I need to clarify my comment about county co-ordinators before it goes any further. Please don't read between the lines. I never stated that residing in your county should be a requirement! I was bringing up a topic as one of many things that should be thought about, if we are going to adjust or discuss voting....this is an issue that someone might bring up to be voted upon... And, my comment was made because...when someone resigns from a county site, often members of that county genealogical society sometimes are unaware that the site is up for adoption. Recruitment of new cc's should START with the local society. That was the only intent of my comment, because I feel strongly that they have access to more material.. And, it is very logical to state that a local resident is much more effective.......there are many genealogical materials available at a local level, that are not handy to a county co-ordinator who resides in a different state. I get emails from out-of-state researchers, who travel here on vacation, and I help and assist them, even take them directly to the cemetery that they are looking for, if it is one I am familiar with. Once again, wondering if it pays to participate in this list. tracy reinhardt

Tracy Reinhardt wrote: > Once again, wondering if it pays to participate in this list. > > tracy reinhardt Hi Tracy, I have completely enjoyed your participation on this list. Your comments have been interesting and thought-provoking. I did not take your comments personally, nor did I find them to be offensive or controversial in any way. I also hope you didn't find my response to be offensive or controversial, as it was not meant to be. If you did, I sincerely apologize. You made some very valid points and I felt safe in responding to those points, simply giving my own opinion. That's how we learn and grow - by talking things out...together. I know that not all of us are going to agree on everything. Heck, I can't even get my own family to agree with everything. ;-) I hope you will continue to share your thoughts on this list. They are valuable to our organization. I also agree with your statement about the local gen. societies having an interest in taking over a county website. Most of the time they can provide some very helpful information and besides, who knows the way of doing research better than a gen. society member? The only thing that one would need to watch for would be those societies who do not believe in freely sharing their info. In the past, there was one such society president who maintained a county website. That site did not grow at all in the two years that it was in that person's control. I realize that not all societies are like that though. I'm simply pointing out one possible negative and hoping that it will never happen here in Wisconsin. While it is true that many resources are available within the county of question, I have found that my best resource finds (old history books, photos, etc.) are found in used bookstores outside of the area that the subject is about. Many of the books that I've found were located in other states. Tracy, thank you again for voicing your thoughts. I sincerely hope you will continue to do so. Big mouth me will do so also. :-\ And if my thoughts offend anyone else on this list, I am very sorry. They are not meant to be offensive, but only a different angle on the same topic. Hoping we can all continue to share our thoughts freely here, Nance

Hi All, >And, my comment was made because...when someone resigns from a county >site, often members of that county genealogical society sometimes are >unaware that the site is up for adoption. Recruitment of new cc's should >START with the local society. That was the only intent of my comment, >because I feel strongly that they have access to more material.. I have to strongly disagree with this statement when it comes to MY county. If Sheboygan were to be given up by me and the local society were to find out it was up for adoption, I can tell you right now what would happen. The county would become basically bare. No genealogical information, other then a link to their society would be basically found. When I first took the county they tried bullying me to shut it down. When they realized that wouldn't work, they threatened court if I placed any more information on the site. We battled for almost a full year before I finally told them to take me to court and we would settle it there. So Tina, for your own knowledge, should I die or something, don't let them have it, Debie Blindauer

>And, my comment was made because...when someone resigns from a county >site, often members of that county genealogical society sometimes are >unaware that the site is up for adoption. Recruitment of new cc's should >START with the local society. That was the only intent of my comment, >because I feel strongly that they have access to more material.. ------------- I'm thankful this issue has been brought out for discussion. I agree it is important to discuss these issues and think it through well before making changes. I hope we do not become so selective or restrictive in whom we choose to do these volunteer sites that it will not allow those candidates who are willing to work but lacking in html or living nearby to have this opportunity. We might get a great cc from a local society but then again, maybe not. As Nance worded so well yesterday, many of the county genealogy and historical societies regard us as the "wicked internet woman/man" and have some degree of competitive attitudes. Perhaps they fear we will put everything on the internet they've indexed and no one will contact them again to do research for $, and they will lose their *tight control* of the data in *their* county. For this reason a local resident applying for a site who has not been a contributor to boards and sites in the area should be a big yellow caution light in the minds of the decision-makers. I can think of several counties where the WiGenWeb site was done by a local resident and it was a store-front for a genealogy or historical society with not alot of content on the pages or boards. In one WI county now lacking a cc, any contributors were contacted by the pair of "volunteers" and strongly discouraged from contributing to the messageboards or webpages for the county, being told it was a big waste of time and they ought to find another hobby, etc. I stand with my original two ideas: 1. What should matter most in selection is if a cc is willing to work to add content. Whether they live near/in the county of interest or in xyz, prior evidence of working to add content may indicate the degree of future motivation. 2. Ancestry needs to give back and provide us free/ greatly reduced price subscriptions to at least partially thank us for the time and money we spend doing this work. The Packer game starts in 10 minutes so I've gotta run, thanks for listening, Joan Adams and Marquette CC