Ron is so right. Electronic junk mail continues to climb. In the US, the FTC has established a department to which anyone can forward junk mail WITH headers/detail section included (i.e. the "original" mail as it passed through the many email servers). That address is <spam@uce.gov>. They prosecuted several large mass e-mailers in recent years by using junk mails people forwarded to the FTC. I think the bigger issue for webmasters is to educate family and friends about how to identify spam and how to deal with it. The first lesson: When posting on the Internet, realize your address IS now exposed. Judy On Wed, Aug 3, 2011 at 8:45 PM, Ron Lankshear <ronlank@yahoo.com.au> wrote: > Malicious scanners would ignore robot.txt > Those spiders just want email addresses and are > not worried about you telling them to stay off. > I am not sure if robot.txt works on Freepage sites > > In Ruth's case it looked like the scam people > actually read the site because they put Mather > Story in their email. > of course their spider perhaps worked out surname > and used that in a template. > If they are reading the site then nothing will > stop them..... > I use email in graphic form for cousins on my > site. I put them on web page for their family but > only if they ask. > > I do not use Guestbooks I have open Mailto for > cousins to contact. And so many do it is wonderful > way to find cousins. > > > As was said Gmail has great spam filter facility > as does Kaspersky which I pay for but really I > want their virus etc function. > > I am also very experienced at reading emails and > knowing scams etc - > I really don't understand why people worry about > scams from Nigeria - just delete them........... > > > Ron Lankshear -Sydney NSW (from London-Shepherds > Bush/Chiswick) > try my links > http://freepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~lankshear/ > >

You're joking, right? :-) No, robots.txt is an information only file and will only direct "polite" spiders. The robots which harvest email addresses ignore robots.txt. It's like putting a note on the door saying "please don't rob me" won't keep a burglar away. Charlie Dobie. At 06:56 PM 8/3/2011, you wrote: >Is there something I'm not understanding here? > >Won't a simple robot.txt keep the spiders out? > > >As granny once said: "Ihre Zustimmung ist weder >erforderlich gewünscht, verlangt, oder von >meinen Gedanken, Wörter und Briefe, noch sind so das Fall zukünftig." > > >----- Original Message ----- >From: Greg <gdav9@gdavis.id.au> >To: freepages-help@rootsweb.com >Cc: >Sent: Wednesday, August 3, 2011 5:41 PM >Subject: Re: [FreeHelp] FREEPAGES-HELP E-mail >address harvesting -- was Digest, Vol 6, Issue 138 > >When I started hiding my email address I used a free program (which is >very small and you download it to your computer) called "E_Cloaker" >which asks you for the email address you want to hide and the alternate >text you want to show and then produces something like '<a >href="©0¬ etc etc, which you can then paste into any web >page, even on rootsweb pages. >For an example, go to this page - >http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~davismcdougall/family/p00030.htm#05238 > >- and view the source where you will see some very long lines across the >page which is the source line for the number in brackets at the start of >each entry for a person on that page. >No, I don't use E_Cloaker to put these lines in; I have since written >the code to build these lines in my own genealogy program, but E_Cloaker >would be quite suitable for including a few email addresses on a page. >As for Ruth's problem in a guest book, you would have to write some >javascript to accept the information the guest entered onto the page and >then securely hide from prying eyes. >In the guest book only show the name without the email address. The >javascript should send the email address to Ruth for safe keeping and >never keep it on the web site and if anyone wants to write to another >guest they would have to write to Ruth first and ask for the address. >Greg > > >------------------------------- >To unsubscribe from the list, please send an >email to FREEPAGES-HELP-request@rootsweb.com >with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes >in the subject and the body of the message > > >----- >No virus found in this message. >Checked by AVG - www.avg.com >Version: 10.0.1390 / Virus Database: 1518/3807 - Release Date: 08/03/11 Charles Dobie, cdobie@superaje.com

