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Archiver > WVDODDRI > 1999-01 > 0915397222


From: Elissa S Powell< >
Subject: [WVDODDRI-L] Fw: [PAALLEGH-L] BE AWARE!
Date: Sun, 3 Jan 1999 16:00:22 -0500


I thought this important for every to be aware of.
-- Elissa

--------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Joyce Lund" <>
To:
Date: Sun, 3 Jan 1999 09:33:27 -0800
Subject: [PAALLEGH-L] BE AWARE!
Message-ID: <011401be3740$fa84e2c0$>

I felt this was important enough to post. Hope you feel the
same.........

Joyce
>
>As we enter this New Year of 1999 I am a bit concerned about the future
of
>genealogical research on the Internet as we now know it. I am concerned
>that we could be falling on hard times when it comes to the sharing and
>FREE exchange of data including our mailing lists, GenConnect Boards, US
>and World GenWeb and the Archives for these projects, IIGS, and many
other
>projects run largely by volunteers.
>
>The developments over the past few months and years in which Banner Blue
>AND Parsons were swallowed up by Broderbund, and then Broderbund was
>swallowed up once again by The Learning Company, who also gobbled up
>Palladium Interactive (producers of Ultimate Family Tree); and The
>Learning Company just now being taken over by Mattel--all serve to put
us
>in the very bad situation in which approximately 85% of the
>genealogy-related programs and data are falling into the hands of of
this
>one huge company. In addition Ancestry (another for- profit business)
>just sold 30% of their company to CMG (a venture capital company) for
>$10,000,000. This is money on top of the $60/year they get from "tens
of
>thousands of subscribers" (from the Wall Street Journal). The venture
>capitalists will be expecting a large return for their investment--which
>will be paid for by us genealogists.
>
>All of this puts both Ancestry and Mattel in a very powerful position of
>being able to buy datasets of information (thus acquiring exclusive
rights
>to those datasets) and sell them at inflated prices to the public who
>believe this is the only way things can be done. This move is already
well
>under way. The more people paying top dollar for the information either
>through subscription, or the purchase of CDs, the more money the
powerful
>for-profit companies will have to again purchase the rights to
additional
>records and books.
>
>The longterm goal of the many volunteer workers, and of RootsWeb which
>hosts many of the projects, is to provide free access to genealogical
>information. I know it has the folks at RootsWeb VERY troubled right now
>that they do not have the resources to stop this avalanche of vital
>records and publications being purchased and removed from FREE public
>access for all time. In order to stop the flow of this information into
>the hands of the large companies it would be necessary for RootsWeb to
>purchase them and then offer them for free access to all of us on their
>Web space. They would like very much to accomplish this before it is
>forever too late to do so. While the access to the information is FREE,
>it is far from FREE acquiring the rights to the information in the first
>place. All of the mergers and acquisitions of the past year or so
create
>a very serious threat to the continuance of genealogical research on the
>Internet as we now know it and as most of us believe it should be in the
>future. We are no longer playing on a level playing field. I think
>everyone needs to give this matter serious thought as we start the New
>Year. Everyone needs to decide what they want the future of Internet
>genealogy to be and then support what they feel is the correct approach.
>
>We need to examine our goals and what we would LIKE to see for the
future
>of Internet genealogy. Do we want to see a future where all
genealogical
>source materials must be bought and paid top dollar for, or would we
>rather see the information put online at non-subscription Web sites so
>that future genealogists can access them freely? It may already be too
>late with the recent mergers and acquisitions creating such large
powerful
>companies with deep pockets that are very difficult to match on a dollar
>for dollar basis. I think everyone doing genealogical research on the
>Internet needs to consider whether they would like to support the
efforts
>of RootsWeb with a small contribution of $12 (more would be even better)
>or whether they would like to see the world of the future of genealogy
>dominated by the large for-profit companies who can sell the same data
>(and hold exclusive rights to it) at whatever the market will support.

>Some serious food for thought for the coming New Year!
>
>I will now get off my soapbox and promise not to be so "preachy" again
>very soon, but I feel this matter is an important one to us all and
today
>seemed the appropriate time to discuss it with all of you.
>
>Happy New Year!
>
>Joan M. Young, Administrator
>Geiger GenConnect Boards
>Queries: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/FamilyAssoc/Geiger
>Bible Records:
>http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/FamilyAssoc/GeigerBibl
>Bios: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/FamilyAssoc/GeigerBios
>Deeds: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/FamilyAssoc/GeigerDeed
>Obits:
>http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/FamilyAssoc/GeigerObits
>Pensions:
>http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/FamilyAssoc/GeigerPens
>Wills: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/FamilyAssoc/GeigerWill
>Visit The Geiger Connection Webpage:
>http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~geiger/
>List Moderator,
>Editor, The Kiger Kounter newsletter
>HELP MAINTAIN FREE ACCESS TO GENEALOGICAL INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET IN

>1999
>BY SUPPORTING ROOTSWEB: http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/how-to-
>subscribe.html/
>
>

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