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Archiver > WHITNEY > 2004-05 > 1085157001


From:
Subject: Re: [WHITNEY-L] data theft
Date: Fri, 21 May 2004 12:30:01 -0400


Hi, just to weigh in as a compiler of genealogical data (LOCKE, JONES - both with lots of WHITNEYs and other related lines in them) and having published a few genealogical books, one cannot "own" facts.

That is, vital dates such as birth, death, marriage, etc., are facts available to the public however they are recorded and/or discovered.

Only the form (narrative) in which they are disseminated may be protected. Also, "fair use" issues sometimes even cloud the latter.

I, for one, am dependent in my research on various archives, public records departments, subscriptions and private researchers as data sources. No one of them can be supported without fees - and without profit.

One of the intriguing things about my work is that it is all over the internet, on sites of those with whom I've shared information and on the commercial sites virtually without attribution. If one were to ask whether I've received more contacts (that is, expanded the data) from the private versus the commercial sites, I'd have to say that most come from the latter.

There is very little if any money to a lone researcher from genealogical research.

Do it for the enjoyment and the sharing. If one doesn't make it available to others, it is not worth doing.

Jerry Harrison

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