Rootschat is entirely free to use but to avoid spammers you need to have three posts on the boards before you can talk to a person privately. You can either post two more times, click on their name and then, on the left hand side, there is an option to "Private Message" or you can reply to a thread of theirs (as I'm doing on yours) and if their email address is still active they should get an email notification that you've replied so they can come and see what you've said.
RootsChat is made up of other researchers who often, through the goodness of their own hearts and through mutual interest in the hobby, use their resources to help the searches of others.
