The Genealogy Box - Genealogy Network Internet
Publishing Guidelines, Sharing Standards and Copyright
This website, together with any attachments hereto or
links contained therein, is for the sole use of
personal genealogy research and may contain
information that is confidential or legally protected.
You are hereby notified that any review, disclosure,
copying, dissemination, distribution or use of this
website is STRICTLY PROHIBITED without written
authorization and appropriate attribution from its
author.
Questions and or comments can be placed here:
http://genealogynetwork.angelfire.com/form1.html
The information below is copyright the individual
authors listed by URL at the bottom of this form and
are included for personal and eductional
purposes only for the users of this website.
The Genealogy Box - Genealogy Network strives to
adhere to the National Genealogical Society guidelines
for publishing web pages on the internet and maintain
the National Genealogical Standards in sharing
genealogical information.
Guidelines for Publishing Web Pages on the Internet
Recommended by the National Genealogical Society
Appreciating that publishing information through
Internet websites and web pages shares many
similarities with print publishing, considerate family
historians
* apply a title identifying both the entire
website and the particular group of related pages,
similar to a book-and-chapter designation, placing it
both at the top of each web browser window using the
HTML tag, and in the body of the document, on
the opening home or title page and on any index pages.
* explain the purposes and objectives of their
websites, placing the explanation near the top of the
title page or including a link from that page to a
special page about the reason for the site.
* display a footer at the bottom of each web page
which contains the website title, page title, author's
name, author's contact information, date of last
revision and a copyright statement.
* provide complete contact information, including
at a minimum a name and e-mail address, and preferably
some means for long-term contact, like a postal
address.
* assist visitors by providing on each page
navigational links that lead visitors to other
important pages on the website, or return them to the
home page.
* adhere to the NGS "Standards for Sharing
Information with Others" regarding copyright,
attribution, privacy, and the sharing of sensitive
information.
* include unambiguous source citations for the
research data provided on the site, and if not
complete descriptions, offering full citations upon
request.
* label photographic and scanned images within the
graphic itself, with fuller explanation if required in
text adjacent to the graphic.
* identify transcribed, extracted or abstracted
data as such, and provide appropriate source
citations.
* include identifying dates and locations when
providing information about specific surnames or
individuals.
* respect the rights of others who do not wish
information about themselves to be published,
referenced or linked on a website.
* provide website access to all potential visitors
by avoiding enhanced technical capabilities that may
not be available to all users, remembering that not
all computers are created equal.
* avoid using features that distract from the
productive use of the website, like ones that reduce
legibility, strain the eyes, dazzle the vision, or
otherwise detract from the visitor's ability to easily
read, study, comprehend or print the online
publication.
* maintain their online publications at frequent
intervals, changing the content to keep the
information current, the links valid, and the website
in good working order.
* preserve and archive for future researchers
their online publications and communications that have
lasting value, using both electronic and paper
duplication.
© 2000, 2001 by National Genealogical Society.
Permission is granted to copy or publish this material
provided it is reproduced in its entirety, including
this notice.
Standards for Sharing Information With Others
Recommended by the National Genealogical Society
Conscious of the fact that sharing information or data
with others, whether through speech, documents or
electronic media, is essential to family history
research and that it needs continuing support and
encouragement, responsible family historians
consistently—
* respect the restrictions on sharing information
that arise from the rights of another as an author,
originator or compiler; as a living private person; or
as a party to a mutual agreement.
* observe meticulously the legal rights of
copyright owners, copying or distributing any part of
their works only with their permission, or to the
limited extent specifically allowed under the law's
"fair use" exceptions.
* identify the sources for all ideas, information
and data from others, and the form in which they were
received, recognizing that the unattributed use of
another's intellectual work is plagiarism.
* respect the authorship rights of senders of
letters, electronic mail and data files, forwarding or
disseminating them further only with the sender's
permission.
* inform people who provide information about
their families as to the ways it may be used,
observing any conditions they impose and respecting
any reservations they may express regarding the use of
particular items.
* require some evidence of consent before assuming
that living people are agreeable to further sharing of
information about themselves.
* convey personal identifying information about
living people like age, home address, occupation or
activities only in ways that those concerned have
expressly agreed to.
