Cyndi's List Has Been Copied for Profit

Article by the lady that created and maintains Cyndi's List ~

I've spent the last two days documenting and laying the foundation for a lawsuit because my entire web site was copied and put on another person's for-profit site. This has been gut-wrenching and heart-breaking. I'm exhausted and upset. And in the end it hurts all of you too because I didn't get any other work done on Cyndi's List during this time.

This makes me wonder if people really understand what it is that i do. I spend 12 to 14 hours a day working on maintaining the site. By myself. I've had some help here and there over the past 16 years. But this site was literally built by hand, by me. I visit each web site, determine a title, description and categorization. I attempt to keep up on new trends. I do what I can to fix broken links. And last year I spent $40,000 of my own money to upgrade the site in order to make it easier to maintain and easier to use. The site is free for all of you to use. And thanks to you very generous people who donated money, 39% of my expense has been made up. I'm still working to pay off that bill.

I am a single mother. This is my sole source of income and I am not rich. I keep the site free for you to use, but earn the money on advertisements and commissions. I can't afford to spend a lot to maintain the site or to fight big legal battles. When I found that this person had just TAKEN 16 years worth of my blood, sweat, and tears I was absolutely stunned. I still am.

Thanks for taking the time to read my venting. I'm going to go create a new category now...  - Cyndi Howells       Like Cyndi's List on Facebook

                                           

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Dick Eastman reported on his online newsletter:

Cyndi's List versus the Rip-off Artist

A sad event is unfolding on the popular Cyndi's List web site. As Cyndi Howells has written, "Be sure to read the blog article on copyright below. I've spent the last two days documenting and laying the foundation for a lawsuit because my entire web site was copied and put on another person's for-profit site. This has been gut-wrenching and heart-breaking. I'm exhausted and upset. And in the end it hurts all of you too because I didn't get any other work done on Cyndi's List during this time."

Some people are ignorant of copyright laws. Others simply don't care as these freeloaders will do anything to make a buck off someone else's hard work. I am not sure which excuse is appropriate here but, either way, it is no excuse. - Eastman's EOGN

I have been using Cyndi's List since just a few months after she started in 1996.  Several of my genealogical sites and Becky's Adoption Page were submitted to her list in 1996.  All of my KYGenWeb sites were linked on her site... the same with the TSGS and SAR web site.  It is not the links that are copyrighted - it is the collecting, organizing, listing and presentation that can be protected under law. Same with publications of public records in books or on Internet sites like Ancestry.com or Heritage Quest... the records can not be copyrighted, but the compilation and work to present them can be protected by law. One could argue, "well my work looks like theirs because I copied the same public records from the same public source." However, many compilers insert a few obvious mistakes that are usually copied in total from their work proving that the material was not copied from the records or collected other than from the hard work of the compiler. Stealing is stealing! It is immoral and illegal!! - JGWest

"Cyndi Howells Announces Updates for Cyndi's List"

'

This from her email list...

I decided to rename my City Directories category and sort some of the
sub-cats into locality specific sections (this is all long overdue).
New name and address: Directories: City, County, Address, etc.
http://www.cyndislist.com/directories/

I've been working on a lot of links into this site recently. Lots of
great historical resources including several county directories.
Library Ireland: Irish History and Culture,
http://www.libraryireland.com/. A free online resource of Irish
history, culture, folklore, genealogy, music, literature, biography,
and all aspects of Ireland.

-~-~-~-
Cyndi Ingle Howells
www.CyndisList.com
Cyndi@CyndisList.com

Cyndi's List Launches a New Web Site

.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Cyndi's List Launches a New Web Site

A major upgrade to celebrate 15 years of service

EDGEWOOD, WASHINGTON (June 6, 2011) ­ Cyndi's List is proud to announce

a newly upgraded web site. With improved navigation, a custom database,

and a custom administrative interface, the upgrade means that everything

will be quicker and easier for both visitors and for the site's owner

and administrator, Cyndi Ingle Howells. The upgrade has been done by

fusionSpan of Maryland. Their staff worked closely with Cyndi to make

improvements and to implement new technology and new ideas designed

specifically for Cyndi’s List and for the genealogical community.

Part of the upgrade was made possible by donations from generous users

of Cyndi’s List. To date, 20% of what was accomplished in the project

was thanks to them. Donors have been listed on the web site.

What's New with the Upgrade:

* The front page of the Cyndi's List site has a rolling genealogy news

feed and a link to The Cyndi’s List Daily, a daily dose of family

history news as tagged in Twitter and Facebook. Start each day with the

front page of Cyndi's List and read the current genealogy news stories.

* The links are now contained within a database and pages will be

dynamically loaded on each visit.

* The custom database and administration interface means that

maintaining the link list will be much easier for Cyndi, which

ultimately benefits the user with faster and more frequent updates.

* The new interface means that the backlog of uncategorized links can be

processed much faster. The goal is to get the entire backlog done by the

end of this year.

