Dick Eastman

Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter: Rules of Posting Genealogy Information Online: "OK, here are 'Eastman's Rules of Posting Genealogy Information Online,' a new set of rules invented today: 1. If you don't want everyone to know about something and use that something as they wish, don't post it online! There are no secrets after you post information online. You can claim copyrights or legal protection, but the fact remains that information placed on the web quickly becomes common knowledge. You may be correct in thinking that nobody else should ever reuse your information, but not everyone will agree with you. Regardless of your intentions, some people will re-use your data elsewhere. Getting the data removed later will be difficult and frustrating. Think before you post!" . . .

and that even includes "private" email

Facts are not copyrighted, at least not under U.S. law. If your web page contains only names and dates and locations of life events (birth, marriage, death, census entries, military service, etc.), you do not own that information. It is public domain. . . .

Dick Eastman: "kept his first genealogy database on 80-column punch cards."