This is the latest rewrite of the Proposed CC Guidelines the AB has been working on. If you have not been following this on ABCHAT-L - please forward any comments you may have to this list. I have gone through all of the comments I saw on the SW list, this SEMA list and that were sent to me personally and believe everything has been addressed with the exception of some items that would require an amendment to the Project's Bylaws to implement or change. An amendment to the Bylaws is not the purpose or within the scope of this task. Thanks, Linda Blum-Barton SEMA CC Rep -----Original Message----- From: usgenweb-all-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:usgenweb-all-bounces@rootsweb.com]On Behalf Of Mike Peterson Sent: Tuesday, August 14, 2007 10:32 AM To: usgenweb-all@rootsweb.com Subject: [ABChat] Proposed CC Guidelines - Version 8-14-07 Below is the latest draft of the complete CC Guidelines document for your comment. Mike ----------------------------------------- I. PREFACE. The purpose of these guidelines is to provide the Local/County Coordinators with consolidated information to help them design and maintain their websites. . Section II lists those items, with references, which are required of the Local/County Coordinator to be in compliance with Project policy. Section III lists those items strongly recommended as "best practices" which will enhance the experience of visitors to the websites. 2. USGenWeb Project Terms: (CC) = County Coordinator. (SC) = State Coordinator. (LC) = Local Coordinator (rarely used). XXGenWeb = Where XX represents a State Project, i.e., IAGenWeb = Iowa. County Site = Applies equally to parish and township sites. Project = The USGenWeb Project. 3. The Project's national website is at http://www.usgenweb.com/ and the specific section for volunteers is at http://www.usgenweb.com/volunteers/index.shtml . The Project's Election Committee website http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgwelections/ will explain the Project's election process and how to register to vote. You will receive the Project's monthly Newsletter and prior issues of the Newsletter are posted at 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 4. Your Website: As the owner of your website, you have the option of establishing your website on any server. Project websites are hosted by a variety of servers, most of them free of charge. Your SC is available to help. Check with your SC for any particular state requirements for county sites. If you are changing an existing site, check with your SC about any state guidelines for removing any information. Website design help can be found at http://www.usgenweb.com/volunteers/design.shtml . Additional information is available by subscribing to the email-list USGW-HELPPAGES-D-request@rootsweb.com with the word "subscribe" (without quotes) in the subject line and the text body. II. REQUIRED. 1. USGenWeb Project Logo. (USGenWeb Bylaw Article IX, Section 1 - http://www.usgenweb.com/volunteers/bylaws.shtml ). The logos are found at http://www.usgenweb.com/volunteers/logos.shtml. All websites shall include a prominent display of The USGenWeb Project logo on the home page. Some states may also require the display of a state logo. 2. Solicitation Of Funds. (USGenWeb Bylaw Article IX, Section 2 - http://www.usgenweb.com/volunteers/bylaws.shtml ). Solicitation of funds for personal gain is inappropriate. See the complete Bylaw reference for further information . 3. Copyrights. (USGenWeb Bylaw Article X, Section 4 - http://www.usgenweb.com/volunteers/bylaws.shtml ). All USGenWeb members are responsible for adhering to the Project's Copyright Policy. See the complete Bylaw reference for further information . 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 - http://www.usgenweb.com/volunteers/bylaws.shtml ). All County Coordinators shall be subscribed to the XXGenWeb mailing list and each website shall have a direct link to the state project . 5. Area For Researcher's Queries (USGenWeb Bylaw Article XI, Section 3 - http://www.usgenweb.com/volunteers/bylaws.shtml ). 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 may generate their own query systems on their websites or use established systems such as rootsweb.com, genforum.com, ancestry.com, etc. Coordinators are not required to research the queries. 6. Removing Links of Sites Not Meeting Standards. State Coordinators have the responsibility to review county compliance with standards and to remove links for those failing to meet standards. (USGenWeb Bylaw Article XII, Sections 6 and 7 - http://www.usgenweb.com/volunteers/bylaws.shtml ). The Project Advisory Board has the responsibility to remove links from the Project national website to websites failing to meet standards. (USGenWeb Bylaw Article VI, Section 5 - http://www.usgenweb.com/volunteers/bylaws.shtml ). III STRONGLY RECOMMENDED. 1. USGenWeb Logo. This guideline strongly recommends only the logos of Project located at http://usgenweb.org/volunteers/logos.shtml are acceptable and only in the size provided. The logo should be visible immediately when the opening (index, default, et.al) page of the site loads into the browser. Placement at or near the top of the page is important because different browsers render the pages differently, and all initially display a page with the top of the page in full view. 2. Contact Information. Local Coordinators should provide valid contact information (such as email, or contact form, or telephone, etc.) on the opening (index, default, et.al) page of the site. Clear and prominent information should be provided. The importance of acknowledging all emails, data submissions, and otherwise responding to visitors cannot be stressed enough. 3. Web Site Search Engine. The more information a web site contains the greater consideration should be given to installing a search engine. A search engine is 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. Among several are: http://www.freefind.com/ and http://www.picosearch.com/ . 4. 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/ . 5. Disclaimer. Many websites link to sites that are not part of USGenWeb. Therefore we strongly recommend that you use the following, or similar, disclaimer on website home pages: "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 website." 6. County Resource Page and Lookups: Websites should provide some basic research help. It is recommended the website provides contact information for the 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 or if the reference books you have available meet the copyright policies of The USGenWeb Project. 7. USGenWeb Help Pages Mailing List. The purpose of this list is to provide a communication across state and project lines for members seeking and giving technical assistance in building and improving websites, as well as assistance in attracting and displaying submissions, meeting researcher needs, utilizing special projects, and so forth, in pursuance of the Project goals. To maintain a historical knowledge base, the discussions are archived. To post or respond to questions, subscribe by sending an email to USGW-HELPPAGES-D-request@rootsweb.com with the word "subscribe" (without quotes) in the subject line and the text body. 8. 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. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to USGENWEB-ALL-request@rootsweb.com 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: 269.11.17/951 - Release Date: 8/13/2007 10:15 AM No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.476 / Virus Database: 269.11.19/953 - Release Date: 8/14/2007 5:19 PM ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to USGENWEB-SE-request@rootsweb.com 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: 269.11.19/953 - Release Date: 8/14/2007 5:19 PM