* New links will be reviewed, approved, and categorized within 24-72

hours after submission by visitors.

* Updates made to Cyndi's List will be immediately available to the public.

* Previous to the upgrade, the "What's New" page and mailing list post

contained only new links submitted by visitors. The new "What's New"

page and e-mail will contain those, as well as links added to the site

during the day by Cyndi, *and* existing links that have been updated

throughout the site (new addresses, updated descriptions, etc.).

* Across the site links have been labeled with graphics as "new" or

"updated" when appropriate. With the upgrade these will now be

text-based notations (easily spotted in green), which means that you can

search on a page for "new" or "updated" with the Edit>Find function in

your web browser.

* Now sub-categories within a category heading each have their own page.

And each page displays 20 links, with pagination in place to go to the

next page and so on. This means there will be a lot less scrolling

through long pages as in the past. Shorter pages mean faster load time

in the browser as well.

* Intuitive navigation at the top of the category makes it easy to find

your way to previous category headings.

* The number of links within each category/sub-category is displayed at

the top right on each page.

* Each of the U.S. counties (more than 3,100) now has a designated page

of its own.

* URLs (addresses) for the pages have changed so bookmarks, favorites,

and links to Cyndi's List will need to be updated.

* Opportunities to shop, support, or donate are highlighted on each page.

What Has Stayed the Same?

* The category and sub-category names are all the same.

* Related Categories are highlighted at the top right on each category.

* The layout and format of the links are the same.

* The policies, procedures, and disclaimers for maintaining the link

list are the same.

* The Cyndi's List Mailing List will still distribute a daily What's New

e-mail and a daily Link Activity e-mail. However, the What’s New e-mail

will contain information about all new and updated links.

* You can still follow Cyndi's List on Facebook and Twitter.

* The purpose and intent of Cyndi's List is to be a free jumping-off

point for your daily genealogical research.

* Cyndi’s List remains free for everyone to use just as it has for the

past 15 years.

* This is still just a one-woman show!

"I started doing genealogy research in earnest back in 1998 and Cyndi's

List has always been one of my very favorite websites. It is on my 'Go

To' list because I always find so much good information there.” --Kay F.

"I've relied on your website as THE best resource on the 'net to help

with my research..." --Jan J.

"Where can you get at all things genealogical in one fell swoop?

Everyone knows it's CyndisList.com. Every genealogist who uses the web

MUST use Cyndi's List." --Polly K.

About CyndisList.com

CyndisList.com is the world's largest one-woman family history resource,

with more than 300,000 categorized links for genealogical research. For

more than 15 years Cyndi's List has helped hundreds of thousands of

people with their online journey to trace their family history. The site

averages 275,000 unique visitors and 5,000,000 page hits every month.

Cyndi's List has won numerous awards and consistently remains one of the

top genealogical portals for beginners, intermediate, and veteran

researchers.

About fusionSpan

fusionSpan is a start-up consulting firm focused on serving the

comprehensive needs of non-profit associations and commercial

organizations in the full range of the business cycle. With a core staff

of highly experienced professionals from non-profit associations and a

team approach to most consulting projects, fusionSpan will be able to

offer a more balanced quality service and sustainable solution than many

of its competitors. Our expertise covers the entire range of the web

site and application development process: Strategy, Design, Development,

Hosting, and Maintenance. For more information, visit www.fusionSpan.com

NAVIGATING ALONG the RIVER - Research Tips

Recently, Cyndi Howells of Cyndi's List stated on FaceBook: "I might end up sounding like a broken record here. But my initial tips on working your ancestors are: 1) get *all* possible records for each ancestor. 2) create a timeline for each ancestor that shows date-by-date what you know from your research. 3) map your ancestors--getting a geographical perspective is so important. 4) know the history of the time and place in which your ancestor lived." [This is used here with permission.] This is about the simpliest and best advice or tip I have seen in all of my genealogical researching over the last 50 years! Although this looks and seems simple it is not simple to do, but is essential to help prevent "brick walls" or "barking up the wrong tree!" The only thing that I might add to this would be to maintain "family group sheets" to help you keep up with family relationships as you research.

In 1996, I remember corresponding with Cyndi when she was just getting her list going good. She said that she hoped that everyone would be patient with her to get new links online since she was basically just an everyday housewife with children. As time went on Cyndi became a celebrity, author, lecturer, speaker appearing in magazines and TV. Cyndi's List is incredible and one of the most important "favorites link" of all for genealogists (and historians) to use daily! Here is the link to her site: http://www.cyndislist.com/

Cyndi's List is a free service to genealogists to help us find online resources and information. As her site states ~ "Your genealogy starting point online for more than a decade!" There are 280,000 plus links in over 180 categories. She is constantly updating links as quickly as they are broken and adding new links as they are found or reported. Thanks Cyndi Howells for all that you have done!