I agree with Don's take on research. Personally I share everything. Even photocopies. What I receive back is truly much more than I give. By posting my findings, I have been able to connect with many, many distant relatives and fill in huge holes in my line. Public records are just that....public. Anyone can find them. In the past because I have shared, there has been information sent to me that I would have spent years finding. Sometimes I'm not real happy with the information that has been uploaded to these various genealogy sites. Mainly because someone shares, and their information is incorrect, and then folks think it's set in stone because it's in print. Normally I go back and document any information other folks send me. But I do know the frustration of someone offering information, and I gladly send what I have, and then they move to Mars and are never heard from again and I'm still left with a gap in my information. But that's the name of the game. Sherry

Sherry, Like Don, I don't think you understand that the original post was about fee-based sites that take your data, for resale to others, and then offer little or nothing in exchange. It is a practice that is ruining online genealogy by, first, creating a negative relationship between the fee based sites and their customers and, secondly, by tying up data that can't conveniently be found elsewhere. On the other hand, Northern Ireland's PRONI (Public Records Office of Northern Ireland) is one organization I'd like to see putting more data out on the web for use by genealogists. I wouldn't mind paying a subscription to access their holdings, as they are the only source for the documents I need to further my Irish research. But, unfortunately, for whatever reason, Irish and British records offices have been slow, if not reluctant, to make their holdings available online. If they're concerned that visitors to their offices would stop coming and that their access revenues would dry up because of it, they obviously need to reconsider, as the revenue from online subscriptions or pay-per-view access could actually increase their revenues, rather than diminish them. www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk is a prime example of what PRONI could be doing. This site is the website of the General Register for Scotland and sells pay-per-view access to documents that can't be found anywhere else in the world. The price is a bargain and I was able to glean everything they had tyhat was of any value to my Scottish research in one session that cost me a mere $13. I don't mind paying for online access to records I can't otherwise view, especially if the price is fair and economical enough. But fee-based sites that require me to upload my data so they can use it as more inventory to profit from, and then don't give me anything of value in return are not my idea of what online genealogy should be. Gary ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2005 6:27 AM Subject: Re: [RowanRoots] Feed up with getting ripped off. >I agree with Don's take on research. Personally I share everything. >Even > photocopies. What I receive back is truly much more than I give. By > posting my findings, I have been able to connect with many, many distant > relatives > and fill in huge holes in my line. > > Public records are just that....public. Anyone can find them. In the > past > because I have shared, there has been information sent to me that I would > have spent years finding. > > Sometimes I'm not real happy with the information that has been uploaded > to > these various genealogy sites. Mainly because someone shares, and their > information is incorrect, and then folks think it's set in stone because > it's in > print. Normally I go back and document any information other folks send > me. > But I do know the frustration of someone offering information, and I > gladly > send what I have, and then they move to Mars and are never heard from > again and > I'm still left with a gap in my information. But that's the name of the > game. > Sherry >