Good note Karen ! I think the state web site should have a ‘coordinator’ section similar how USGenWeb and some other states do it. Separate from the PR to researchers. Also, I think our state site should have a guidelines page for us – similar to USGenWeb - http://usgenweb.org/volunteers/guidelines.shtml . Sincerely, Mike Clay Co From: Karen De Groote via Sent: Thursday, March 19, 2015 5:55 PM To: List MNGenWeb Subject: [MNGEN] USGenWeb Requirements Greetings CCs, Below is a very important email that we all need to read so that we are on the same page. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to write one of the leadership team or post on the list for general discussion. We need to get our sites up to snuff and this email will serve as a simple explanation of what we should do. Now that we have gotten MNGenWeb up and running again, we need to take it to the next level. Sometime in the next 10 days you need to take a look at your county(ies) to make sure all is in order. As a valued member of the USGenWeb project we need to get polished up now that we are once again standing on firm ground. At the end of the explanations is a short list of all the requirements. You can use that as a check list in making sure your sites comply with USGenWeb requirements and read the detailed information for clarification. Additionally, Tim, Shirley and I, as your leadership team, have divided up the counties among the three of us, in order to make it easier to visit all counties. The division is as follows using an alphabetized list of couties and making sure we do not have a county personally in our respective divisions: Tim: counties A-H Karen: counties I-O Shirley: counties P-Y What this also means is that you have a specific leadership person who will bring to the team any questions and concerns that you may have, whenever you need them. The leadership team will begin reviewing their counties at the end of this 10 day period for the basic requirements and you will be getting an email of congratulations or whoops we have something yet to do. USGenWeb CC requirements can be found at: http://www.usgenweb.org/volunteers/guidelines.shtml Point by point explanation of requirements: 1. The first requirement is a name and email on your index page. It is very important that visitors know who they can contact about YOUR county. It is perfectly acceptable to have first name only but there must be a name. It is also perfectly fine to have a text or picture link of the email rather than a hyperlink if you want to cut down on spam. Another good idea is a hyperlink to a contact page. (See Nicollet County for this example: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mnnicoll/) Many people will use this method so they merely have to change one page, not page after page on a site. It is up to you and how you want your email to appear but we do need a name and an email contact of some sort on the index page.. This name and email should be easily found, not hidden at the bottom of page or hidden in a similar color. This is especially difficult for our color blind visitors. 2. The next requirement is responding to emails from researchers in a reasonable time period. If someone writes to you from your county page, some response should go out within a reasonable time frame. In this day and age it shouldn't take more than a few days to get back with people. This response can simply state that you do not have the information they seek or you need more time to dig up their answer, if you are so inclined. If you go on vacation or away from your email for quite some time, let your leadership team know you will be out of communication for X amount of time. Visitors complain to the SC if they don't get responses. 3. Item 3 will come under separate cover: Copyright 4. Solicitation of funds is inappropriate except as allowed in the bylaws, Section IX. To paraphrase this requirement, no memberships, contributions or materials for sale are allowed on the index page. The USGenWeb project has a commitment to free genealogy for researchers and it would not do to have monetary demands on the index page of your county. It does not, however, prevent links to purchase genealogical materials or hire a paid researcher on pages other than the index page and dedicated to these services. 5. All index pages require the prominent display of the USGenWeb logo. We have 4 acceptable logos we can use. These were voted in to official use some dozen or so years ago. The logos page is at: http://www.usgenweb.org/volunteers/logos.shtml Prominent display means you don't have to go looking for them, they are showing when you open the page. Your county site should immediately indicate that you are a member of the USGenWeb project, with the proper and prominent placement of one of these official logos. You must also link the logo itself or provide a text link immediately under the logo to the USGenWeb home page: http://www.usgenweb.org 6. As a CC you are required to be subscribed to this mailing list. Obviously if you receive this message you are good to go. Some have complained of the great amount of email on this list in the past. In order to cut down on the amount of emails during a discussion, you can subscribe to this list in digest mode which will send one email a day with the pertinent discussions. 7. All counties must offer some type of query system. The easiest method is to provide a link to the Rootsweb/Ancestry query board for your county but you can use your own county based query system. A countyabased system provides a query system that is on your country site where you post all queries you receive manually. If that is what you like to do, you are welcome to do it in this manner. 8. All county sites must provide a link to the state site. We voted on an official logo for this project and if you use a MNGenWeb logo, it MUST be the official logo for this project. If you use a logo you must either link the logo to the state project page at, http://rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mngenweb/, or provide a text link immediately under the logo. Here is the page with our official logo and the acceptable banner that can be used on other pages that are NOT the index page: http://rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mngenweb/logo.htm. This is an area that we have problems with in this project. Some are using the old logo and some are using the the new BANNER on the index page for a logo rather than the official logo. It only takes a few minutes reformat your index page to utilize the official MNGenWeb logo. You are welcome to ADD a banner somewhere on your index page for decoration but it cannot take the place of the official logo. 9. The official name of our project is MNGenWeb, exactly like that. Capital M, N, G, lowercase e, n, capital W, lowercase e,b. Any other title is unacceptable. Minnesota spelled out is not acceptable. Counties should be called Subject County, MNGenWeb or even Subject County Genealogy, a MNGenWeb county. MNGenWeb has to be in your title for identification purposes. Anoka County is one example of proper branding: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mnanoka/intro.htm It should take a person no more than 15-30 minutes to correct any deficiencies in their index page. To recap the the list of required items: 1. Name and email (or contact link) on index page 2. Respond to emails from researchers in timely manner. 3. Current copyright 4. Solicitation of funds handled properly 5. USGenWeb logo and link 6. Subscribed to email list 7. Query system offered 8. Link to state site, official logo if using logo 9. Official name in MNGenWeb There are a number of recommended and strongly recommended items on the National rules page that you may wish to add to your sites. They are not a requirement at this time but if you choose to use these elements, please make sure they are correct. For example Pico Search is no longer in business so if you have them on your page, they need to be replaced by a working search engine. Thank you so much, one and all! Karen De Groote ASC Tim Stowell SC Shirley Cullum SC ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Lets give a hearty welcome to Joy Fisher on her adoption of Meeker County. Joy, we are glad to have you part of the MNGenWeb family and thank you for adopting Meeker County. Karen De Groote ASC MNGenWeb