* recognize that legal rights of privacy may limit
the extent to which information from publicly
available sources may be further used, disseminated or
published.
* communicate no information to others that is
known to be false, or without making reasonable
efforts to determine its truth, particularly
information that may be derogatory.
* are sensitive to the hurt that revelations of
criminal, immoral, bizarre or irresponsible behavior
may bring to family members.
© 2000 by National Genealogical Society. Permission
is granted to copy or publish this material provided
it is reproduced in its entirety, including this
notice.
Genealogy: Avoid common scams while you seek and share
your family history online
Microsoft
Published: November 10, 2006
Parent and child standing behind trees
Before you start digging for your family roots online,
check out the following guidelines to help spot and
avoid common genealogy scams.
4 common genealogy scams:
1.Misleading software and services. Some genealogical
software products and online services can be
misleading about what they actually provide, such as
compiled surname and family tree data.
In most cases this information is freely available on
the Internet. It could be argued that these products
and services do some of the work for you, but it's a
good idea to check out free sources including Cyndi's
List, RootsWeb, and Eastman's Online Genealogy
Newsletter before you reach for a credit card.
2.The old phony inheritance ploy. This scam is
designed to separate would-be rightful heirs from
their money through bogus processing costs.
Here's how it works: You are informed that unclaimed
inheritance connected to your family must be settled,
and details on how to claim the inheritance will be
sent to you after you pay various service fees to
the informer to handle the lost estate, which never
existed to begin with.
Tip: Learn more about other scams like this by
reading How to spot and avoid advance fee frauds.
3.The complete family history of [your surname here]!
Perhaps you've seen one of these advertisements,
offering a one-of-a-kind book about your family
history, sometimes going back several centuries.
In reality, these books are often mass-produced,
glorified phone directories that associate your
surname with a list of randomly selected names,
accompanied by a brief generic history unrelated to
your actual family. Better bet: Stick to doing the
research yourself.
4.Bad genealogists. Although certifications are
available from private sources, genealogists are
unregulated and do not require an official license.
Anyone can legally claim to be one. Genealogical data
is easy to fake, and con artists have taken advantage
of this. Those seeking a genealogist should rely on
verifiable references or a legitimate third party such
as the Association of Professional Genealogists.
Publish genealogical information
The Internet is a great place to share genealogical
information about your own or someone else's family,
but be aware that this information could be used by
identity thieves searching for personal data to hijack
your credit, or by scam artists who want to sell your
own information back to you bundled as a cheaply made
book or software program.
(There are legitimate companies that can package your
genealogical data professionally. Check with reputable
genealogical groups for more information).
Remove personal information
If you decide to publish genealogical data online for
others to enjoy, you should remove any personal
information of all members shown, including:
*Full names (use only initials when possible)
*Social Security numbers
*Complete dates of birth (show only the year instead)
*Specific home addresses of family members, including
former addresses
*Phone numbers
*E-mail addresses
*Private affiliations, such as fraternities and
sororities
*Private holdings, such as real estate or deeds of
trust
*Don't give away potential passwords
Also, chances are that someone in your family has used
another family member's name (either the human or
animal variety) as a password itself.
It's a common practice for online businesses such as
credit card companies to use maiden names or pet names
as a method to retrieve forgotten passwords, so it's a
good idea to remove these references entirely.
Tip: To learn how to create more secure passwords for
all of your online accounts, read Strong passwords:
How to create and use them.
Create a private community
To help keep your genealogical information
confidential, one solution is to publish family trees,
histories, and photos on one of the many online
communities that offer private Web space secured with
a password, for example MSN Groups. (
[author's note:MSN Groups has been replaced by
Windows Live Groups Feb. 23, 2009.]
You can then share this password-protected community
privately with family or friends.
END FROM MICROSOFT
URL:
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/yourself/personal/genealogy.mspx
Accessed February 2009
National Genealogical Society
URL: http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/guidelines_for_publishing_web_pages
Accessed February 2009
National Genealogical Society
URL: http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/standards_for_sharing_information
Accessed February 2009
c. The Genealogy Box - Genealogy Network
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