Hi Ralph, While I certainly do not consider the Blair DNA Project my "private fifedom", I do consider it MY project, run by MY rules. I started it over 8 years ago and I'm the one who puts all the time and effort into running the project and maintaining the website. On the other hand, since I am controlling the surname "Blair" I owe it to other Blair to make sure they get the most out of the project. We've all seen surname project that are run by an Admin who is only interested in his own immediate line. Hijacking a surname for this purpose makes me shudder too. But there are far more Project Administrators out there, like me who consider their Projects their's AND are interested in the whole surname. As I stated in a previous message the purpose of the Blair DNA Project is to is to further the genealogical research of the Blair surname through DNA testing. The Blair surname is heavily researched. I won't bore the list with all the details of the Blair DNA Project but will simply say we have over 175 participants who a researching over 125 unique oldest known Blair ancestors. As a results of the Blair DNA Project a large number of the oldest known ancestors have been connected. If anyone is interested in the Blair DNA Project visit http://blairdna.com/. Just because I run my project as a "dictator" doesn't mean the "dictator" is bad. :-) /*Scottish DNA - Better than Life Insurance* /*John* ------------------------------------ John A. Blair Haywards Heath, England _http://blairdna.com_ _mailto:j_blair@blairdna.com_ BLAIR DNA Project Administrator On 12/4/2010 8:42 PM, Ralph Taylor wrote: > Re: "It's my project." > > That raises, I believe, an interesting question, worth examining further: > > To what extent does a project "belong" to the project administrator and to > what extent is serving as the admin a "public trust"? > > While attending the October conference of project admins, it became clear > that, for some admins, their projects were private fiefdoms -- theirs to do > with as they chose and for the sole purpose of furthering their own family > histories. To one who runs a project which includes many people to whom I > can't possibly be related, the thought makes me shudder. > > That puts me more in the "public trust" camp than the "My Project" camp. > > -ralpht_/) > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to Y-DNA-PROJECTS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > >

Well said. I agree, and I hope I fall in the category of "benevolent dictator." (Ever mindful that power corrupts.) Diana > -----Original Message----- > From: y-dna-projects-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:y-dna-projects- > bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of John A. Blair > Sent: Saturday, December 04, 2010 5:38 PM > To: y-dna-projects@rootsweb.com > Subject: Re: [Y-DNA-projects] Y-DNA-PROJECTS join authorization > > Hi Ralph, > > While I certainly do not consider the Blair DNA Project my "private fifedom", I do > consider it MY project, run by MY rules. I started it over 8 years ago and I'm the one who > puts all the time and effort into running the project and maintaining the website. > > On the other hand, since I am controlling the surname "Blair" I owe it to other Blair to > make sure they get the most out of the project. We've all seen surname project that are > run by an Admin who is only interested in his own immediate line. Hijacking a surname > for this purpose makes me shudder too. But there are far more Project Administrators > out there, like me who consider their Projects their's AND are interested in the whole > surname. As I stated in a previous message the purpose of the Blair DNA Project is to is > to further the genealogical research of the Blair surname through DNA testing. > > The Blair surname is heavily researched. I won't bore the list with all the details of the > Blair DNA Project but will simply say we have over > 175 participants who a researching over 125 unique oldest known Blair ancestors. As a > results of the Blair DNA Project a large number of the oldest known ancestors have been > connected. If anyone is interested in the Blair DNA Project visit http://blairdna.com/. > > Just because I run my project as a "dictator" doesn't mean the "dictator" is bad. :-) >