>
> Yahoo! does not claim ownership of the content on your site. We never
> have.
>
> One of the terms in the Yahoo! Terms of Service grants us the license
> (in other words, gives us your consent) to use the content on your
> GeoCities site. We ask for this license to do the job of serving your
> pages to the world, but Yahoo! agrees to the following rules with
> respect to the content on your GeoCities site:
>
> * You license your content to Yahoo! so that we can display the content
> on your GeoCities site and promote the Yahoo! GeoCities services.
>
> * The license exists for as long as you continue to be a Yahoo!
> GeoCities homesteader, no longer.
>
> * Yahoo! has the right to reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, and create
> derivative works of your content only for the purpose of hosting your
> GeoCities site and providing and promoting the Yahoo! GeoCities service.
>
> Some people have asked if under these rules Yahoo! can do things like
> publish a book or make a movie using your Yahoo! GeoCities homepage
> content. We cannot.
>
> We intend for these rules to be legally binding on Yahoo!. And, as the
> lawyers say, to the extent that any of these rules conflict with or
> modify the Yahoo! Terms of Service, these rules will prevail.
>
> Folks, please know that we've built our network of services and tools by
> committing ourselves to our users. Starting in the early days of the Web
> with the Yahoo! directory, we've always made it our job to respond to
> your needs. We understand that we owe any success to you. We have no
> intention of violating the trust that we've built with you over the
> years.
>
> We're blessed to be working in an industry in which, on a daily basis,
> we hear the good and the bad directly from people like you. We listen
> when you talk to us. The recent merger of Yahoo! and GeoCities does not
> (and will not) change that.
>
> We understand your recent concerns, but there are some very basic and
> important reasons why an online company such as Yahoo! asks for such a
> license.
>
> For starters, we use many computers to serve to the world the millions
> of GeoCities home pages. In order to display your pages quickly and not
> lose any of your content (say, in a computer crash), we often need to
> copy your files onto more than one computer. Very simply, the license
> assures that we can do this.
>
> In addition, if we choose to promote your page on the top of Yahoo!
> GeoCities, or anywhere else on the Yahoo! network (even, for example, in
> a marketing promotion of Yahoo!'s many services), we need to reproduce
> the content. Again, the license assures that we can do this.
>
> There are many times when we use other companies to help us serve web
> pages on our global network. Sometimes information is changed as it is
> served to the world. For example, if your page contains images in JPEG
> format and the other company's service uses GIF format, your images may
> need to be adapted to fit in.
>
> These are just a few reasons. Also keep in mind that the Yahoo!
> GeoCities Terms of Service (which have been standard on the Yahoo!
> network) are very similar to the terms of service of many major Web
> sites and online services, including other home page providers.
>
> We feel the recent merger of Yahoo! and GeoCities will provide many
> exciting opportunities for our users, but if you'd rather not keep your
> home page with us we, obviously, will respect your wishes.
>
> Please visit this URL and we will remove your home page and account as
> soon as possible.
>
http://add.yahoo.com/fast/help/geo/cgi_remove
>
> If you feel that we may have sent you an inappropriate response to your
> question or comment, please respond to this e-mail and let us know.
>
> Thank you for your time,
>
> The Yahoo! Team