While I call these “rules,” they are really suggestions. These “rules” are just a start. I suspect you can think of additional “rules.” If you can add more, please post your suggestion(s) in the comments section below.

OK, here are “Eastman’s Rules of Posting Genealogy Information Online,” a new set of rules invented today:

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 re-use 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!

Keep in mind that all search engines will index your site (unless you take steps to do otherwise as listed in Note #1 below), and most of them will cache the information. One web site (www.archive.org which is not a true search engine) will cache your data more or less forever, even if you later change or remove your data.

A few specialty search sites will charge their subscribers a fee to search your site and millions of others. General-purpose search engines, such as Google, are usually free to the user. Specialty search engines that look only for financial data, legal data, real estate transactions, sports scores, etc. typically charge a fee. The more specialized the search engine, the higher the fee. Some charge very high prices. You and I don’t hear much about the fee-based search engines, but they exist, nonetheless.

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.

If your page(s) contains additional descriptive information, interpretations, stories, or other information that you wrote, the original information you added might be copyrighted. However, the dividing line between copyrighted information and public domain information is often fuzzy. Even legal experts who specialize in intellectual property issues often disagree with each other. You should realize that not everyone is going to agree with your interpretation of the legal issues involved.

Actually, all of this is probably a moot point anyway. Whether legal or not, it is very difficult to force someone to remove copies of information you supplied.

Never assume. You may have strong opinions concerning what is right or wrong, but not everyone will agree with you. Ask yourself, “What will happen if I place this information online?” Be realistic!

The above are a few of my thoughts. Again, if you have further suggestions for additional “rules,” please post your thoughts in the comments section at the end of this article.

Note #1: If you do want to place genealogy information (or any information) on the World Wide Web and do not want your information to be found by search engines, there is a simple way to do so: create a ROBOTS.TXT file and place it on your web site. Thousands of web sites do this already when they don’t want certain information to become too public. There are many web sites that will explain ROBOTS.TXT and tell you how to add such a file to your site. Start here: http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&q=create+robots.txt+file&btnG=Google+Search. Once you add a ROBOTS.TXT file to your web pages, your information will disappear from all search engines within a few months. However, don’t be surprised if nobody visits your site anymore. It will be rather well hidden.

If you are willing to have some search engines index and cache your site but do not want all search engines to do so, you can be selective. Again, the solution is a ROBOTS.TXT file. You can exclude specific search engines by name. The format of the commands is a bit tricky, so study the instructions carefully. Start here: http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&q=create+robots.txt+file&btnG=Google+Search.

Note #2:mYou should realize that search engines are not perfect. Even the specialty search engines designed for a specific purpose will erroneously add some extraneous data. The search engine’s filters may interpret words differently than a human would. For example, a financial services search engine might add your genealogy data to its search engine if your ancestor was named James Penney or Ezekiel Dollarhide. Likewise, a genealogy-specific search engine may add a page that describes the article describing music but entitled “roots of New Orleans jazz,” and a real estate search engine may add its own information about “the history of the House family.”

Despite the fast-moving digital world, it’s our family past that continues to pique interest.

Every family seemingly has that one member who takes it upon themselves to go down the genealogy rabbit hole becoming an online sleuth or simply using 23andMe’s DNA testing lab for ancestry roots.

It’s also this interest in our personal history that draws viewers to “Finding Your Roots,” hosted by Henry Lewis Gates, Jr., which debuts its ninth season Jan. 3 on PBS.

Using genealogical detective work and cutting-edge DNA analysis revealing buried secrets and inspiring stories, the fascinating series of “Finding Your Roots” features influential actors, athletes and celebrities learning about their detailed family trees.

This season’s list of guests includes actors Carol Burnett, Jamie Chung, Brian Cox, Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Jeff Daniels, Viola Davis, David Duchovny, Richard Kind, Joe Manganiello, Tamera Mowry, Edward Norton, Julia Roberts and Danny Trejo, as well as comedian Niecy Nash.

There’s also pop star Cyndi Lauper, athlete and sportscaster Tony Gonzalez, journalists Jim Acosta and Van Jones, activist Angela Y. Davis and statesman Jeh Johnson.

