It sounds like there were a few issues with respect for ownership of the givingtree. Here's just a little snippet on how I see this issue. Sometimes when things grow too big, and the technology used to keep them up lags behind, others will fill the niche with newer, faster, and more automated technology. Kris had done a great job keeping up with manually pasting photos and making webpages for a while, until the tree became too large to be manually finished and the older 16-bit graphics and autoplay tunes (Not office friendly) became tedious to deal with. Granny needed a lift. The new tree is automated and has a clean, newer look. It isn't the person who ran the tree, or the care they put into it that is being replaced, but merely the technology that runs it. The database now does the work that Kris had to do in his spare time, after hours, and into the night. Shelters will now not need to tell 8 people that the ferret is taken (or sometimes that he died and never got a rainbow, etc.)-- eating up all their time they could use elsewhere and using up the Santas time hunting through 24 webpages for a ferret that doesn't show it is taken, but really is. Change can be really hard sometimes especially when it feels things are being cast aside. The only real analogy I can think of is that of the BetaMax tape- still usable, still appreciated, but newer technology beat it out: it is however, forever, a solid piece of history that isn't forgotten and is often looked on with fond memories. That's what the older tree is.. the foundation for something that will, and should, continue to grow. I think once everything falls into place, both santas and shelters will find the whole process much easier and probably more fun. With new technology comes new opportunity as well. Think of it.. maybe in a few years the Santa can watch a shelter parent holding up the ferret talking about their story and showing what the ferret would like and what his cage looks like. Think of how personal the experience could become with the right tech application? I suppose that's my pence of the moment. I'm going to continue to cherish the home movies on betamax, but appreciate and revel that my child will have color, HD digital video to watch when he is old enough to make future memories for his own children. Nobody can the tree away: it belongs to all of us Laura [Posted in FML 6458]