A great person to have on our team. Tons of experience. Welcome Joy ! Mike From: Karen De Groote via Sent: Thursday, March 19, 2015 2:40 PM To: List MNGenWeb Subject: [MNGEN] Meeker County Adopted Lets give a hearty welcome to Joy Fisher on her adoption of Meeker County. Joy, we are glad to have you part of the MNGenWeb family and thank you for adopting Meeker County. Karen De Groote ASC MNGenWeb ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Welcome Joy... happy to see that you have joined the MNGenWeb. Martha

Welcome Mary. I have some resources for your counties - Anoka - 3 items; Itasca - 2. Please contact me off list to discuss. Tim Stowell co-SC MNGenWeb CC - Traverse, Wilkin, Yellow Medicine On Thu, Mar 19, 2015 at 6:23 AM, Mary Schwanke via <[email protected]> wrote: > Thanks Karen, > > I do have some family ties to Itasca County, especially the part that butts > up to St Louis County near Nashwauk. The majority of my family hail from > St Louis county, from Ely to Hibbing, some in Duluth. I am originally from > Chisholm and keep a home there, I visit the research center at Ironworld > often while there. > > I hope to provide a wealth of information and resources for Itasca county > researchers. > > MaryAlice > Anoka and Itasca county > > > > > > > > On Wed, Mar 18, 2015 at 11:51 AM, Karen De Groote via <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > Greetings CCs, > > MaryAlice Schwanke has now adopted Itasca County after getting Anoka > > sailing once again. MaryAlice has family ties to Itasca and I am sure > > she will do a maganificent job. If you have links to Itasca on your > > county make sure it goes to: > > http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mnitasca/ > > > > Thank you MaryAlice! > > Karen > > > > ------------------------------- > > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes > > in the subject and the body of the message > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message >

