Hallo Team, natuerlich konnte ich die Sache mit Broderbund so nicht hinnehmen, ohne der Firma mein persönliches Missfallen deutlich zu machen, ueber die Art und Weise, in der speziell ich mich hintergangen fuehle. Wenigstens kam heute nacht eine spontane Antwort, die ich Euch hiermit forwarde:

Klaus-peter -

Banner Blue prides itself on not only our successful business, but also on our decade long support of genealogy as an important and worthwhile pursuit. We are interested in sponsoring opportunities, and I recall our last email correspondence was regarding what creative ways we can pursue this without your site appearing too commercial. We are still interested in doing this because we recognize the excellent resource you have created in your support of german genealogy research.

Our interest was obtaining that domain name. Separately we were working on our sponsorship opportunity with you. We were not interested in devaluing the hard work your group has performed. We will leave the link in place in the short term as you request and perhaps work out an agreement that is mutually beneficial?

Regards,

Kathleen

____________________Reply Separator____________________ Subject: Broderbund now owns www.genealogy.com Author: Klaus-Peter Wessel <klaus-peter.wessel@airbus.dasa.de> Date: 12/2/98 9:54 AM

Hello Kathleen,

sorry to contact you - but I think I have to write at least a little bit.

Currently my feelings are between angryness and resignation.

Was that the kind of cooperation you have had in mind, when talking with me?

O.K. making that deal was quite a good deal for the Broderbund business and we think also for the Lloyds. Maybe your offer was good enough, that no one on the earth could have sayed no. Sure, the domain name was their personal ownership. So they have had the right to sell it to your company. No question. Only the kind how it has happened and the time frame which was left for us to look for alternatives are not o.k. And also I myself currently do not feel well, cause I have thought, talking with you was based on a real cooperation proposal from your side. Thats life in the business, isn't it?

Our team has had more in mind than just pure dump money. We have shared the dream that "real" worldwide teamworking is possible. We thought that it must be possible somehow to bring worthfull informations about german genealogy to the worlds genealogy community without any commercial interest.

What we currently are really angry with is, that OUR contents, which has been written by volounters in their free time for fun and with enthusiam, is linked all over the world many thousand times. In all search engines OUR contents/pages are indexed. All links will now reference to the new forthcoming Broderbund website and we, the team, which has established the contents, has worked years for free for YOUR companies interest.

Or did you have had other things in mind? Will you leave us a place on http://www.genealogy.com/gene (at least for a short time period) to show, that it is not your intent to kick us in the ass and that your interest was more than getting only the domain name, but (as you stated before) a cooperation?

We would appreciate any comment you can or will make. I will forward it to our team.

Regards, Kathleen_Urbanic@broder.com

Gruss,