BOARD-L Archives

Archiver > BOARD > 2001-10 > 1002031227


From: "Pam Reid" <>
Subject: Re: [BOARD-L] Fwd: MF/RW/A Liaison
Date: Tue, 2 Oct 2001 10:00:27 -0400


Realize that I said Don "has" a great way of putting the paranoia into
perspective and obviously that should have been past tense. Maybe the slip
came from the fact that I really miss him!

Pam

----- Original Message -----
From: "Pam Reid" <>
To: <>
Sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2001 9:46 AM
Subject: Re: [BOARD-L] Fwd: MF/RW/A Liaison


> Come on people, it is time to get a grip! It seems that some of us are
> constantly looking under rocks for the long suspected conspiracy - it
really
> should be obvious by now that no conspiracy exists. I can understand why
> some people would have concerns about the relationship between Ancestry
and
> USGW. I get emails about it all the time from cemetery submitters.
> However, Ancestry has been good to us and they have demonstrated their
> support of USGW. At no point has Ancestry given any indication of any
> agenda other than one of support of this Project. Just because a company
is
> in the business of making money doesn't mean that all of their motives
> should be suspect. Just because some people insist on looking for the
deep
> dark secrets doesn't mean there are any. We are all in this for the same
> reason - we are all volunteers who chose to give time and effort to a
> worthwhile project. There is no glory to be had. There is only the
personal
> satisfaction of knowing that we have done something good. That is what
USGW
> is all about - doing something good. I wish Don were still around to talk
> about the black helicopters lurking overhead. He has a great way of
putting
> the paranoia in perspective.
>
> Betsy has been a great Board rep., always a voice of reason and calm. Her
> opinions and attitudes have always been immensely fair and objective. She
> is a loyal USGW volunteer. We should all be grateful to have someone like
> her on board. It is an unjustice to even imply that Betsy is not to be
> trusted. She is as trustworthy a person as I have come across in this
> Project and has demonstrated nothing but the best interests of USGW.
>
> Pam
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Betsy Mills" <>
> To: <>
> Sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2001 9:20 AM
> Subject: RE: [BOARD-L] Fwd: MF/RW/A Liaison
>
>
> > I am not representing Ancestry on the board. I am merely "empowered" to
> > answer questions that may arise from the board. I believe I have proven
> > through the years that I am able to fairly represent the Project and
keep
> > my "hats" separated. If I were to leave the board, I would be willing
to
> > remain on the board-l mailing list so that I could continue to answer
> > questions. This is in response to the many requests to be better
> informed,
> > and I will also be able to provide this same service to other projects
> that
> > are hosted by RootsWeb, such as the WorldGenWeb Project, American Local
> > History Network, and so on.
> >
> > This does mean that I will be able to let the board know directly of
> > changes that may take place that affect the USGenWeb Project. It does
not
> > mean that I will keep Ancestry informed of board business. Since the
> > board's business is on an open mailing list, that information is already
> > available to anyone who wishes to read the board-l mailing list. To
> answer
> > Teresa's question as to whether "RW/Ancestry decide(d) this on their own
> > and impose(d) it on us." It is not imposed on the board at all. If you
> > have no questions, I will not be answering them. <G>
> >
> > Betsy
> >
> >
> >
> > At 07:19 AM 10/2/2001, you wrote:
> > >Between the announcement last evening and this morning, I have already
> > >received email from CCs concerned that this appears to be giving
> > >Rootsweb/Ancestry a seat on the board. The concern over a board member
> > >being employed by Rootsweb/Ancestry has come up before, but this
> > >announcement adds a further conflict of interest dimension to that
issue.
> > >One CC wrote, "She can't fairly represent the Project if she must also
> > >represent Ancestry ... it's interests are not the same as the
Project's."
> > >
> > >Robert Bremer
> > >
> > >-----Original Message-----
> > >From: Holly Timm [mailto:]
> > >Sent: Monday, October 01, 2001 7:53 PM
> > >To:
> > >Subject: [BOARD-L] Fwd: MF/RW/A Liaison
> > >
> > > >From: "Jake Gehring" <>
> > > >
> > > >In response to requests for RootsWeb/Ancestry to keep The USGenWeb
> > > >Project better informed, I am delighted to announce that Betsy Mills
> has
> > > >agreed to take on an additional job responsibility so she may serve
as
> > > >the official liaison between MF/RW/A and The USGenWeb Project.
Betsy's
> > > >position on the USGW Advisory Board plus her employment within the
> > > >company means she is uniquely positioned to be both informed and
> > > >responsive. She is already accessible to the AB and will now assist
in
> > > >answering any questions/concerns that you may have.
> > > >
> > > >JAKE GEHRING
> > > >Executive Producer
> > > >RootsWeb.com
> >
>

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