Beth said: The biggest problem I have is with the World Connect databases we who have them get our information taken by other indivduals and not Ancestry. These started at Rootsweb and then of course they were purchased by Ancestry.com. --- Actually, the problem started before RootsWeb's WorldConnect existed. World Family Tree was the original offender. I have been a contributing subscriber to RootsWeb since it started. It was originally a free, completely voluntary message board service to allow researchers to post their interests and find others with similar interests. It encouraged good research and sharing, not selling, the results. WFT (via Family Tree Maker) was a commercial outfit that invited contributions of genealogical data. The firm did not verify any of the information submitted or ask submitters to include source data. It was more than cavalier in its (non)recognition of copyright. I believe there was some sort of disclaimer that said the submitters vouched for the originality of their work, but of course many of them completely ignored copyright and freely stole others' work. WFT refused to allow the original researchers even to view what it was selling without paying a fee. It did not allow us to correct misinformation that had been stolen from us, or to insert our copyright notices. Ancestry perpetuates WFT's bad practices. It accepts submissions, for which it pays nothing, and sells the information to its subscribers. Ancestry is profiting from the effort and energy of many researchers, including me, without even crediting them with their work. This is piracy pure and simple, regardless of who does it. For these reasons I will have nothing to do with Ancestry.com's commercial ventures. The company has belatedly begun selling other resources, such as censuses, that are at least secondary source material not stolen from researchers. If it will cease profiting from theft and copyright violations in its other materials, I will happily retract my accusations. The Mormon IGI is a similar hybrid. Genealogists should be everlastingly grateful to the LDS for filming and collecting original source documents such as parish registers, but should be extremely wary of materials contributed to it by amateurs. The Ancestral File is nearly as faulty as Ancestry's mishmash of family trees--use it ONLY as a clue to finding original sources, NEVER as documentation in itself. Learn the codes for IGI materials and order the films for verifying what you find there. DO NOT cite the IGI as a source in your own work. RootsWeb is an entirely different matter. WorldConnect is free; RootsWeb does not charge subscribers to post or to view submissions. It prominently states that RootsWeb is not responsible for the veracity of its contributors, and that users should verify any information found there. It encourages inclusion of sources. I suppose that if you're a Napster user or DVD pirate, you find copyright merely a nuisance. It is not. It is one of the original rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Genealogists should respect it. Copyright 2003 Kathleen Much Copying is permitted for noncommercial, educational use by individual scholars and libraries. This message must appear on all copied material. Any other use, including electronic reproduction or distribution, requires written permission of the author. To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html