootsWeb Message >Boards [ Plymouth]. Also the message on the result page says to contact her >to "post, change or delete an entry." There is no way she can post, change >or delete an entry stored on the USGenWeb for Plymouth County. > >Here is a search result: > >http://surhelp-bin.rootsweb.com/sursrch.pl?act=4&sid=101761977725147&site=M APLYMOU&st=0 > >The first 4 ADAMS are link to pages on my site like: > >http://www.rootsweb.com/~maplymou/query010.htm#374 > >and the last 2 ADAMS link to RootsWeb Message Boards [ Plymouth]. Susan: If Surname Helper is indexing the queries in your account, then someone had to edit the site manager setup to cause it to look in your pages. It appears as if Peggy might have been the former USGenWeb CC and set Surname Helper up and simply failed to update the Site registration when she was no longer the CC. When I recently took over a county, the former CC transferred the Surname Helper administration to me by sending me the password to log into the SH site manager. If this is not the case & Peggy wants to continue to manage the Surname Helper registration, she just needs to update the site manager utility so that it no longer indicates that this is a USGenWeb site. Regards, Elsi

Joan, >Susan- > >Not all sites that are registered with Surname Helper are *USGenWeb* sites. >Anyone can register a site with Surname Helper. Apparently Peggy has >registered a page for Plymouth County, MA (I don't see any reference anywhere >that says her site is connected to USGenWeb) with Surname Helper and these >are the results you found in your search. http://surhelp-bin.rootsweb.com/sitelist.pl This site definitely said her site was USGenWeb/WorldGenWeb for Plymouth County. This was the link to the list of Surname Helper Registered Sites for Massachusetts. When I tried it again after your reply, it comes up with the message too many to list. Soooo to get to that MA list again do it via: http://surhelp.rootsweb.com/sitelist.html Select: All USA: Massachusetts It has: USGenWeb/ WorldGenWeb Plymouth Co., Massachusetts 2002-03-29 23:27:0 with Plymouth Co., Massachusetts hyperlinked to: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~peggy/plymouth.html The other pages may not say USGenWeb but this one does andddd the others say the search results are stored on on her page. They aren't, they are stored on the official USGenWeb for Plymouth County and on RootsWeb Message Boards [ Plymouth]. Also the message on the result page says to contact her to "post, change or delete an entry." There is no way she can post, change or delete an entry stored on the USGenWeb for Plymouth County. Here is a search result: http://surhelp-bin.rootsweb.com/sursrch.pl?act=4&sid=101761977725147&site=MAPLYMOU&st=0 The first 4 ADAMS are link to pages on my site like: http://www.rootsweb.com/~maplymou/query010.htm#374 and the last 2 ADAMS link to RootsWeb Message Boards [ Plymouth]. --- Susan At 07:56 PM 3/31/02 -0500, you wrote: >In a message dated 3/31/02 7:25:21 PM Eastern Standard Time, >SGTaylor1@att.net writes: > > > I took over the USGenWeb site for Plymouth Co., MA: > > > > http://www.rootsweb.com/~maplymou/ > > > > a little over a year ago. As this is the official USGenWeb site for > > Plymouth Co., MA and has been for several years, why do the RootsWeb > sites > > of Surname Helper: > > > > http://surhelp-bin.rootsweb.com/sitelist.pl > > http://surhelp-bin.rootsweb.com/sursrch.pl?act=4&sid=101761977725147&site= > > MAPLYMOU&st=0 > > http://surhelp-bin.rootsweb.com/srchsite.pl?site=MAPLYMOU > > > > say the USGenWeb for Plymouth Co., MA is: > > > > http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~peggy/plymouth.html > > > > Also the results of the Search Helper for Plymouth Co., MA say: > > > > "Please note that these entries are not stored in Surname Helper, they > are > > stored at the Plymouth Co., > > Massachusetts site. To inquire about an entry on or how to post, > change or > > delete an entry, please see > > the Plymouth Co., Massachusetts home page or contact the site manager, > > Peggy Tebbetts at > > tcf@genealogist.net....." > > > > The result entries are not stored on Peggy Tebbetts' Plymouth Co., Mass. > > site. They are on either the Official USGenWeb site for Plymouth Co., or >on > > the RootsWeb Message Boards [ Plymouth ]. > > > > TIA. > >Susan- > >Not all sites that are registered with Surname Helper are *USGenWeb* sites. >Anyone can register a site with Surname Helper. Apparently Peggy has >registered a page for Plymouth County, MA (I don't see any reference anywhere >that says her site is connected to USGenWeb) with Surname Helper and these >are the results you found in your search. > >Joan > > >============================== >To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, >go to: >http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237