Is there something I'm not understanding here? Won't a simple robot.txt keep the spiders out?   As granny once said: "Ihre Zustimmung ist weder erforderlich gewünscht, verlangt, oder von meinen Gedanken, Wörter und Briefe, noch sind so das Fall zukünftig." ----- Original Message ----- From: Greg <gdav9@gdavis.id.au> To: freepages-help@rootsweb.com Cc: Sent: Wednesday, August 3, 2011 5:41 PM Subject: Re: [FreeHelp] FREEPAGES-HELP E-mail address harvesting -- was Digest, Vol 6, Issue 138 When I started hiding my email address I used a free program (which is very small and you download it to your computer) called "E_Cloaker" which asks you for the email address you want to hide and the alternate text you want to show and then produces something like '<a href="©0¬  etc etc, which you can then paste into any web page, even on rootsweb pages. For an example, go to this page - http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~davismcdougall/family/p00030.htm#05238 - and view the source where you will see some very long lines across the page which is the source line for the number in brackets at the start of each entry for a person on that page. No, I don't use E_Cloaker to put these lines in; I have since written the code to build these lines in my own genealogy program, but E_Cloaker would be quite suitable for including a few email addresses on a page. As for Ruth's problem in a guest book, you would have to write some javascript to accept the information the guest entered onto the page and then securely hide from prying eyes. In the guest book only show the name without the email address. The javascript should send the email address to Ruth for safe keeping and never keep it on the web site and if anyone wants to write to another guest they would have to write to Ruth first and ask for the address. Greg

Ruth wrote: "I'm thinking there is no way to prevent anyone from getting emails from a guestbook." The worst aspect of the malicious-copying-of-email-addresses problem seems to be harvesting by bots. These programs crawl the Web looking for the username@domain.net format and dump their finds into lists that are then sold to spammers. There are ways to defeat the bots. Anything that requires human interaction and disguises addresses to computers makes automated harvesting impractical. Some javascript programs have been written in defense. Many are free and can be downloaded for use on your site. One ("emailhide.js"?) removes the @ sign and breaks the rest of the address into username and domain.xxx. Clicking on text in the site activates the javascript to put the address back together. I haven't explored whether it's possible to use this javascript inside a guestbook. A non-javascript solution is to have the guestbook form require users to break their addresses down into parts. One input field would be for the username, another for the domain. -rt_/)