Thanks Karen, I do have some family ties to Itasca County, especially the part that butts up to St Louis County near Nashwauk. The majority of my family hail from St Louis county, from Ely to Hibbing, some in Duluth. I am originally from Chisholm and keep a home there, I visit the research center at Ironworld often while there. I hope to provide a wealth of information and resources for Itasca county researchers. MaryAlice Anoka and Itasca county On Wed, Mar 18, 2015 at 11:51 AM, Karen De Groote via <[email protected]> wrote: > Greetings CCs, > MaryAlice Schwanke has now adopted Itasca County after getting Anoka > sailing once again. MaryAlice has family ties to Itasca and I am sure > she will do a maganificent job. If you have links to Itasca on your > county make sure it goes to: > http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mnitasca/ > > Thank you MaryAlice! > Karen > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message >

Greetings CCs, MaryAlice Schwanke has now adopted Itasca County after getting Anoka sailing once again. MaryAlice has family ties to Itasca and I am sure she will do a maganificent job. If you have links to Itasca on your county make sure it goes to: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mnitasca/ Thank you MaryAlice! Karen

Good to hear MaryAlice ! Mike From: Karen De Groote via Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2015 9:51 AM To: List MNGenWeb Subject: [MNGEN] Another Adoption Greetings CCs, MaryAlice Schwanke has now adopted Itasca County after getting Anoka sailing once again. MaryAlice has family ties to Itasca and I am sure she will do a maganificent job. If you have links to Itasca on your county make sure it goes to: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mnitasca/ Thank you MaryAlice! Karen ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Nice page Tim. Easy to read and understand. Good job by the designers. Bryant -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Timothy Stowell via Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 2015 12:08 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [MNGEN] a new design In the ongoing effort to redesign the state site, we are working through pages in a manner that requires discussion among our team and an agreed upon look. Shirley is taking care of county adoptions, I'm taking care of web site design and Karen is our PR person. Last night a new county selection page went live - http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mngenweb/counties.htm Work continues. Tim ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Looks very nice, background reminds me of 'sky blue waters'. MaryAlice Schwanke Anoka County GenWeb Project On Mon, Mar 16, 2015 at 11:08 PM, Timothy Stowell via <[email protected]> wrote: > In the ongoing effort to redesign the state site, we are working through > pages in a manner that requires discussion among our team and an agreed > upon look. > > Shirley is taking care of county adoptions, I'm taking care of web site > design and Karen is our PR person. > > Last night a new county selection page went live - > http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mngenweb/counties.htm > > Work continues. > > Tim > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message >

Tim. take whatever you want form the old google site that isn't already on the RW site. Most of it I took from there to begin with if I remember correctly! Laverne On 3/17/2015 1:08 AM, Timothy Stowell via wrote: > Thanks John. I found it interesting that the maps of 1849 and 1851 > differed from the 1850 census map - ie Toombs county not showing in either > of those maps but apparently a census taken for it? > > Tim > > On Tue, Mar 17, 2015 at 12:52 AM, John Van Essen <vane[email protected]> wrote: > >> Tim, >> >> Nice. May I recommend adding this link to the page, with instructions to >> scroll down to "Interactive Map of Minnesota County Formation History": >> >> http://www.mapofus.org/minnesota/ >> >> As you can see, Crow Wing was formed from Ramsey, with a chunk of Cass >> added later. So parent county should be "Ramsey, Cass". >> >> Thanks. >> >> John >> >> >> On Mar 16, 2015, at 23:08, Timothy Stowell via wrote: >> >>> Last night a new county selection page went live - >>> http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mngenweb/counties.htm >> > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

