---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sun, 25 Jun 2000 15:38:01 -0400 From: Linda Lewis <[email protected]> Reply-To: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: [ARCHIVES-L] [Fwd: FW: Recent acquisition of RootsWeb.com, Inc.] Resent-Date: Sun, 25 Jun 2000 12:38:47 -0700 Resent-From: [email protected] Forwarded with permission. -------- Original Message -------- Subject: FW: Recent acquisition of RootsWeb.com, Inc. Date: Sun, 25 Jun 2000 11:11:48 -0700 From: "Charles Merrin" <[email protected]> Reply-To: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> CC: <[email protected]>, <[email protected]> Teresa: My name is Charles Merrin, and I am the Vice President of Marketing for RootsWeb. After the merger, I will remain as the General Manager of the RootsWeb group. Thank you for your questions. Here are some answers. Regarding the USGenWeb.org domain, we have offered to do whatever the USGenWeb Board wants with it. I have been working with Tim Stowell to determine the appropriate strategy. Regarding the .com and .net domains, they are both in the hands of individuals and thus are not "owned" by RootsWeb. After the merger, we will continue to honor all agreements between RootsWeb and the USGenWeb organization. Neither RootsWeb nor MyFamily will charge for access to the USGenWeb data, nor will we use it in any way other than its current use without the express permission of the contributor. Further, as I have said publicly, we will continue to offer free, unlimited, banner-free and link-free server space for all USGenWeb pages. Also, we will continue to provide unlimited server space for the Archives. And as always, in the unfortunate event that anyone decides to leave RootsWeb, we will do our best to ensure a smooth transition. Regarding more formal agreements between MyFamily, RootsWeb, and / or the USGenWeb organization, we will do whatever seems most appropriate for each situation. At this point, we don't envision the need for any changes. Teresa, I suspect you won't notice any changes from the perspective of a USGenWeb project manager, user, or coordinator. The RootsWeb team is staying intact, and you will continue to work with the same people as you have in the past. Thank you for your questions and concerns. CSM Charles S. Merrin Vice President, Marketing RootsWeb.com -----Original Message----- From: merope To: [email protected] Sent: 6/22/00 6:02 PM Subject: Recent acquisition of RootsWeb.com, Inc. Dear Mr. Leonard, I am a member of the USGenWeb Project, and have read with interest of the recent acquisition of RootsWeb.com, Inc, by MyFamily.com, Inc. As I am sure you know, the national pages the USGenWeb Project is hosted by RootsWeb, as is our Archives Project, most of our state pages, and some two thirds of our county pages. Many of us have been with RootsWeb for years, and as you can imagine, the prospect of RootsWeb changing ownership has us a little anxious. I have read both your press release on this topic and RootsWeb's announcement, and I have several questions regarding how this merger will affect the USGenWeb Project. I am hoping that you can answer them and that you will allow me to forward your answers to my fellow project members. If you cannot answer them, would you be so kind as to forward them to a person who can, or provide me with contact information? The first thing we would like to know is the status of our primary domain, www.usgenweb.org, which is registered to "RootsWeb Genealogical Data Cooperative"; this was RootsWeb's name before it incorporated in June 1999. Will this domain become the property of MyFamily.com? Will either of the other two USGenWeb domains (www.usgenweb.com, www.usgenweb.net) become the property of MyFamily.com? The USGenWeb Project has a long-standing but very informal agreement with RootsWeb regarding the provision of free webspace, mailing lists, GenConnect boards, search engines, and other services to all members of USGenWeb. These services, unlike most other services on RootsWeb, are provided to us without banner advertisements or required links [with the exception of the search engines, which display banner ads]. Will the USGenWeb Project be able to continue with this arrangement essentially unchanged? Of particular concern to many of us is the potential for advertisement; USGenWeb has always prided itself on its noncommercial nature and any sort of solicition for funds has been a source of concern previously. Our Archives Project also has a long standing but informal agreement with RootsWeb for free storage of all files. This arrangement was a private agreement between Dr. Brian Leverich and Ms. Linda Lewis, who heads the Archives. It provides for free storage of and free access to the archived transcriptions. Of particular concern to many of us is a clause in their agreement that says the Archives will be hosted by RootsWeb and by no other server. Will MyFamily.com recognize that agreement and continue to provide unlimited free space for our Archives? as well as free access? Should the USGenWeb find the relationship with MyFamily.com to be unsuitable, will the Archives be allowed to move to another server? Also, in regards to these agreements, will MyFamily.com be pursuing more formal arrangements with the various hosted projects on RootsWeb, or will RootsWeb basically be left to run itself as it always has? In other words, will our interface as USGenWeb Project members be with MyFamily.com personnel or with RootsWeb personnel? Thank you very much for your time in answering these questions. I don't mean to imply in any way that USGenWeb's relationship with MyFamily.com will be negative, but I'm sure you can understand our surprise at this announcement and our need to have these issues addressed formally so that we can plan for our future. Also, I am not writing to you in any official capacity, just as a project member. I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, * Teresa Lindquist Anderson, Shawnee, and Johnson counties, KSGenWeb/USGenWeb [email protected]