Hi Ruth, Have you looked at Pat Asher's family group sheet or the forms of James Huggins? This is Pat's site:- http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~pasher/fgsform.htm Here is one I have on a site: http://www.welshchapelsandchurches.org/contact.html You can copy the code if you wish to go for this type, just change the details. Kind Regards, Jill -----Original Message----- From: freepages-help-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:freepages-help-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Ruth Mather Sent: 02 August 2011 11:15 To: freepages-help@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [FreeHelp] FREEPAGES-HELP Digest, Vol 6, Issue 137 Thanks to everyone for the advice. I'm thinking there is no way to prevent anyone from getting emails from a guestbook. Both web pages are mine - the one at Bluehost and the one on freepages, & it is the same guestbook. I've tried other guestbooks in the past, but the freepages one is the most safe, by far, so I will put a note in it telling people to email me directly. I get spam, too, but it's not a big problem for me. The internet will probably never be 100% safe or free from bot email collecting. Ruth > Message: 1 > Date: Mon, 1 Aug 2011 05:35:57 -0400 > From: Jim Loudon<listadr@gmail.com> > Subject: Re: [FreeHelp] Spambots and Guestbooks, WAS FREEPAGES-HELP > Digest, Vol 6, Issue 133 > To: freepages-help@rootsweb.com > Message-ID:<Pine.WNT.4.64.1108010404320.528@ybpnyubfg> > Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed > > > If this is the URI of the guestbook in question: > > http://www.matherclan.com/guestbook.shtml > > the site is hosted by bluehost.com and not Rootsweb, thus the normal > advice you might get concerning Rootsweb Freepages may not apply, > although there is an apparently related page at: > > http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mather/guestbook.shtml > > The link to Rootsweb's guestbook script at matherclan.com should be > removed. Such a practice likely violates the Rootsweb TOS and/or AUP. > Hotlinking to someone else's domain is bad business, especially when the > other party discovers the link. > > I don't believe it's possible to suppress the listing of email addresses > using Rootsweb's guestbook script. You have to decide whether the > likelihood of exposing other people's email addresses to spammers makes it > worthwhile to continue with a guestbook. > > jim > > > > ------------------------------ > > To contact the FREEPAGES-HELP list administrator, send an email to > FREEPAGES-HELP-admin@rootsweb.com. > > To post a message to the FREEPAGES-HELP mailing list, send an email to FREEPAGES-HELP@rootsweb.com. > > __________________________________________________________ > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to FREEPAGES-HELP-request@rootsweb.com > with the word "unsubscribe" without the quotes in the subject and the body of the > email with no additional text. > > > End of FREEPAGES-HELP Digest, Vol 6, Issue 137 > ********************************************** > ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to FREEPAGES-HELP-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I'm thinking there is no way to prevent anyone from getting emails from a guestbook. Both web pages are mine - the one at Bluehost and the one on freepages, & it is the same guestbook. I've tried other guestbooks in the past, but the freepages one is the most safe, by far, so I will put a note in it telling people to email me directly. I get spam, too, but it's not a big problem for me. The internet will probably never be 100% safe or free from bot email collecting. Ruth > Message: 1 > Date: Mon, 1 Aug 2011 05:35:57 -0400 > From: Jim Loudon<listadr@gmail.com> > Subject: Re: [FreeHelp] Spambots and Guestbooks, WAS FREEPAGES-HELP > Digest, Vol 6, Issue 133 > To: freepages-help@rootsweb.com > Message-ID:<Pine.WNT.4.64.1108010404320.528@ybpnyubfg> > Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed > > > If this is the URI of the guestbook in question: > > http://www.matherclan.com/guestbook.shtml > > the site is hosted by bluehost.com and not Rootsweb, thus the normal > advice you might get concerning Rootsweb Freepages may not apply, > although there is an apparently related page at: > > http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mather/guestbook.shtml > > The link to Rootsweb's guestbook script at matherclan.com should be > removed. Such a practice likely violates the Rootsweb TOS and/or AUP. > Hotlinking to someone else's domain is bad business, especially when the > other party discovers the link. > > I don't believe it's possible to suppress the listing of email addresses > using Rootsweb's guestbook script. You have to decide whether the > likelihood of exposing other people's email addresses to spammers makes it > worthwhile to continue with a guestbook. > > jim > > > > ------------------------------ > > To contact the FREEPAGES-HELP list administrator, send an email to > FREEPAGES-HELP-admin@rootsweb.com. > > To post a message to the FREEPAGES-HELP mailing list, send an email to FREEPAGES-HELP@rootsweb.com. > > __________________________________________________________ > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to FREEPAGES-HELP-request@rootsweb.com > with the word "unsubscribe" without the quotes in the subject and the body of the > email with no additional text. > > > End of FREEPAGES-HELP Digest, Vol 6, Issue 137 > ********************************************** >

