USGenWeb-SE-L Archives

Archiver > USGenWeb-SE > 2007-07 > 1184723696


From: "Linda Barton" <>
Subject: [USGW-SE] FW: [BOARD] Motion 07-16 - Local/County CoordinatorGuidelines -DISCUSSION
Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2007 21:54:56 -0400


I'd like to hear your opinions on this motion. Feel free to answer here or
write Suzanne & I privately.

Linda Blum-Barton

Suzanne Shephard



It has been moved by Mike and seconded by Linda that the Local/County
Coordinator Guidelines as set out below be approved and posted on the
USGenWeb website replacing all current coordinator guidelines and help
pages. This motion is numbered 07-16 and is now open for discussion.

Motion 07-16, as stated, is:

I move the following Local/County Coordinator Guidelines be approved and
posted on the USGenWeb website replacing all current coordinator guidelines
and help pages:

"I. PREFACE.

1. USGenWeb Project Terms:
(CC) = County Coordinator.
(SC) = State Coordinator.
(LC) = Local Coordinator (rarely used).
County Site = Applies equally to parish and township sites.
Project = The USGenWeb Project.

2. USGenWeb National Information. Take the time to browse the Project's
national website at http://www.usgenweb.com/volunteers/index.shtml.
National Elections: The Project's Election Committee website
http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgwelections/ will explain the Project's election
process and how to register to vote.
National Newsletter: You will receive the Project's monthly Newsletter.
Prior issues of the Newsletter are posted on the national website:
http://www.usgenweb.com/newsletter/index.shtml .
The Project's Bylaws: http://www.usgenweb.com/volunteers/bylaws.shtml .
The Project's Standard Rules:
http://www.usgenweb.org/volunteers/standard-rules.shtml .
The Project's Special Rules:
http://www.usgenweb.org/volunteers/special-rules.shtml .
The Project's Mailing Lists:
http://www.usgenweb.org/volunteers/mail-lists.shtml

3. Your Website: As the owner of your website, you have the option of
establishing your website on any server. The websites within the Project,
are hosted by a variety of servers, most of them free of charge. Your SC, or
designated state representative, is available to help. Website design help
can be found at: http://www.usgenweb.com/volunteers/design.shtml and
http://htmlhelp.rootsweb.com/howto.html. Some states have particular
requirements for county sites. Check with your State Coordinator about any
such requirements. If you are changing an existing site, you should take
care not to eliminate any existing information and be sure the information
is still linked properly. For outdated information (queries, e-mail
addresses, etc.), check with your State Coordinator about any state
guidelines for removing this information.


II. REQUIRED.

1. USGenWeb Project Logo. (USGenWeb Bylaw Article IX, Section 1). All
websites shall include prominent display of The USGenWeb Project logo on the
home page - http://www.usgenweb.com/volunteers/bylaws.shtml . The logos are
found at: http://www.usgenweb.com/volunteers/logos.shtml. A state project
logo may be required depending on the guidelines/standards in effect for
that state.

2. Solicitation Of Funds. (USGenWeb Bylaw Article IX, Section 2).
Solicitation of funds for personal gain is inappropriate. See the complete
Bylaw reference for further information -
http://www.usgenweb.com/volunteers/bylaws.shtml .

3. Copyrights. (USGenWeb Bylaw Article X, Section 4). All USGenWeb members
are responsible for adhering to the Project's Copyright Policy. See the
complete Bylaw reference for further information -
http://www.usgenweb.com/volunteers/bylaws.shtml . Further, although the
Project Policy addresses specifically genealogy information it pertains also
to all facets of the website, i.e., graphics, html coding, backgrounds,
audios, videos, etc.

4. State Mailing List/Website Link (USGenWeb Bylaw Article XI, Sections
2/3). All County Coordinators will be subscribed to the XXGenWeb mailing
list and each website will have a direct link to the state project -
http://www.usgenweb.com/volunteers/bylaws.shtml .

5. Area For Researcher's Queries (USGenWeb Bylaw Article XI, Section 3).
County websites must include a means for a researcher to post a query. If
the state does not have requirements, there are several options available.
You may administrate a query page or message board system or provide a link
to an existing message board related to your county. Queries are designed to
be posted so others are able to make contact. Coordinators are not required
to research the queries. http://www.usgenweb.com/volunteers/bylaws.shtml .