In a message dated 3/31/02 7:25:21 PM Eastern Standard Time, SGTaylor1@att.net writes: > I took over the USGenWeb site for Plymouth Co., MA: > > http://www.rootsweb.com/~maplymou/ > > a little over a year ago. As this is the official USGenWeb site for > Plymouth Co., MA and has been for several years, why do the RootsWeb sites > of Surname Helper: > > http://surhelp-bin.rootsweb.com/sitelist.pl > http://surhelp-bin.rootsweb.com/sursrch.pl?act=4&sid=101761977725147&site= > MAPLYMOU&st=0 > http://surhelp-bin.rootsweb.com/srchsite.pl?site=MAPLYMOU > > say the USGenWeb for Plymouth Co., MA is: > > http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~peggy/plymouth.html > > Also the results of the Search Helper for Plymouth Co., MA say: > > "Please note that these entries are not stored in Surname Helper, they are > stored at the Plymouth Co., > Massachusetts site. To inquire about an entry on or how to post, change or > delete an entry, please see > the Plymouth Co., Massachusetts home page or contact the site manager, > Peggy Tebbetts at > tcf@genealogist.net....." > > The result entries are not stored on Peggy Tebbetts' Plymouth Co., Mass. > site. They are on either the Official USGenWeb site for Plymouth Co., or on > the RootsWeb Message Boards [ Plymouth ]. > > TIA. Susan- Not all sites that are registered with Surname Helper are *USGenWeb* sites. Anyone can register a site with Surname Helper. Apparently Peggy has registered a page for Plymouth County, MA (I don't see any reference anywhere that says her site is connected to USGenWeb) with Surname Helper and these are the results you found in your search. Joan

I took over the USGenWeb site for Plymouth Co., MA: http://www.rootsweb.com/~maplymou/ a little over a year ago. As this is the official USGenWeb site for Plymouth Co., MA and has been for several years, why do the RootsWeb sites of Surname Helper: http://surhelp-bin.rootsweb.com/sitelist.pl http://surhelp-bin.rootsweb.com/sursrch.pl?act=4&sid=101761977725147&site=MAPLYMOU&st=0 http://surhelp-bin.rootsweb.com/srchsite.pl?site=MAPLYMOU say the USGenWeb for Plymouth Co., MA is: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~peggy/plymouth.html Also the results of the Search Helper for Plymouth Co., MA say: "Please note that these entries are not stored in Surname Helper, they are stored at the Plymouth Co., Massachusetts site. To inquire about an entry on or how to post, change or delete an entry, please see the Plymouth Co., Massachusetts home page or contact the site manager, Peggy Tebbetts at tcf@genealogist.net....." The result entries are not stored on Peggy Tebbetts' Plymouth Co., Mass. site. They are on either the Official USGenWeb site for Plymouth Co., or on the RootsWeb Message Boards [ Plymouth ]. TIA. --- Susan SGTAYLOR1@att.net My Genealogy Website - sgt http://home.att.net/~SGTAYLOR1/ ----------------------------------------------- USGW Mansfield, CT - http://home.att.net/~SGTAYLOR1/mansfield.html USGW New London, CT - http://home.att.net/~SGTAYLOR1/newlondon.html USGW Norwich, CT - http://home.att.net/~SGTAYLOR1/norwich.html USGW Windham, CT - http://home.att.net/~SGTAYLOR1/windham.html USGW Coordinator Plymouth Co., MA - http://www.rootsweb.com/~maplymou/ USGW Plymouth, MA - http://www.rootsweb.com/~macplymo/ *********************************************************

Valorie Zimmerman wrote: > Laurie, there are two ways to edit a page that is already online. One is > to ftp into your account, download the page, edit it on your computer, > in your editor, and then upload it again, with the same name, back into > your account. The updated page will replace the old one. > > This is definately the best way to do it, as from then on, you have an > updated backup copy on your own hard-drive, in case anything happens to > the Rootsweb server. AND you can make quick updates as you think of > them, and upload again, whenever you like. > > 8>< Not only should you keep copies of all your files on your own hard drive, but it is important to exactly replicate the /structure/ as well. That is, the folder structure, names and files should all be the same on your website and on a portion of your hard drive. Not only does this make it easier to keep track of things, but it allows you to test your changes locally /before/ uploading to your website. Even the links between your pages can be made to work on your PC. If coded correctly, the same links will work on your PC and on your website. This requires that the folder structure be the same in both places. -- Regards, Rod Dav4is / P.O. Box 118 / Hyde Park, NY 12538 / USA Genealogy, et Cetera: http://dav4is.8m.com 294 ancestral & collateral families, mostly 17th-19th century New England & European roots, total population: 66,993 Annex: http://www.gencircles.com/users/dav4is/

Dear Laurie, If I understand you have already logged in then you click on the circle beside one of the choices such as index.html and then scroll down to the box that says says HTML edit and it will take you to that page to edit. If you want to change another page then again click on the circle to mark it then scroll down and hit edit HTML and it will go to that page. so you can edit it. --- RootsWeb-Help-D-request@rootsweb.com wrote: > ATTACHMENT part 1 message/rfc822 > > RootsWeb-Help-D Digest Volume 02 : Issue 69 > > Today's Topics: > #1 [RW-Help] Newbie Help Please ["Laura > Williscraft" <laura.willisc] > #2 Re: [RW-Help] Newbie Help Please ["Lorraine > Hatfield" <lorraine@fuse] > #3 Re: [RW-Help] Newbie Help Please [Valorie > Zimmerman <valoriez@zimres] > > Administrivia: > To unsubscribe from RootsWeb-Help-D, send a message > to > > RootsWeb-Help-D-request@rootsweb.com > > that contains in the body of the message the command > > unsubscribe > > and no other text. No subject line is necessary, > but if your software > requires one, just use unsubscribe in the subject, > too. > > ______________________________ > ATTACHMENT part 2 message/rfc822 > Date: Sat, 30 Mar 2002 00:14:08 -0500 > From: "Laura Williscraft" > <laura.williscraft@sympatico.ca> > To: RootsWeb-Help-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: [RW-Help] Newbie Help Please > > i tried posting before, but i don't think anyone > understood my subject line > (my attempt at humour). > Here goes: i am assuming host duties of a web > page which already exists. > i have a rudimentary knowledge of how to "create" a > webpage (i've done one > other VERY modest page), but i'm completely stymied > as to how to edit. i > seem clueless! i've logged in with my username and > password and cannot seem > to figure out a way to "see" the HTML codes already > there -- to "download" > if you like. > Help please! > TIA > Laurie in Ontario > P.S. My first day back online after being ill: > Forgive me if i'm quite > thick. > > ______________________________ > ATTACHMENT part 3 message/rfc822 > Date: Sat, 30 Mar 2002 08:12:47 -0500 > From: "Lorraine Hatfield" <lorraine@fuse.net> > To: RootsWeb-Help-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: Re: [RW-Help] Newbie Help Please > > Hi Laurie, > > Since I've not seen many responses from the help > board lately, I'll try to > assist if I can. I'm not too much removed from a > newbie myself :)! > > The problem I'm having is I don't quite understand > the question. Where are > you logging in? Rootsweb? Are you trying to edit > pages that are already on > the site you are taking over? If you want, reply to > me directly and maybe > between we two newbies we can figure out how to get > you going. > > Lorraine > lorraine@fuse.net > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Laura Williscraft" > <laura.williscraft@sympatico.ca> > To: <RootsWeb-Help-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Saturday, March 30, 2002 12:14 AM > Subject: [RW-Help] Newbie Help Please > > > > i tried posting before, but i don't think anyone > understood my subject > line > > (my attempt at humour). > > Here goes: i am assuming host duties of a web > page which already > exists. > > i have a rudimentary knowledge of how to "create" > a webpage (i've done one > > other VERY modest page), but i'm completely > stymied as to how to edit. i > > seem clueless! i've logged in with my username > and password and cannot > seem > > to figure out a way to "see" the HTML codes > already there -- to "download" > > if you like. > > Help please! > > TIA > > Laurie in Ontario > > P.S. My first day back online after being ill: > Forgive me if i'm quite > > thick. > > > > > > ============================== > > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion > online genealogy records, > go to: > > > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > > > > ______________________________ > ATTACHMENT part 4 message/rfc822 > Date: Sat, 30 Mar 2002 14:44:25 -0800 > From: Valorie Zimmerman <valoriez@zimres.net> > To: RootsWeb-Help-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: Re: [RW-Help] Newbie Help Please > > Laura Williscraft wrote: > > > > i tried posting before, but i don't think anyone > understood my subject line > > (my attempt at humour). > > Here goes: i am assuming host duties of a web > page which already exists. > > i have a rudimentary knowledge of how to "create" > a webpage (i've done one > > other VERY modest page), but i'm completely > stymied as to how to edit. i > > seem clueless! i've logged in with my username > and password and cannot seem > > to figure out a way to "see" the HTML codes > already there -- to "download" > > if you like. > > Laurie, there are two ways to edit a page that is > already online. One is > to ftp into your account, download the page, edit it > on your computer, > in your editor, and then upload it again, with the > same name, back into > your account. The updated page will replace the old > one. > > This is definately the best way to do it, as from > then on, you have an > updated backup copy on your own hard-drive, in case > anything happens to > the Rootsweb server. AND you can make quick updates > as you think of > them, and upload again, whenever you like. > > The second way, which you should only do if the > first method is > unavailable to you, is to log into > http://homepages.rootsweb.com/fileman/file_manager.cgi > (or whatever > server your page is on), browse to your page, and > edit it online. The > reason you shouldn't do this unless absolutely > necessary, is that you > won't have an updated copy on your computer unless > you later download > it, using FTP. It's best to always have current > copies of all your > pages, organized on your hard disk just as they are > organized on the > Rootsweb webserver. > > If you have questions about editing HTML, ftping, or > any other steps, > we're here to help. > > Valorie > > PS: mention your URL, so we can see what you are > referring to. > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Greetings - send holiday greetings for Easter, Passover http://greetings.yahoo.com/

Laura Williscraft wrote: > > i tried posting before, but i don't think anyone understood my subject line > (my attempt at humour). > Here goes: i am assuming host duties of a web page which already exists. > i have a rudimentary knowledge of how to "create" a webpage (i've done one > other VERY modest page), but i'm completely stymied as to how to edit. i > seem clueless! i've logged in with my username and password and cannot seem > to figure out a way to "see" the HTML codes already there -- to "download" > if you like. Laurie, there are two ways to edit a page that is already online. One is to ftp into your account, download the page, edit it on your computer, in your editor, and then upload it again, with the same name, back into your account. The updated page will replace the old one. This is definately the best way to do it, as from then on, you have an updated backup copy on your own hard-drive, in case anything happens to the Rootsweb server. AND you can make quick updates as you think of them, and upload again, whenever you like. The second way, which you should only do if the first method is unavailable to you, is to log into http://homepages.rootsweb.com/fileman/file_manager.cgi (or whatever server your page is on), browse to your page, and edit it online. The reason you shouldn't do this unless absolutely necessary, is that you won't have an updated copy on your computer unless you later download it, using FTP. It's best to always have current copies of all your pages, organized on your hard disk just as they are organized on the Rootsweb webserver. If you have questions about editing HTML, ftping, or any other steps, we're here to help. Valorie PS: mention your URL, so we can see what you are referring to.