> From: freepages-help-request@rootsweb.com > Subject: FREEPAGES-HELP Digest, Vol 6, Issue 132 > To: freepages-help@rootsweb.com > Date: Sat, 23 Jul 2011 01:00:25 -0600 > > > > When replying to a digest message, quote only the specific message to which you are replying, removing the rest of the digest from your reply. Remember to change the subject of your reply so that it coincides with the message subject to which you are replying. > ***FREEPAGES HELP & FAQ*** > &lt;http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/FAQ/fpindex.html> > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Last things to do before uploading (J.A. Florian) > 2. favicons (Charles Dobie) > 3. Re: favicons (again) (Charles Dobie) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Fri, 22 Jul 2011 09:56:20 -0400 > From: "J.A. Florian" <cageycat@gmail.com> > Subject: [FreeHelp] Last things to do before uploading > To: "LIST_freepages-help@rootsweb.com" <freepages-help@rootsweb.com> > Message-ID: > <CAE5hz-BtN1wWMFYvpc=Vptxf8MnqTxFn_QUFtp-wvppsLhKp5Q@mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > > When I was looking around for other info, I saw this: > > http://www.addicottweb.com/2009/06/last-things-i-do-before-launching-a-website/ > > It seems to be a good basic list. > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Fri, 22 Jul 2011 22:29:28 -0400 > From: Charles Dobie <cdobie@superaje.com> > Subject: [FreeHelp] favicons > To: "J.A. Florian" <cageycat@gmail.com> > Cc: "LIST_freepages-help@rootsweb.com" <freepages-help@rootsweb.com> > Message-ID: <201107230229.p6N2TZ34018870@mail.storm.ca> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed > > At 09:33 AM 7/22/2011, J.A. Florian wrote: > >To answer your question about the difference between a favicon (.ICO) and a > >QR tag.... > >1. A favicon is a 16px by 16 px that is loaded into your page with a code > >line. > >-- It then appears in your browser at the beginning of the URL when on that > >website. > >-- It provides a way to visually ID that "yep, this is the website I want". > >-- It is a visual "branding" Internet tool. For examples: Google Mail uses > >a red envelope; my GenWeb site uses a tiny old bell. The idea is people > >begin associating the icon with "this website". > >-- Favicons contain no information in the icon, except by its association > >with xyz website. > --snip-- > > Many thanks for the info about favicons. I created one for my RCN > website and it works on all my browsers except for Chrome. I'll have > to research this more because Chrome certainly displays favicons for > other websites and bookmarks. > > > Charles Dobie, > cdobie@superaje.com > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 3 > Date: Fri, 22 Jul 2011 23:25:31 -0400 > From: Charles Dobie <cdobie@superaje.com> > Subject: Re: [FreeHelp] favicons (again) > To: "J.A. Florian" <cageycat@gmail.com>, > "LIST_freepages-help@rootsweb.com" <freepages-help@rootsweb.com> > Message-ID: <201107230325.p6N3Pc1P021002@mail.storm.ca> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed > > At 10:29 PM 7/22/2011, Charles Dobie wrote: > >At 09:33 AM 7/22/2011, J.A. Florian wrote: > > >To answer your question about the difference between a favicon (.ICO) and a > > >QR tag.... > > >1. A favicon is a 16px by 16 px that is loaded into your page with a code > > >line. > > >-- It then appears in your browser at the beginning of the URL when on that > > >website. > > >-- It provides a way to visually ID that "yep, this is the website I want". > > >-- It is a visual "branding" Internet tool. For examples: Google Mail uses > > >a red envelope; my GenWeb site uses a tiny old bell. The idea is people > > >begin associating the icon with "this website". > > >-- Favicons contain no information in the icon, except by its association > > >with xyz website. > >--snip-- > > > > > I was wrong -- Chrome places the favicon in the window tab, not in > the address line like Firefox and Safari. > > > Charles Dobie, > cdobie@superaje.com > > > > ------------------------------ > > To contact the FREEPAGES-HELP list administrator, send an email to > FREEPAGES-HELP-admin@rootsweb.com. > > To post a message to the FREEPAGES-HELP mailing list, send an email to FREEPAGES-HELP@rootsweb.com. > > __________________________________________________________ > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to FREEPAGES-HELP-request@rootsweb.com > with the word "unsubscribe" without the quotes in the subject and the body of the > email with no additional text. > > > End of FREEPAGES-HELP Digest, Vol 6, Issue 132 > **********************************************

Hi Ruth, Just thinking aloud... If it is a big issue and out of hand, my suggestion would be: 1. Set up a new mail box, such as on google mail (gmail). a). It's free. b). gmail catches almost all spam c). It stores almost unlimited mail and attachments-- i.e. the mail you want, while filtering out spam. d). The biggest difference is that gmail calls "folders" as "labels". Once I got used to that, gmail is a breeze to use. e). You do have to check your "contact" list in gmail cos it seems to add everyone who ever writes to you (except spam addresses). 2. Removee the box for "Put your Email here" on the form your guests fill out. 3. Add text at the top of the page to say: You may write to me at my new address: whatever@gmail.com People will then be able to contact you without exposing their email addresses. *You can also add a note to your Main index page saying guests can contact you at new address: whatever@gmail.com 4. Replace Your Old Email on your website with your new address: whatever@gmail.com This will start the process of limiting junk coming to Your Old Email address. It'll take months for the spam to slow down on the Old address. Since Google can run it's bots on Rootsweb, even posts to Archived Lists means your E-mail is exposed. My 2nd thought... not sure if it can be done... can you add a noindex,nofollow tag on the form page? You might not be able to do this on the form's output page, though, because I think RW controls thatt. Judy On Sun, Jul 31, 2011 at 10:18 AM, Ruth Mather <ruth@matherclan.com> wrote: > > Subject: spammers, scammers, bots, etc. in guestbook > > Hello, > I just recently checked my guestbook & received the following entry: > Hello Ruth and all - Please be aware! > Myself and other family members who have posted on this site have > received > an email scam requesting Mather family information. > The email comes from THE NIGERIA MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND TOURISM and the > subject line reads "Story of Mather's" > Apparently spammers have come onto this great site and collected all of > our > email addresses. > Please carefully check your emails! > > How can I prevent spammers, scammers, and bots from getting to my > guestbook?? > Ruth Mather > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > FREEPAGES-HELP-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > -- -- WASHINGTON COUNTY PA WEBSITES::: http://freepages.misc.rootsweb.com/~florian/ http://freepages.school-alumni.rootsweb.com/~florian/the-rockdoctor/ Coordinator of the Washington County PAGenWeb: http://www.rootsweb.com/~pawashin/

Subject: spammers, scammers, bots, etc. in guestbook Hello, I just recently checked my guestbook & received the following entry: Hello Ruth and all - Please be aware! Myself and other family members who have posted on this site have received an email scam requesting Mather family information. The email comes from THE NIGERIA MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND TOURISM and the subject line reads "Story of Mather's" Apparently spammers have come onto this great site and collected all of our email addresses. Please carefully check your emails! How can I prevent spammers, scammers, and bots from getting to my guestbook?? Ruth Mather

Download Filezilla (free program). You can simply overwrite changed pages. Or you can delete folders YOU created. However, I think I'd leave the main page (index.htm / l ) if I was deleting all the folders. On Sat, Jul 30, 2011 at 11:39 PM, Jim Savage <savage1@ayrix.net> wrote: > Is there an easy way to clear all the current data from my site in order to > upload a completely reworked site? > Jim Savage > Unger family genealogy > http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~unger > Christmas begins it and Easter completes it. > >

Is there an easy way to clear all the current data from my site in order to upload a completely reworked site? Jim Savage Unger family genealogy http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~unger Christmas begins it and Easter completes it.

At 06:21 AM 7/25/2011, Michael Dietz wrote: >My database has gotten to the point where it takes over an hour to >delete the existing db and then upload the replacement to >FreePages. While the odds of somebody trying to access it during >that time frame is very small I would still hate to miss the >connection. It would be much better if I could upload the >replacement db using FTP with a temporary folder name. Once the >upload is complete I change the name of the existing folder to >another temp name and then change the uploaded temp name to the >functional folder name. I would then delete the old folder. Instead >of an hour or more, just a seconds would be the total downtime. > >Is this possible and if how do I do it? My FTP program does not >have a folder change function in it. ============ I'm not sure which ftp program you are using but Filezilla does have this capability. I'm not sure if you have to change a setting BUT I am given the choice of Rename on the right click context menu. http://www.genealogy-web-creations.com/filezilla-instructions.htm Pat Pat Geary Working With Rootsweb FreePages Accounts EBook (free) http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gearyfamily/rootsweb-freepages-ebook.html

I can't answer your question, but it brings another question to my mind. Why can't you just upload what's changed? The only time I've ever had to completely remove and upload a new database was when I restructured the everything. Other than that I've just uploaded what changes I've made to individual pages simply overwriting the old page that was already there. It might also help if you tell us what FTP program your using. Maybe someone has experience with that program and could help. On 07/25/2011 05:21 AM, Michael Dietz wrote: > My database has gotten to the point where it takes over an hour to delete the existing db and then upload the replacement to FreePages. While the odds of somebody trying to access it during that time frame is very small I would still hate to miss the connection. It would be much better if I could upload the replacement db using FTP with a temporary folder name. Once the upload is complete I change the name of the existing folder to another temp name and then change the uploaded temp name to the functional folder name. I would then delete the old folder. Instead of an hour or more, just a seconds would be the total downtime. > > Is this possible and if how do I do it? My FTP program does not have a folder change function in it. > > Thank you for your attention to this. > Mike -- "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb deciding what to have for dinner. Liberty is a well-armed lamb." - Benjamin Franklin - _ _... ..._ _ _._ ._ ..... ._.. ... .._

My database has gotten to the point where it takes over an hour to delete the existing db and then upload the replacement to FreePages. While the odds of somebody trying to access it during that time frame is very small I would still hate to miss the connection. It would be much better if I could upload the replacement db using FTP with a temporary folder name. Once the upload is complete I change the name of the existing folder to another temp name and then change the uploaded temp name to the functional folder name. I would then delete the old folder. Instead of an hour or more, just a seconds would be the total downtime. Is this possible and if how do I do it? My FTP program does not have a folder change function in it. Thank you for your attention to this. Mike