Thanks John. I found it interesting that the maps of 1849 and 1851 differed from the 1850 census map - ie Toombs county not showing in either of those maps but apparently a census taken for it? Tim On Tue, Mar 17, 2015 at 12:52 AM, John Van Essen <[email protected]> wrote: > Tim, > > Nice. May I recommend adding this link to the page, with instructions to > scroll down to "Interactive Map of Minnesota County Formation History": > > http://www.mapofus.org/minnesota/ > > As you can see, Crow Wing was formed from Ramsey, with a chunk of Cass > added later. So parent county should be "Ramsey, Cass". > > Thanks. > > John > > > On Mar 16, 2015, at 23:08, Timothy Stowell via wrote: > > > Last night a new county selection page went live - > > http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mngenweb/counties.htm > >

Bill, That's on my to do list. Working on the front door first though and some of the interior rooms need refreshing as well. Tim On Tue, Mar 17, 2015 at 12:27 AM, haloupek . via <[email protected]> wrote: > Great work! > > Very concise, and I like the colors. This is a big improvement. > > A map of counties would be nice. Doesn't have to be a clickable map. Just > enough to show what's where. Like the county-selection-map, but on this > page. > > https://sites.google.com/site/mngenproject/county-table-page/county-selection-map > > Bill Haloupek > Benton County > > On Tue, Mar 17, 2015 at 12:09 AM, Martha A Crosley Graham via < > [email protected]> wrote: > > > Hi Tim. > > Awesome! > > > > Thanks for your efforts, they are very much appreciated. > > > > Martha > > > > ------------------------------- > > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes > > in the subject and the body of the message > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message >

Great work! Very concise, and I like the colors. This is a big improvement. A map of counties would be nice. Doesn't have to be a clickable map. Just enough to show what's where. Like the county-selection-map, but on this page. https://sites.google.com/site/mngenproject/county-table-page/county-selection-map Bill Haloupek Benton County On Tue, Mar 17, 2015 at 12:09 AM, Martha A Crosley Graham via < [email protected]> wrote: > Hi Tim. > Awesome! > > Thanks for your efforts, they are very much appreciated. > > Martha > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message >

In the ongoing effort to redesign the state site, we are working through pages in a manner that requires discussion among our team and an agreed upon look. Shirley is taking care of county adoptions, I'm taking care of web site design and Karen is our PR person. Last night a new county selection page went live - http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mngenweb/counties.htm Work continues. Tim

Tim, Nice. May I recommend adding this link to the page, with instructions to scroll down to "Interactive Map of Minnesota County Formation History": http://www.mapofus.org/minnesota/ As you can see, Crow Wing was formed from Ramsey, with a chunk of Cass added later. So parent county should be "Ramsey, Cass". Thanks. John On Mar 16, 2015, at 23:08, Timothy Stowell via wrote: > Last night a new county selection page went live - > http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mngenweb/counties.htm

Looking good! James On Mon, Mar 16, 2015 at 11:08 PM, Timothy Stowell via <[email protected]> wrote: > In the ongoing effort to redesign the state site, we are working through > pages in a manner that requires discussion among our team and an agreed > upon look. > > Shirley is taking care of county adoptions, I'm taking care of web site > design and Karen is our PR person. > > Last night a new county selection page went live - > http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mngenweb/counties.htm > > Work continues. > > Tim > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message >

Hi Tim. Awesome! Thanks for your efforts, they are very much appreciated. Martha

I'm new to the MNGenWeb but would be willing to help too. MaryAlice On Sun, Mar 15, 2015 at 1:25 PM, Karen De Groote via <[email protected]> wrote: > Hello everyone, > I have agreed to chair the rules committee and would love to begin > work on rules to present to the membership but so far I have only one > volunteer and and I would like a few more to take on this very > important task. > > Please consider volunteering to serve on this committee. Your state > will be most thankful for your participation! > > Karen > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message >

Martha, I don't think legalese is necessary as I have found plain english works well for rules AND by laws too! That way they are not so open to interpretation! Of course that is just my opinion but even some states have passed legislation, Florida being one, that all laws are now written in plain and simple english, less loopholes! Laverne On 3/15/2015 4:00 PM, Martha A Crosley Graham via wrote: > Hi Karen, > I can help, but have no training with legalese. > > Martha > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >