In a message dated 8/5/2005 2:17:44 P.M. Central Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: I am having a question that the DNA site for * charge * should be allowed on rootsweb. There have been a few issues brought up on this. Dan M Since you mentioned it here, I will reply here. There is no site "for charge." Period. This was a total misunderstanding by one person who started a flurry of discussion based on that misperception on her part. This is one of the largest Surname Projects in existence -- and among the largest, one of the few without a Family Association behind it. It does not deserve this libelous accusation. NOBODY, least of all me, makes any profit off this site, excluding the test providers. And they only have access to the data for their own customers. Every Project manager/administrator will tell you that there are many participants who cannot afford the test kit. They will also tell you that many of the old, long-established lines with good documentation back to Colonial times or before, and lines outside the US do not want to buy kits. They don't see what value it is for them -- they HAVE their genealogy done, what could our Project tell them? And frankly they aren't interested in 8th cousins in the US --nor in saying so. Sometimes, however, we can persuade them to do the tests IF WE PAY FOR THEM. Many of the Project Administrators have literally paid thousands of dollars out of their own pockets to buy for kits. If I could, I would, but I can't afford to do that. If I ever win the lottery I will. Thus, the Scholarship Fund. Most of the donors have been participants -- to the tune of several hundred dollars over the cost of their own tests. There are about half a dozen who have paid for most of the Scholarship kits which we have purchased or subsidized. I haven't stopped to count them up at this point, but I would estimate that about 20 -25 of the Project kits have been partially or fully subsidized by the Scholarship Fund. Obviously, the folks who have put in so far cannot be expected to keep funding the additional kits. Obviously, it's also in the best interests of all researchers to have more participants. Each kit teaches us something new, makes the picture clearer. I have begged in the newsletter for donations -- even the smallest folding bill from the folks who subscribe (about 300 non-participants). We have offered "GOT WEBB DNA?" merchandise the sales of which pay a commission to the Scholarship Fund. The same few people keep stepping up to the plate to support the Project, including me, to the tune of several hundred dollars. Any wonder we feel like Henny Penny now? Every donation I personally make means I give up something, including meals. Nobody pays me for the 40 - 80 hours I have put in every week -- without a break for three until last month when I was too sick to work more than 10 - 20 hours a week. Nobody pays me for the long distance calls I make trying to recruit someone from a line some participant wants to compare their results to. Nor am I paid for the postage spent on recruiting letters. I'm not complaining -- this I do happily. Just as other participants make such calls and write such letters. I'm not asking for a medal or sympathy. What I am asking is that I am treated with respect and dignity -- not abused, flamed or accused of unethical behavior. I don't think that is too much to ask. EMAIL ME if you have a complaint. I am a reasonable person and my concern is to make it work for everyone. Is it too much to ask people raise complaints privately with me instead of publicly flaming me and stirring up other people behind my back? There are less than 20 people who provide the bulk of the labor to administer the Project, answer inquiries, explain the meaning of results, keep up with the science aspects, research the most cost effective options for tests, recruit participants, finance the kits that need Scholarships, build and maintain the website, provide material for the Newsletter and maintain its mailing list. Yes, many people research their own lines, and a few research many lines (and are included in the "20" above). Most don't provide any feedback about what they are finding out. The ones who do are a treasure. So let me repeat. The public area is open to everyone, as is the free Newsletter, there is currently ongoing discussion on ways to make this area more useful to non-Participants by giving more information about the specific lines participating. Since I have not completed my survey of Participants about what they wish to post or not post publicly, I cannot commit here to exactly what will be posted. The proposal I am asking them to consider is to post the lineages -- by related group -- without kit numbers, without the name or other identifying information about the participant, and stopping with the last person born before about 1900 or 1905. I also have to consult with the webmaster about how to set it up so visitors to the site can click on a state and see the lineages which passed through/lived/originated in that state. Since the members, and non-members, that I have contacted to date have had good suggestions (and anyone-- in or outside the Project may email me suggestions about what they want to see in the public area), and we have not finalized the details, I cannot spell them out here. Nor will this happen overnight. Participants and researchers who have not been contacted so far needn't think I am ignoring them. I just haven't gotten to you yet. Feel free to email me your comments though. The Participant Area is accessed by Password to protect the privacy of the Participants and/or their designated researchers. For example, my cousin who donated DNA has no interest, so his mother has access, since she is the researcher, but of course, if he wanted access, I would happily issue him a User Name and Password. Likewise, if a donor and a cousin split the cost of the kit, they both have access. Honorary Participant status is granted to those folks who have donated reams of research notes and/or serve as the "senior genealogist" for their family line(s). As a return courtesy for their research notes, and in recognition of their need for access to effectively serve as the senior researcher, they are granted access. We have five of these. Honorary Participant status is similarly granted as a COURTESY to those folks who support the Project by generous donations. A "thank you" of sorts. To date, TWO people have this status. Both are WEBB researchers who donated money to help purchase kits for potential participants in need.. They did not ask for access -- it was not "sold" to them, but I am surprised that anyone would think that when someone has donated HALF the cost of a basic DNA kit that they should NOT have access. After this brouhaha, particularly the way in which the Project, the website and, by implication, myself were publicly flamed over a policy put into effect about six months ago -- with no complaints made to me privately in all that time, I am seriously considering all options. Because now I'm spending my time repairing the damage done to the Project by the public post of someone who was mistaken but popped off before having the facts. A final question however, if you do not support the Project so it can gain information, what right do you think you have to free access to the Project's most personal information? Conclusions, summaries yes, but the actual DNA of the participants? Anne