At 10:29 PM 7/22/2011, Charles Dobie wrote: >At 09:33 AM 7/22/2011, J.A. Florian wrote: > >To answer your question about the difference between a favicon (.ICO) and a > >QR tag.... > >1. A favicon is a 16px by 16 px that is loaded into your page with a code > >line. > >-- It then appears in your browser at the beginning of the URL when on that > >website. > >-- It provides a way to visually ID that "yep, this is the website I want". > >-- It is a visual "branding" Internet tool. For examples: Google Mail uses > >a red envelope; my GenWeb site uses a tiny old bell. The idea is people > >begin associating the icon with "this website". > >-- Favicons contain no information in the icon, except by its association > >with xyz website. >--snip-- > I was wrong -- Chrome places the favicon in the window tab, not in the address line like Firefox and Safari. Charles Dobie, cdobie@superaje.com

At 09:33 AM 7/22/2011, J.A. Florian wrote: >To answer your question about the difference between a favicon (.ICO) and a >QR tag.... >1. A favicon is a 16px by 16 px that is loaded into your page with a code >line. >-- It then appears in your browser at the beginning of the URL when on that >website. >-- It provides a way to visually ID that "yep, this is the website I want". >-- It is a visual "branding" Internet tool. For examples: Google Mail uses >a red envelope; my GenWeb site uses a tiny old bell. The idea is people >begin associating the icon with "this website". >-- Favicons contain no information in the icon, except by its association >with xyz website. --snip-- Many thanks for the info about favicons. I created one for my RCN website and it works on all my browsers except for Chrome. I'll have to research this more because Chrome certainly displays favicons for other websites and bookmarks. Charles Dobie, cdobie@superaje.com

On Friday, July 22, 2011 8:37 AM Judy wrote:- > Like Ralph and others have said, I don't want to bother with QR tags on a > website if it wouldn't help anyone. ------------------ I think the primary goal is to decide what if any of your webpages you desire to render clearly on small screen technology. It is a bit like going back to designing for 320 x 240 or 640 x 480 pixel layouts. Unfortunately, the home computer market is heading in the high resolution direction, with 1600 x 900 pixel screens making their way into the home consumer market. Liquid layouts are good, but you will need image resizing and page width limitations if a resonable layout is to be maintained on small screens. This is an area where Javascript can and should be used to determine the screen width resolution of the device, and provide an appropriate Cascading Style Sheet where the layout can be adjusted, and image sizes changed. Even using this method, you may need multiple stylesheets to cover the phone market, and yet there is a growing Ipad proliferation. In NZ there are schools that are now specifying Ipads as a stationery requirement. http://tinyurl.com/44dex9d My concern is differentiating between true mobiles and the Ipad 11" format, and whether for genealogy purposes the construction of multiple stylesheets is warranted. Many mobiles have inbuilt apps that can handle the majority of webpages - some better than others, and the browser designers are also working on the problem, with browsers to match. So, it could be that the problem will be solved at the user end. For those publishing GedCom files, http://www.mobilegenealogy.com/family-bee/ should be worth a look. Barry

When I was looking around for other info, I saw this: http://www.addicottweb.com/2009/06/last-things-i-do-before-launching-a-website/ It seems to be a good basic list.

