RootsWeb is a free genealogy community that uses online forums, mailing lists, and other resources to help people research their family history. Founded in 1993 by Brian Leverich and Karen Isaacson as the Roots Surname List, it is the oldest free online community genealogy research website. This short explanation does not give the entire history, however. The current ownership shows up in the tag line at the bottom of the startup page as "RootsWeb is funded and supported by Ancestry.com and our loyal RootsWeb community." There is a link here to the following page.
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| https://support.rootsweb.com/s/ |
The website is loaded with ads and clicking on a link may take you to a website that is totally unrelated to genealogy or research. However, much of the old information is still on the website and although the website is no longer a go to destination as it once was, it is still possible to find valuable information if you are willing to spend time clicking and learning about how to navigate through the old content. However, clicking on some of the existing links will take you to pages with nothing but ads.
It appears that many of the message boards are still currently active. Some of the other projects on the website may also be active. There is a link to the USGenWeb Project and to a few other interesting and valuable links but the RootsWeb website is nothing like it was originally.
One interesting issue is that when going to the Message Boards, I was automatically logged into Ancestry.com. I don't know what would happen if you did not have an account. So, I am not sure how much more help the website is anymore beyond using Ancestry.com.
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