Hi Laurie, Since I've not seen many responses from the help board lately, I'll try to assist if I can. I'm not too much removed from a newbie myself :)! The problem I'm having is I don't quite understand the question. Where are you logging in? Rootsweb? Are you trying to edit pages that are already on the site you are taking over? If you want, reply to me directly and maybe between we two newbies we can figure out how to get you going. Lorraine lorraine@fuse.net ----- Original Message ----- From: "Laura Williscraft" <laura.williscraft@sympatico.ca> To: <RootsWeb-Help-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, March 30, 2002 12:14 AM Subject: [RW-Help] Newbie Help Please > i tried posting before, but i don't think anyone understood my subject line > (my attempt at humour). > Here goes: i am assuming host duties of a web page which already exists. > i have a rudimentary knowledge of how to "create" a webpage (i've done one > other VERY modest page), but i'm completely stymied as to how to edit. i > seem clueless! i've logged in with my username and password and cannot seem > to figure out a way to "see" the HTML codes already there -- to "download" > if you like. > Help please! > TIA > Laurie in Ontario > P.S. My first day back online after being ill: Forgive me if i'm quite > thick. > > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 >

i tried posting before, but i don't think anyone understood my subject line (my attempt at humour). Here goes: i am assuming host duties of a web page which already exists. i have a rudimentary knowledge of how to "create" a webpage (i've done one other VERY modest page), but i'm completely stymied as to how to edit. i seem clueless! i've logged in with my username and password and cannot seem to figure out a way to "see" the HTML codes already there -- to "download" if you like. Help please! TIA Laurie in Ontario P.S. My first day back online after being ill: Forgive me if i'm quite thick.

I am the administrator for the Canton Vaud, Switzerland message board. Within the last few days, the name displayed next to the messages I have posted on that board and on others has suddenly changed from "John McCoy" to "John Wayne McCoy". That's not even my correct middle name! My Rootsweb profile still has the correct information, so I am at a loss to understand where this came from. Also, since the middle name isn't in my profile, I don't see how to correct the problem. Any suggestions? Thanks! John McCoy (RealMac@aol.com)

I have been trying unsuccessfully to get surname helper to load the data from 1 of the 3 modules I have in my site. Cannot figure out why this module won't load. I have checked everything I can think of and the 2nd module just won't index. Keep getting a message "No posts for this module found." Using the CCHelper method for all three. When I do a "test" on the site manager's page the information is there in the correct summary format (the only difference is in the type of module, "B" for bios whereas the other two modules contain either a "Q" for query or "M" for marriage. Can anyone think of a reason why this one module out of three won't index? Here are the URL's http://www.rootsweb.com/~ohbrown/summarya.htm http://www.rootsweb.com/~ohbrown/marriages/summarya.htm http://www.rootsweb.com/~ohbrown/bios/summarya.htm Any help would be appreciated or if more info is needed, let me know. Thanks, Lorraine

Thank you to all who wrote to me to tell me to go into the settings and remove the check from the Read Only box. My box wasn't checked! My husband thinks because I saved the webpages on a CD-ROM (read-only) that when I reloaded the disk to my hard drive, it is a read-only. (I have 4 Rootsweb websites to deal with.) Janelle

I'll have to add my voice to those that found that Ancestry.com went way beyond the call to ensure I knew they were going to renew my subscription. I don't know why they didn't communicate principally by e-mail, but I also got phone calls. They left messages when I wasn't home, and when they finally caught up with me, they said they wanted me to know that my subscription was about to expire, and whether I would continue it. I said I thought it continued automatically, and the caller said that it did, but they were reaching out to people to make sure they remembered that it would be extended unless they took action.  NOBODY else has done this for me. On Thursday, March 28, 2002, at 12:46 PM, NCreed1@aol.com wrote: > > I am responding to the above email about "the automatic renewal."  I > found my > experience entirely different than outlined above. > > My subscription to Ancestry.com expired in March.  In January, I got a > phone > call from Ancestry.com telling me that my subscription was getting > ready to > expire.   At that time, I had the opportunity to extend it or cancel > it.  I > asked that it be extended and charged to my March bill--not the February > bill.  When my March bill arrived, the charge was posted just as I had > requested. > >> From my point of view, there was no "unexpected" charge.  The >> individual I > spoke to was most cooperative in processing my renewal, describing the > service I receive, the date it expired, my options, and very > cooperative in > billing me when I wanted it to appear on my bill. > > Nyla >

My computer crashed this week and we ended up reformatting my hard drive. When I reinstalled my programs, (I use Front Page 2000), it won't let me save my index changes because it says my index.html is read-only. I don't know what I should do next. Help, please! Janelle

I totally agree with Ms. Kathleen Larson! It seems we all hate the pop-ups and, hopefully, Internet advertisers will come to realize this type of advertising has a negative effect (which according to the latest issue of my PC magazines is happening). However, let's face it folks, the Internet won't remain free for long if we don't support the advertisers---how many of you have 'commercial television?' Sure it's free, but the price you pay is in the advertisements that interrupt every show. You want TV without advertisements you pay for 'cable' or a 'dish'-- Pay, being the operative word here. Personally, I think Ancestry.com does a wonderful job. Without their program, how could I ever search through all those databases and census records at 2:00 AM in the morning. To me, the convenience alone is worth the price. As for the merger of Rootsweb and Ancestry, is it really such a bad deal? Rootsweb is still free because of the merger...do we really have a right to complain? And, I have never had Ancestry just charge my cc account without prior notice of some sort, either email or phone call. Anyway, who's responsibility is it to be aware of what is happening in their financial world--Ancestry's?--I doubt it! It seems we all have different feelings about the Ancestry/Rootsweb topic. However, this is a help list. Can we please get back to it's intended purpose? Lorraine Hatfield http://www.rootsweb.com/~ohbrown/index.htm

[I've labeled my message as "off topic"...because it has nothing to do with actually running a Website on RootsWeb.] I have been reading many complaints about Ancestry.com posted by members of this list. I have also read a few messages in defence of Ancestry, or at least written in an "understanding" tone. I must say that I am perplexed (read, in some cases, "irritated") by the complaints and, in particular, their tone. [And let me put a disclaimer right here at the beginning that I have no vested interest in nor any official/volunteer connection with Ancestry.] 1) There seems to have been an increase in the number and frequency of those awful pop-up boxes for advertising. 2) Ancestry has databases which require a paid subscription to access them. 3) Ancestry now requires that we give them a credit card number to sign up for *free* trial subscriptions. And then, when/before the trial period is over, we have to contact them to cancel the subscription if we are not satisfied with it... otherwise we automatically get charged for the "real" subscription. These seem to be the major complaints right now. Here are my thoughts on those complaints, plus a few more thoughts/observations about Ancestry: 1) I totally agree that pop-ups are *very* annoying, and I am among those who would *never* buy anything advertised in such an "in-your-face" manner. I consider it disrespectful... rather like when you pick up your phone and are greeted by a recorded sales pitch that locks up your phone line. Advertisers *do* pay for advertising space, so, yes, I assume Ancestry does this "for the money." [Is your local newspaper loaded with weekend flyers? Mine, too, and boy, do they bug me sometimes. (I suppose they do it "for the money," too.)] Would I like Ancestry to find a less intrusive way to offer advertising space to their advertisers? Oh yes, please, please, please! If the pop-up advertising continues, will I visit Ancestry less often? That's a good possibility. If Ancestry/RootsWeb is monitoring this list, I certainly hope they'll take notice. 2) Ancestry has *always* had databases that require a paid subscription to access them. They have also *always* (even before the merger with RootsWeb) had databases that were free. They have also *always* had times when they offered free, temporary access to databases that are usually by paid subscription. Have you ever taken advantage of those offers? I have, many times. Sometimes I found something, sometimes not, but at least I got to poke around a bit, without paying a dime. 3) Here's another sticky issue. The credit card bit. I think it may be another point that Ancestry would be good to re-think a bit, because I'm sure it pushes many "potential customers" away. I got "stung" once by that "trick"... and I was not very happy about it at all. [Grrrrr!] You sign up for ten days "free" access, and then, unless you tell them that you want to unsubscribe, you find yourself with a new purchase on your credit card that month. Wouldn't it be just as easy, and more respectful of the consumers to just cut off the access after the trial period if the subscriber does not send a message saying, "Hey, I like this! Sign me up for the regular subscription!" A second time, I decided to try out another trial subscription using their credit card method, but this time, I was ready (I thought!). I carefully noted when my trial subscription would be over, so I could e-mail them at the right time to cancel it if I didn't decide to take it. When I'd made my decision, I couldn't figure out how to contact them! An e-mail address I found didn't work, and I had to hunt and hunt for a phone number. I could be wrong, but it seems that I found an 800 number... that doesn't work from Canada (where I happen to live), so I had to keep hunting, for a non-800 number. Now, that's irritating to the max! Contact information should be easy to locate, and if there are things like 800 numbers that do not work outside the US, then there should be an alternative number posted. (Are you listening Ancestry?) [By the way, in defence of Ancestry requiring a credit card number... how easy do you think it was before to sign up for a free "trial" period... over and over again... by simply using a different user name and/or e-mail? I'll bet there were lots of people taking advantage of extended "trial" periods!] Okay, that addresses those three points. Now I have a list of "non-gripes"... some might even call them things I appreciate about Ancestry. You might appreciate them, too. At least I assume you do, or you wouldn't be on this list, would you? Remember that Ancestry and RootsWeb are one and the same now. *One and the same.* So you cannot consider the "good stuff" to be coming just from RootsWeb and all the "bad stuff" coming from Ancestry. That's simply not the case. The way I understand it, RootsWeb is still here, and still *free* because Ancestry is the partner with the $$. Here are some of the things that I *greatly* appreciate about Ancestry/RootsWeb: 1) The *free* space I have for the Website that I do for a historical society of which I am a member. As far as I can tell, this space is unlimited in size, like the freepages. (Mine is an account for a genealogical/historical society.) 