I should have also asked this question about Smart Phones and QR. Let's say a business, or genealogy speaker, puts a QR on a brochure. A Smart Phone user scans the QR. Does the QR then stay "in" the phone, like a bookmark that the person can re-visit at will? I still don't know/understand Apps. >From what I've learned in this discussion, I guess I should tell my business friend to take his QR off his website and put it into his next flyer instead. Judy On Fri, Jul 22, 2011 at 8:47 AM, J.A. Florian <cageycat@gmail.com> wrote: > Before I leave this topic... > > Since I don't have a cell phone and never used one to go onto the Internet, > could someone tell me -- > 1. Besides font size issues etc with the tiny screen, do Internet enabled > phones allow a user to click links on a regular/ordinary/html webpage. > 2. Is cell phone Internet just used primarily to play games and get > addresses? > 3. If cell phones can't really see the Internet content very well, what's > the purpose of Internet-enabled phones? One person said they managed to do > one E-mail on a cellphone---that seems (to me) like little productivity for > high cost. > > Judy > > On Thu, Jul 21, 2011 at 4:10 PM, Ralph Taylor <rt-sails@comcast.net>wrote: > >> Both Judy & Lorrie wondered about issues involved in developing website >> for >> new devices like smart phones. >> >> I'm not an expert; I use my cell phone only to make and receive calls. I >> can't answer Lorrie's technical questions, except to observe that the >> entire >> industry seems in great flux. New devices, with new operating systems, are >> appearing every day. My guess: W3C can't keep up with the technological >> changes. >> >> My wife, though, has gone through a series of "smart phones" -- most >> recently a Blackberry and an Android. She recently switched to the >> Android's >> larger screen, because the Blackberry's screen was too small to read the >> Google calendar & maps she needs for a new job. >> >> So, that brings up the screen size issue. By the time you get down to a >> 4-inch diagonal, you're talking pretty small and there are only two ways >> to >> show a page designed for an 11-inch (or larger) diagonal: (1) Shrink >> everything down to an unreadable size or (2) Show only part of the page at >> a >> time. I vaguely recall that some sites have "Lite" versions designed for >> these devices. >> >> The "tag-readers" referred to are, I think, called "QR codes"; they're >> graphic images. They can, of course, be used as links like any other >> image. >> They are roughly analogous to bar codes, but bar codes are one-dimensional >> and QR codes are two-dimensional. QR codes are the hot new thing; they can >> automatically charge your card for a Starbucks coffee. >> >> I'm fairly sure I will NOT be redesigning my websites to fit on 3- or >> 4-inch >> screens for these reasons: >> 1. It's a lot of work -- a total re-thinking of layouts and designs -- >> even >> before getting to implementation. >> a. You'd need an image for the code; it would need to follow the >> protocols. >> b. An app for the QR code would need to be built or obtained. >> c. A means of getting the image & app on viewers' phones would be >> needed. >> 2. Detail would be lost; there just isn't room for everything. Do I want >> to >> sacrifice content? >> 3. Would anyone want to see what I could produce that would fit on those >> devices? >> 4. People interested in genealogy tend to be older, with lesser eyesight >> than 20-somethings. Could they read the product? (My eyesight, for >> example, >> won't let me read my wife's laptop.) >> 5. I don't have a profit motive; I'm not expecting income from the sites. >> If >> viewer traffic is less than maximum, so be it. >> >> I'm not sure I completely agree with McCluhan's "The medium IS the >> message.", but certainly the medium controls the message. Just as the >> World >> Wide Web is a very different medium than print on paper, the new >> Web-enabled >> smart phones are a different medium than the Web seen on a laptop or >> desktop. >> -rt_/) >> >>

My two cents on QR: the coding is not new so much as it is now starting to spread and be integrated in various platforms and applications in creative ways. Monument companies are now selling headstones with QR included (webpage hosted and the whole deal) and you can buy a QR headstone retrofit for around $100 and it is applied to an existing headstone. My perspective about QR is it is not about the destination but rather QR is simply another conduit to drive traffic to your on-line destination. It's freely constructed and since it is a way to inform others about your website information it would seem logical that we should take advantage of every opportunity to communicate your QR code but it doesn't serve a purpose on the webpage other than the page promoting this is how others can acquire your code so they can spread the word for you. My wife is a watercolor artist and I have been talking with her about her creating a watercolor work of her QR code that can be converted to a poster for prints or put on T-shirts. What remains is the age old question that we have always been dealing with as to how do we best serve those who visit our websites. The issues in the past were simply browsers such as windows or apple. Now it is more complex with competing browsers cross-sectioned by devices such as iPhone, iPad, etc. Ron Ron Yates Http://www.yatesville.net Sent from my iPad On Jul 22, 2011, at 9:04 AM, Billie Walsh <bilwalsh@swbell.net> wrote: > On 07/22/2011 05:20 AM, Jim Loudon wrote: >> >>> [re: QR codes] it looks like a good use would be on a brochure at the >>> library or local society. Someone could just scan the QR Code and their >>> device would take them to your site. >> >> >>