Links on County Pages

[Cheryl Rothwell]

I had a request to add some links to my county pages. Some were websites that should be added. Some were Facebook. Do we add links to Facebook pages to our county pages? This has not come up before that I recall.

I personally manage several genealogy-related Facebook pages but I have not added links to my county pages.

I don't have a particular objection (with those requested anyway) but I'm concerned. Where does it end? Do we add links to TikTok or any of the other social media pages? There are a growing number of them out there. Some I would say are totally unacceptable to USGW. Who decides which are acceptable? What about Twitter?

I'm sure we don't have rules related to this at the state level because our rules (Illinois) were written before such things were widespread. 

I'd like to hear thoughts here before taking this to our CCs.

Cheryl Rothwell

ILGW

[Ron Dailey, NCGenWeb Project State Coordinator]

I'm against any links to Facebook or similar sites because their basic purpose isn't compatible with our purpose.  We were created to provide a free source of genealogical information to those doing genealogy research. 

Facebook, Twitter, etc. were created to provide a platform for socially interested folks to communicate with each other.  Only a small portion of whom are interested in genealogy.  As a matter of fact, the vast majority of those users hold us in contempt and hate almost everything that we value.  We simply don't have anything in common. 

In addition, the social media have become a battle ground for political views, both liberal and conservative.  The USGenWeb should definitely remain out of that battle as an organization.  Let's not force our organization into anything it was not created for.  If we do, I predict that it will be the end of the USGenWeb Project as we have known it.

Ron Dailey, 

NCGenWeb SC and MDGenWeb ASC

Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

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[Rebecca Maloney]

I've included links to my fb genealogy pages on my counties. But I control.the content on the FB page.

I think if we include social media it would be beneficial and possibly help us grow in interested volunteers.

Rebecca Maloney
Volunteer with USGenWeb

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[Cheryl Rothwell]

If I include links to the pages I control how do I say no (legally) to others who think their pages are just as valuable? Yes, I can see where the links to MY pages could be valuable but I also see a very slippery slope. Those other pages could be good today but not next week.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/state-coord/CADh7GBcua3QLmXZxGnufWJPeZ-UMwcoXVPrgTdSHiNZfE-48UA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Martha A C Graham]

Good Morning,
I have a 'sort of' policy for folks who wish to have links added to the Counties I host.
If the link is from a Gen Society/Library, or a public Library which has Genealogical resources, or a State entity, then I go ahead. Almost anything else, I send a 'Thanks but no Thanks' - I do not go into why it is inappropriate unless it is glaring. So far I have not had any FB folks ask to link.

Martha
ORGenWeb, ASC

[Ron Dailey, NCGenWeb Project State Coordinator]

This slippery slope is exactly how I see our organization being sucked into the increasingly battle ground environment the Internet has become.  We need to remain above the fray in order to survive. 

Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

-------- Original message --------

From: Cheryl Rothwell <genealo...@gmail.com>

Date: 8/6/22 11:35 AM (GMT-05:00)

To: state...@googlegroups.com

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/state-coord/CAOqEtic20HV_y3xR%2BeR5KuSoZaEzNZR%2By4vGP_p9xMNb0MPFAQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[David Gochenour]

I've added links to Facebook, but only for genealogical societies or museums in Nebraska that have no other means of contact, such as email. But it's rare that those societies or museums don't at least have one email. I'm thinking it's only 3 or 4 links in the state.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/state-coord/62ee8ee9.620a0220.420a5.2c1cSMTPIN_ADDED_MISSING%40gmr-mx.google.com.

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David Gochenour SC Nebraska  CC Cass County Nebraska CC Arthur County Nebraska CC Middlesex County NJ CC Esmerelda County Nevada CC Lake And Lafayette Florida

                             

[Ron Dailey, NCGenWeb Project State Coordinator]

I agree with this approach.  As long as the link is to enhance our genealogical mission.  We should always consider our organization's goals first.  Not Facebook's. 

Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

-------- Original message --------

From: Martha A C Graham <macg...@gmail.com>

Date: 8/6/22 11:52 AM (GMT-05:00)

To: state...@googlegroups.com

Subject: Re: [SC-USGWg] Links on County Pages

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[Timothy Stowell]

Cheryl,

I'm not sure what you mean when you say "how do I say no ( legally )".

It seems to me if you control your site, it's personal choice what you link to.  It seems much like choosing ones friends.  One can be dissuaded from certain folks but ultimately it is your choice.

Some time back I was approached by someone asking me to link to their page.  The page in question did contain some general genealogical information but beyond that it was a commercial site.  So I declined it.

Another one was for a DNA testing service.  Thank you no.

One person in asking for a link pointed me to a page on my site, that I had inherited from another CC, a page of links.  It was a page I hadn't visited in a long time. Previously only to fix broken links.  I was not happy with what I found and started removing links from the page because it linked to several things that had nothing to do with the core mission of the site, from weather to political and social issues.