2) Having this space has allowed us to come into contact with people from all over the world, who are interested in our county's genealogy and history. 3) Many members of our society, as well as non-members (many of whom have since become members), are actively participating in our project. We have a growing on-line photo album of our Sullivan Co., Indiana, ancestors. We have historical essays being prepared for posting to our "local history" section. (The Webmaster... i.e. me... has been short on time lately.) We have a special section for youth (which is also slowly growing... again, simply because of a lack of time on my part.) 4) Did I say that our Web space is free? Did I mention that we are a teeny-tiny historical society? Do you know what the budget is of a teeny-tiny historical society in a teeny-tiny town? You guessed it... teeny-tiny. There would have been no question about whether or not we could pay for Web space to set up a Website... getting the back door of the museum repaired came first. (And I am quite serious about the back door.) 5) I am not a professional Webmaster. In fact, the historical society's Website is the only one I have ever done, and may be the only one I ever will do. There are a few (!) things I still have to learn about setting up and running a Website. I could not have even made the first step had it not been for the friendly guidance from RootsWeb. (Remember... Ancestry and RootsWeb are one.) And what about all the free and helpful advice I glean from this list every day? Priceless! (And that's free, too!) 6) I am currently subscribed to Ancestry's regular subscription databases, plus the US census images. (There are years I subscribe to Ancestry and other years that I don't.) I have a bit of difficulty with the census images, because I'm on a Mac, and, unfortunately, the plug-in viewer doesn't work particularly well with the system version (8.6) that I have right now. Nevertheless, I "hobble" along, slowly gleaning census pages for elusive ancestors. It's (relatively) slow, because of my computer-related problem, but I think it's worth every penny I'm paying. I can log on and off whenever it suits me best. I don't have to go down to the local family history center (although it's a friendly place!) every time I want to look at a census record. (Which I have to special order and then wait several weeks for, because the family history center in Montreal does not have a huge number of microfilms that deal with southern Indiana.) 7) I am excited about the newspaper images that are coming, too. (Yes, I know a few are there, but I couldn't get the sample image to work... don't know if it was truly "missing," as stated, or if it was another platform-related problem.) Will I subscribe to it when they start posting newspapers that interest me? Yes--but probably during a period when I am *not* subscribing to something else like the census images. There are only 24 hours in a day, after all! (Oh yes, and I have a family and a job, in addition to being the SCHS Webmaster.) 8) "Yes, but *all* the stuff that Ancestry is putting in their subscription-only areas, should be free! Newspapers, census records, etc. They're taking advantage of us! We shouldn't have to pay for these!" .....Ahem. There's a wonderful place at the heart of every town and city in the United States... and it is probably the same for many other countries. (I think it is the same for Canada--sorry, I haven't been here all that long.) This place is called the public library. There you will find friendly, helpful librarians to guide you in your research. There is often (usually?) a microfilm viewer and drawers and drawers of microfilms to peruse. There is a handy ("card"?) catalog that will help you find the particular microfilm that you want to look at, and there is usually (?) at least one microfilm machine that is hooked up to a photocopier so you can make a paper copy of the information you locate. If your local library doesn't have the microfilm you need, you can ask for an inter-library loan. Thank you to Ancestry and to RootsWeb for making family history research more and more accessible. Thank you for the many hours that volunteers and non-volunteers put in to make huge databases available to me. Thank you for taking me by the hand and showing me step-by-step how to actually get my Website into the space you have given me. Thank you for explaining to me why one of my pages just isn't looking/acting the way it's supposed to. Thank you for giving me "boards" where I can share and receive information about my ancestors. Thank you for all the "freebies". And thank you also for the "paid" databases, too. I know both the free and the paid databases represent thousands of hours of patient work, by volunteers or paid workers, scanning, transcribing, setting up multiple hyperlinks, and scrutinizing "illegible" handwriting. You are helping me put together a family history that I hope my children and their children will cherish. I will now step off my soapbox. Kathleen (Kathy) Larson, Webmaster Sullivan County Historical Society http://www.rootsweb.com/~inschs/

