In a message dated 12/27/98 11:32:28 PM Central Standard Time, spice3@juno.com writes: >Subject: [L_O_A_F-L] Re: Mailing list fund raising effort >Your message was: (from "JYoung6180@aol.com") >Your words above represent the first actual *official* >>statement I have read in which >the Surname Boards and the mail lists were mentioned as being part of an integrated >package of sorts--list--boards-Webpage. I wonder if you would care to elaborate on your >vision for how all of these wonderful resources you and RootsWeb are making available >to us can best be used as a package...and what you see in the future as the best way of >putting this package to optimum use? XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX >>I'm not sure there's ever been an *official* statement >from RootsWeb on anything. (: >>We have far too many users and far too [few] staff members to have *official* opinions >>on much of anything that doesn't specifically affect whether or not the servers can >>redistribute a list message within 10 seconds or not ... <more smiles ... > >> >>Seriously, though, we don't have a well-formed vision because we're sort of inventing all >>this as we go. Also, every surname or locality will have its own personality and it may >>weave resources together in a different pattern. But speculating for a bit, I think most >>surnames and localities will work something like this: >> >> ### >> >>FOR SURNAMES: We'll have a cluster of related resources. The lists usually will be >>the flagships: they're where >researchers talk with each other. If the listowner wants to >>enable these features, the lists will be permanently archived and searchable, and >>relatively recent traffic will be visible in threaded HTML archives. The GenConnect >>Boards will be where folks leave queries, wills, and other things that they want to have >>permanently on display but which aren't really listish sorts of things because they aren't >>likely to generate discussion. >> >>There will be a family Website which points to the list, the GC boards, and includes >>other tools like a link registry that will allow other folks to link in their Websites at >>RootsWeb or elsewhere. >> >>The Website will also include tools for searching and submitting to the RootsWeb >>Surname List and a search engine for finding other individuals with that surname >>in the GEDCOM archives we expect to be hosting in the future. >> >>The MAIN IDEA is integration of tools, built mainly around the surname mailing list. >> >> ### >> >>FOR LOCALITIES: the idea of a cluster of related resources is almost identical. The >>only change is that the flagship usually will be, in this case, the appropriate >>USGenWeb or WorldGenWeb website. >> >> ### >> >>I feel the urge to crawl under a rock right now, because I'm going to talk about money >>for a minute <again>. Providing these resources is going to cost money, and probably >>money beyond just what we need to stay on the air. >> >>But it's not a huge amount of money: if we could move membership levels from 2-6% up >>to more like 3-8% participation, we could do just about everything above over the >>course of the next year or two. >> >>If we had more than a 3-8% participation rate, then we could do add some *really* >>interesting resources to the surname and locality clusters. For example, we could be >>going out and buying family genealogies and local court records, getting them scanned, >>and bringing them online as part of the resource clusters. >> >Anyway, I hope all that helps. Cheers, B. >> > >>-- >>Dr. Brian Leverich >>