: : : :
: : : : : : How's this for an analogy:
: : : : : : I offer people a machine that will provide electricity to their homes at no cost. Unknown to those people I make a machine that allows me to take not only total control the their machines, but also control every electical device in their home. Three of the people discover this and immediately disconnect their machines. They reconnect and use their machines only when they know I am no where near my machine. My machine is destroyed, none of their machines no longer work, and I am killed because my machine also powered my pace-maker.

: : : : : Nope, doesn't work...
: : : : : Sauron had much to do with the physics of the rings, but gravity will hardly shut off if Newton dies! He may have discovered the way to channel the powers into rings, but i doubt if all ring lore will die just because Sauron does.

: : : : : Gandalf

: : : : The main problem with the above analogy is that the machines worked before the One machine was made, so there's no reason why they wouldn't work when the One is destroyed. It works better if we say that the One was plugged to the same network, and when it was destroyed, it caused a power surge which burned out the other machines.
: : : : However, I can't fathom what the conection between the Rings was that Sauron was able to plug his Ring into, nor what exactly would have cause this 'power surge'.
: : : : -Foradan

: : : Yes, the machines worked when I gave them away. Had to let the people think they had something special, didn't I? When I turned on my master machine, it not only took control the other machines, but also became the sole supply of power to operate those machines. Oh, I didn't tell you that, did I?
: : : Seriously, the One Ring was the link between other rings and the power,lore or whatever that made them function. When the One was destroyed the link was broken.

: : Hmm. Would your machines have kept working forever on their own if you had decided not to make your master machine, the link never made?
: : -Foradan

: They would continue working without the link, even the three machines without the buffer that prevented detection of the master machine. Of course, I would be monitoring their use. Sorry, forgot to mention that the machines automatically sent use data to me. How forgetful of me. Anyway, why would I not make my master machine. My goal from the begining was to gain total control of these people and their lives.

No way Jose.
Come on, the question was "Would the machines work without this link", and the question under your analogy should be "NO", since they stopped workin after the master machine died.
But in reality (Tolkien Reality), the Three did function without any "link"

Anyway, the lore was discovered by Sauron, but not created by him. In fact, you can look at the rings' power as a rule of physics. If Sauron discovered gravity, but it would hardly stop working if he died. The power of the 3 were not bound to Sauron, save the fact that he helped cultivate some of the knowledge IN PART. That knowledge would hardly stop functioning just because he dies. It's like saying that Gravity should have died with Newton.

Bollocks, sheer Bollocks
=)

Gandalf