NOTE: This article is not about any of the "normal" topics of this newsletter: genealogy, history, current affairs, DNA, and related topics. However, I believe that all computer users should be aware of the need for encryption when uploading information to cloud-based file storage services.

Cryptomator is a FREE and open-source product that will encrypt data inside your own computer before uploading it to a cloud-based file storage service of your choice.

Dropbox has acquired Boxcryptor’s key technology. This means that Boxcryptor’s services will no longer be available to new users and existing users will likely have to migrate when their contracts expire.

 Cryptomator is is a FREE and and open-source alternative that can be used without an account. Just download and get started.

If you’re looking for a replacement, this is a great candidate for your consideration.

Features of Cryptomator

• Encryption of all major cloud providers (no restriction on Desktop app; mobile apps compatible with Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, pCloud, iCloud Drive on iOS, and any cloud via WebDAV and S3)
• Available on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android
• Both for personal use and for businesses: Cryptomator Hub
• End-to-end and zero-knowledge encryption
• Free Desktop app, one-time purchase (€15) for the mobile app, no subscription
• Maximum transparency through open-source software
• Unlimited number of devices
• Password recovery through offline key recovery
• Software “Made in Germany”

How to Easily Set Up Cryptomator

1. Download and install Cryptomator.
2. Once Cryptomator is installed, you can create a new vault.
3. Give your vault a name.
4. Now select a cloud storage of your choice as the storage location of your vault.
5. Enter a password.

And you have successfully created your first vault.

If you want, you can unlock it immediately and reveal the virtual drive. From now on, you can store your sensitive files here, e.g., the data that you previously encrypted with Boxcryptor, in order to encrypt them in the cloud with Cryptomator from now on. Detailed instructions are available here.

The 23andMe Blog has an interesting article that neatly sums up the DNA developments of the past year. The introduction to the article states:

"The past year in genetics has held no shortage of surprises. Fossilized bone fragments helped to rewrite parts of the Neanderthal story, including how some bands migrated and lived. A team of researchers in Spain learned that doppelgangers have more in common than meets the eye. The phrase “superdodger” officially entered the COVID-19 lexicon. And new analysis confirmed what anyone who’s ever hit a dance floor already knows–the ability to move in time to a beat is partly genetic.

"From big discoveries that moved the field forward to work that improved upon existing findings, here are some of the year’s milestones."

As I read through the remainder of the article, I learned about several new developments that I was unaware of previously. You might do the same at: https://blog.23andme.com/articles/2022-year-in-genetics.

Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated the day after Christmas Day, thus being the second day of Christmastide. Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, today Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. It originated in the United Kingdom and is celebrated in a number of countries that previously formed part of the British Empire. Boxing Day is on 26 December, although the attached bank holiday or public holiday may take place either on that day or one or two days later (if necessary to ensure it falls on a weekday).

A full description of the history of Boxing Day and its modern celebration may be found on Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxing_Day.

The National Library of Australia is threatening to pull the plug on Trove, its free online service that provides public access to collections from Australian libraries, universities, museums, galleries and archives.

In its recent Trove Strategy, the library has indicated that without additional government support, it will shut the service down by July next year:

The future of Trove beyond July 2023 will be dependent upon available funds […] In a limited funding environment, Trove may reduce to a service focused on the National Library of Australia’s collections. Without any additional funds, the Library will need to cease offering the Trove service entirely.

It’s been nearly seven years since the #fundTrove campaign, a response to budget cuts to the National Library of Australia in 2016. (These were part of the Turnbull government’s “efficiency dividend”, which cut $20 million from the budgets of six Canberra-based cultural institutions over four years.)

That campaign resulted in a government funding package for Trove intended to rescue the popular service, which was topped up with more cash last year.

But in recent months it has become increasingly clear the National Library of Australia was never cured of its funding ills, and Trove was just on life support.

You can read more in an article by Zoe Smith and published in The Conversation web site at: https://tinyurl.com/ymxnh9uh.

My thanks to newsletter reader Neil Murray for telling me about this story.

The following is a Plus Edition article written by and copyright by Dick Eastman. 