6. State Coordinators. (USGenWeb Bylaw Article XII, Sections 6 and 7). State
Coordinators have the responsibility to review county compliance with
standards and to remove links for those failing to meet standards.
http://www.usgenweb.com/volunteers/bylaws.shtml .

7. Advisory Board. (USGenWeb Bylaw Article VI, Section 5). The Advisory
Board has the responsibility to remove links for those failing to meet
standards. http://www.usgenweb.com/volunteers/bylaws.shtml .

III STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.

1. USGenWeb Help Pages Mailing List. The purpose of this list is to provide
a friendly and helpful means of communication across state and project lines
for USGenWeb members seeking and willing to give assistance in all technical
aspects of building and improving USGenWeb pages, including the creation and
use of graphics, as well as assistance in attracting and displaying
submissions, meeting researcher needs, utilizing our special projects, and
so forth, in pursuance of the Project goals. To subscribe, send an email to
with the word subscribe in the subject
line and the text body.

2. USGenWeb Logo. Since there are varying interpretations of the bylaw
language concerning the term 'prominently displayed,' the guideline strongly
recommends the logo be no less than 10000 pixels square (in most browsers,
right click on an image, select 'properties' and it will provide image size
in pixels) and appears visible, without scrolling down (on all resolutions),
on the initial (opening) index (home, default, et.al) page load within the
browser. Placement should be considered with the understanding that web site
designers have no control over visitors screen resolutions, text size,
colors, etc.

3. Web Site Search Engine. The more information a web site contains the
greater consideration should be given to installing a search engine. They
are a powerful tool for the visiting researcher providing it includes all
the files and subsets of the website. There are several free search engines
available and all of them have perfected easy ways of acquiring, installing,
using, and enhancing.

4. County Resource Page and Lookups: Websites should provide some basic
research help for its county. Suggestions are to provide a list of names,
addresses and phone umbers for the county court clerk, library, and
genealogical and/or historical societies. Also, provide a bibliography page
showing the reference books available for their county. Lookups should be
offered if you or your volunteers have received permission to do so from the
book's author or publisher if the reference books you have available meet
the copyright policies of The USGenWeb Project.

5. Strongly Recommended Links.
i. The USGenWeb Project - http://www.usgenweb.org.
ii. The USGenWeb Project Archives Table of Contents page (sorted by state) -
http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb. From this main page, follow the links to
your state and county.
iii. The archives search option -
http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/newsearch.htm.
iv. The WorldGenWeb site - http://www.worldgenweb.org/ .

6. URL/Link Checker. Periodically the webmaster should check that all links
on the website are valid. There are several free URL/Link Checkers available
and most are very easy to understand and use. Among them are Xenu's Link
Slueth - http://home.snafu.de/tilman/xenulink.html ; W3C Link Checker -
http://validator.w3.org/checklink ; DeadLinks.com -
http://www.dead-links.com/ - and more.

IV RECOMMENDED.

1. Disclaimer. Many of the resources you will link to are "third party"
sites; that is, they are not part of The USGenWeb Project and are not under
its control. Therefore, we recommend that you add the following, or similar,
disclaimer to your home page: "Links to sites that are not part of the
USGenWeb Project are provided for your convenience and do not imply any
endorsement of the sites or their contents by the USGenWeb Project or its
members. Neither the USGenWeb Project nor its members are responsible for
the contents of any "third party" site which you may access from a link on
this page."

2. Contact Information. Local Coordinators should provide a valid email
address on their websites so that visitors may contact them if they need to
do so."


Scott Burow
NC - USGenWeb Project

USGenWeb Project information can be found at: http://www.usgenweb.com
-------------------------------
To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to
with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in
the subject and the body of the message
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.5.476 / Virus Database: 269.10.8/904 - Release Date: 7/16/2007
5:42 PM

No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.5.476 / Virus Database: 269.10.8/904 - Release Date: 7/16/2007
5:42 PM

This thread: