Find Ancestors

Dear All

Please don't shout at me for putting this on the wrong board :-)

Just wanted to let you know that unfortunately I wont be doing any more lookups. A couple of weeks ago their was a thread regarding copyright and Terms and Conditions of the sites we subscribe to. I have now received an email from one of the sites saying if I continue to do work for others my account will be terminated :-( As I'm only part way into my own research I can't afford to lose this valuable resource and so it's with great sadness that I have to stop.

As a warning to the looker uppers - please check the terms and conditions of the sites you use most are for 'personal use only' and the breach is posting it on a public website. Be careful and don't do too many they *do* monitor your usage :-(

Thanks all it's been a blast and may all your brick walls be little ones :-)

Kind Regards and best wishes

And for once I am!

LfW ;-)

Oh, thanks for the words of wisdom. I think we had all better be a bit careful there.

LfW, sorry to hear that you received that!

Thanks so much for all the help that you have given, its really appreciated.

Best of luck with your own research

Selena

Good luck and thanks for any help you have given

Have emailed you.

Just wanted to publically thank you - you have been a star as far as I am personally concerned.

What is annoying though is that I subscribe to these sites but sometimes it takes a fresh pair of eyes to see the wood for the trees.

Will keep in touch with you by email.

Take care.

Nicki
x

LfW,

I use findmypast and have done since it came online as 1837, in the early days I spent a mega amount of money before they offered subscriptions which I jumped at. About 18 months ago they suspended my account because of the amount of look ups I was doing (like you for other people but also for my own tree) I had an email asking me to phone them to discuss this, I pointed out that in the first year I spent over £500 and they didn't complain then.

I also said that in the early days I would print out info, but because I now had a subscription I would often look up things over and over again.

I also said to them that I was a bit nosey and often looked for things unrelated to my family, they reinstated my account and have not had any problems since.

Hope you find a way round this problem, no Bernice at the moment so your imput will be missed.
Best wishes,
Sylvie

seems a bit Big Brotherish to me! people like you help so many 'newbies' and people who need help it seems a bit silly!! Still there must be a way around this(there always is)
All the best,regards Tom D.

As you were so kind to reply to me I am sorry to hear that such a good person is so restrickted. Many thanks to you and good luck with your research.

Thanks all for your kind words, I'm still reeling from the shock a bit, a case of 'I never thought it would happen to me'. Think I'll just lay low for a while cos at the moment I feel like someone has cut off my right arm :-) I've spent the evening away from the PC cos I didn't know what else to do :-( If this keeps up I may have to resort to housework!!! aaahhhhhhh (runs screaming from the building) :-)

Regards
LfW

no no do not resort to housework!!!!!! That is a nasty virus which has to be stamped out- after housework comes meals on table at set times- just does not work !!!!
And how do they know its not your people you search for?I think maybe they just are grasping at straws.

Anyway i not sure if you have helped me in the past but will say thamks anyway. Lots of people have helped me so this is really thanks to all

Best regards

Susan

I guess the site is checking GR and looking for those offering to do look ups. Perhaps that is the way around it not to offer just reply on the TTF
Its only recent times that those looking for family have the message on the trying to find board and everyone could see the replies.
Previously you could only reply to the person directly. Then the person would receive numerous census info from members.
A lot of time spent researching for stuff that had already been found.
Why then does Ancestry have a share census with others option via e mail.?

Well my Ancestry sub has expired and I dont intend renewing because I had it for 4 years and have done as much as I can locating my family. Unless I had a very good reason to do so its a waste of money, even to help others. Decided its time to concentrate on other things I have been neglecting because of this addiction.

LFW

I did see the warning thread a few weeks back
and thought then that is going to be the end of a lot of help people give and receive on GR and has already changed the way people reply threads.


I am saddened for you to have been put in this position while trying to help others

You paid for your subscription and now you are scared to use it because big brother is watching.

I am not a member of the "big " sites but do see the great recommendations members give to them.

If the members of these sites didn't recommend them on message boards then half there advertising is down the drain and new members lost to them.

I don't know what to say to you -

yes, your will need to stop the free look-ups, that goes without saying, but get back on there and look for your own rellies even if you have looked it up before. -- don't let them take your money and then stop you from using your subscription for the purpose you joined, you have the right to do that don't you?

Best of luck and I am sure many GR members a greatfull to you ............Lois

LfW

I'm sorry to hear this

I have been doing lookups on here for about the last 3 or 4 years, at least, and so far (touch wood) have had no problems.


One thing I almost never do is forward census images to people, as I figure that is one way in which ancestry at least could track more closely that I was sharing information with other people.

Did you use that census image sharing facility?

I usually c&p the record sheet, then edit it by removing unnecessary material and adding information from the census image. Someone once told me that was the way to do it, as they cannot stop you from taking information from their site if you are a subscriber.

I will not forward census images to anybody else .... I think I have only forwarded about 3 in total in all the time I have been a helper.


I was once told that I had done too many lookups on familysearch, and couldn't do any more that evening!



sylvia

LFW

I had the same happen to me about three years ago,the site (which I won't name) monitored my activity and said I'd been doing look ups which was against their rules.I immediately sent them a gedcom with over 3000 surnames in,they sent back a email saying they would NEVER question my activity again! Perhaps it would be worth you trying this even if you have to 'fiddle your tree' a little ;-)

Wendy

My main area of help is from Parish records, which i have purchased over a period of time..and I'll do what i like with them!...Very often i also use Census entries from my Ancestry sub..but I never copy andpaste.I write it all out sort of conversationally..
Never had a problem..

Derek

Sorry to here of your plight LFW, & if this is the kind treatment we are likely to experience, I defino will not renew my subscriptions, we pay good money to do look ups , and most times we dont know, we have hit the right branch ,or family till way down the line, that is after we have trawled through umpteen records.

sorry to hear about this and sad about it too,you looked up stuff for me several times and i thank you again for that! take care.....:)

Excuse me am I missing something here but how do they know who is doing the researching and answering on queries on these boards!!!!!

I mean how many people use their full names on here. The only way I can see they know is if you are using the same user name on here as you do on the sites like An****y or FMP. A way out of that is change your user name on here.

I can't see what the big sites have to lose, I have helped quite a few people on here and other sites and at local family history group I help to run and I know for a fact that a few people at our group have taken out subscriptions for An*****y.

Its a matter of Big Brother again and people wanting our money but then restricting us on how we use the sites...

Christine

Here are the T's & C's

http://www.ancestry.com/legal/Terms.aspx

states "You are licensed to use the Content only for personal or professional family history research, and may download Content only as search results relevant to that research. The download of the whole or significant portions of any work or database is prohibited. Resale of a work or database or portion thereof, except as specific results relevant to specific research for an individual, is prohibited"

http://www.findmypast.com/terms/index.jsp

states:
4.1 You must use the findmypast.com Service, the Material, and any information you obtain through the findmypast.com Service, only for your personal family research or for professional family research on behalf of a specific client.

(In my oppinion.. the 'specific clients' are the people we are helping?)

4.2 You must not download, copy, reuse, resell, or republish online or in print or in any other format any part of the Material, except in the context of an individual family history

4.3 You must not make any of the Material available to anyone online, but you may publish your personal family research online even where this incorporates information extracted from the Material

The thing that really got me.. is the Terms and Conditions for these websites can be found in very very small writing at the bottom of the page.. they also state that when subscribing.. the terms and conditions have to be read and agreed to before purchasing anything from the website

Easier said than done?

Smurf

I just wonder how those T&C's affect professional researchers - I expect that those researchers pay the same subscription fee as everyone else.

Selena