Many people who are unfamiliar with DNA will have a test conducted and then will believe the results are exact. Unfortunately, that isn’t true, especially when it comes to the ethnic origins of their ancestors. DNA estimates of ethnic origins are ESTIMATES or perhaps we should call them PROBABILITIES. 

If your DNA test says you have 60% Irish ancestry, then we can assume that you undoubtedly do have a lot of Irish ancestry but it probably isn’t exactly 60%. If your DNA test says you have 2% Middle Eastern ancestry, that means that you MIGHT have a little bit of Middle Eastern ancestry but even that is not guaranteed. It could be more than 2% or it might be zero.

First of all, any DNA test that says you have a specific percentage of ancestry from another country is to be taken with some skepticism. For instance, your  test results might say you have 60% Irish ancestry. While it is true that you do probably have a lot of Irish ancestry, the percentage will vary from one testing company to another. Even more confusing for newcomers to DNA is the fact that your brother or sister might have a DNA test taken and the results might report a different percentage of Irish ancestry. Once you understand how DNA works, the reasons are obvious. However, it is confusing for newcomers.

In the case of siblings, both of your parents contributed to the family’s gene pool. (I assuming both have the same father and mother. I am ignoring half-brothers and half-sisters. That’s a different topic.)  You and your brother or sister each got SOME of your DNA from your father and SOME from your mother but it is rare for both siblings to inherit exactly the same percentages from both parents. You never get exactly 50% from either parent. Instead, you might get 35% of your ethnic DNA from one parent and 65% from the other parent. The percentages are variable but obviously always add up to 100%.

One common analogy is that DNA ethnic origins are like vegetable soup. The soup contains a mix of different vegetables. When you dipped your ladle into the soup bowl, you might have pulled out 25% potatoes, 35% carrots, and 40% beans. Your brother or sister then dipped their ladle into the same soup bowl and pulled out the same vegetables, but in a somewhat different percentage of each.

The remainder of this article is reserved for Plus Edition subscribers only. If you have a Plus Edition subscription, you may read the full article at: https://eogn.com/(*)-Plus-Edition-News-Articles/13034415.

If you are not yet a Plus Edition subscriber, you can learn more about such subscriptions and even upgrade to a Plus Edition subscription immediately at https://eogn.com/page-18077.

NOTE: This article is not about any of the "normal" topics of this newsletter: genealogy, history, current affairs, DNA, and related topics. However, I believe that all computer users should be aware of the dangers of online advertisements and the solutions available.

I have been using an ad blocker for nearly a year and love it. It doesn't block all advertisements but it does block a lot of them, including most of the more obnoxious “pop up" advertisements.

From an article by Zack Whittaker published in the TechCrunch web site:

Research into the brutal shakedown of the Oʻahu Community Correctional Center in 1981, and the experience and backgrounds of delinquent girls and incarcerated women in Hawaiʻi are highlights of the work of former University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa women’s studies program director and professor emerita Meda Chesney-Lind, which is now available online. University Archives has made Chesney-Lind’s collection of research and academic work as a scholar and activist with a focus on women and crime available on ArchivesSpace.

Meda Chesney-Lind

Her extensive contribution to the field of feminist criminology has been recognized nationally, with a large number of publications and prestigious awards.

Chesney-Lind has been with UH Mānoa’s women’s studies department (renamed to the Department of Women, Gender and Sexualily Studies) since 1986. She also previously taught at Honolulu Community College as a lecturer.

Spanning from the 1970s to 2010s, the Meda Chesney-Lind papers provides valuable research materials, including material from various courses taught in juvenile delinquency, human sexuality, women’s studies, criminology, sociology of gender and sex roles; keynote addresses and presentations; and more.

“I have always been on the margins in terms of my work,” said Chesney-Lind. “Living in Hawaiʻi gave me a unique perspective on crime and justice, particularly around issues of race. Of course, being female in a predominantly male field was also influential, directing me to focus on the experiences of girls and women in a largely male oriented criminal justice system.”

You can find the entire article at: https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2022/12/20/uh-criminologist-papers-go-online/.