In a message dated 3/27/2002 10:07:06 PM Pacific Standard Time, RootsWeb-Help-D-request@rootsweb.com writes: > Remember that once you subscribe to Ancestry they just re-subscribe you at > the end of the year, with no warning, just charge your credit card, and > take the money to the bank, Several of us have wondered about some action > on the federal level, to make this a no-no, as many older people use the > service, without knowing about the automatic renewal. They then have a bit > > of a problem at renew time, when they have a un-expected charge on their > card. Of course thinking of who owns the service, tells it all. > > Shakey Jack > I am responding to the above email about "the automatic renewal." I found my experience entirely different than outlined above. My subscription to Ancestry.com expired in March. In January, I got a phone call from Ancestry.com telling me that my subscription was getting ready to expire. At that time, I had the opportunity to extend it or cancel it. I asked that it be extended and charged to my March bill--not the February bill. When my March bill arrived, the charge was posted just as I had requested. >From my point of view, there was no "unexpected" charge. The individual I spoke to was most cooperative in processing my renewal, describing the service I receive, the date it expired, my options, and very cooperative in billing me when I wanted it to appear on my bill. Nyla

Does anyone know if RootsWeb defines links from a bibliography to the relevant pages on Amazon, which would bring our society affiliate revenue on sales, as prohibited 'commercial activity'? Or do they count as an approved affiliate? many thanks, Elaine