As far as Facebook pages are concerned, there are certain groups I do believe offer resources including contributors or volunteers.

For example there's a group New York genealogy or some similar name, that has about 15 thousand members. Questions are asked, advice or answers given, with those on the answer side replying with links to or images of the answers to said questions.

When I visit the group I rarely leave without learning about some previously unknown source.

I had a possible indexing of records available to do that would take too long to do myself.  It seems the natural place to go for volunteers.  That fell through when someone pointed to me where the work was already done.

To me, not a bad place to point visitors to.  Like I said personal choice within reason.

Tim Stowell

MNGenWeb SC

NYGenWeb ASC

[Taneya]

Hi Cheryl, 

My two cents -- county coordinators have the agency to create links to any web resource they feel is aligned with their county research topics. Thus, linking to Facebook pages/groups can indeed be done. I link to relevant FB pages/groups and participate in them as well. NCGenWeb and TNGenWeb have very active Facebook communities that we admin and they are fantastic counterparts to our county site offerings. There are also many county and/or geographic-specific Facebook pages/groups that are linked to from some of our county sites.  

I see social media accounts as no different than any other web link -- the goal is to ensure that the content is consistent with the overall scope of our county pages. Just as we would critically evaluate a "regular" website, we can evaluate a social media account too. We can embrace and take advantage of social media in ways that augment our work as a project and I regularly look for opportunities to do just that. 

Thanks!

Taneya

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[Cheryl Rothwell]

Tim,

Discrimination is the first word that comes to mind. You link to Joe but not me. Say no to the wrong person and wind up in court for a long time. 

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[Karen De Groote]

I know I have received many requests for link sharing to commercial organizations and I do not reply, that is spam in my opinion.  Dedicated FB pages for genealogy or history are fine.  Requests from mom's asking to link to their kids genealogy site get looked at and then sent to spam because they are not what they purport to be.  

We are captains of our own ships and such we should use common sense to link or not to link.  No one else really has the right to dictate to you.

Karen

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[webmaster]

I am a member of several topic-specific closed, moderated Facebook groups. Messageboards have greatly declined over the past decade in favor of social media, and I see these as the new "Queries and Mail Lists". Yes, a person would have to join FB and then apply to join the group - but the old messageboards also required an account. At least the closed moderated groups stay on topic without spam/noise. And sometimes specific hashtag searches on Twitter or FB can produce some interesting results. It is up to the individual site owner to review and evaluate new links before adding them to their site, whether it's a business, an organization, or a social media link.

 

I also strongly believe this is an untapped resource for us to actively advertise our mission and our websites and a potential source for gaining new members.

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Linda K. Lewis

National Coordinator

The USGenWeb℠ Project

Free Genealogy for over 25 Years

www.usgenweb.org

 

[Timothy Stowell]

Cheryl,

That's why I seek to limit the number of outside links preferring instead to have content on the site.

Tim 

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/state-coord/CAOqEtie0q7oFRp%2BuESU2q20ce3mdYtyPB9xeFH9kNs5_3uWatQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Cheryl Rothwell]

I admit, I spent way too many years in legal and government and am probably overcautious.

Cheryl

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/state-coord/CAF49Dn3cR-pAJgMnjA8RQoExc3KhftuJLeKg6aZTMj4Wo8-KFg%40mail.gmail.com.

[Karen Zach]

AMEN - content

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[Ron Dailey, NCGenWeb Project State Coordinator]

Tim seems to have taken a logical approach that enhances our mission.  For whatever it's worth, I agree with his approach. 

Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

-------- Original message --------

From: Timothy Stowell <tim...@gmail.com>

Date: 8/6/22 12:37 PM (GMT-05:00)

To: "State-Coord@Google" <state...@googlegroups.com>

Subject: Re: [SC-USGWg] Links on County Pages

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[Nancy_Janyszeski]

Wow, lots of different opinions.  I have a Bucks County PA FB page it is private and only members can post or view.  I do think there is a place for FB in the genealogy world but as with everything caution is the key.

As Tim mentioned there is so much information available when visiting a legitimate genealogical FB site, lots of interesting questions, sources I was not aware of and suggestions.

I am not for making linking to FB mandatory, for sure.  I guess FB is also a free genealogical resource but there are pitfalls and ads we would want to be careful that anything we link to is vetted.  

There are so many Historical and Genealogical Society FB pages, some are current and some are not.

~ Nancy Janyszeski  

http://www.PAGenweb.org 
 ~  Bucks County PAGenWeb
 ~  Montgomery County PAGenWeb 
  ~ Northampton County PAGenWeb

Bucks County History   

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[Gina Heffernan]

After maintaining pages of links for years, I stopped. I no longer have the time or energy to run down sites that have moved or changed their URLs. MOST of the requests for links are SPAM; it took me a little while to figure out that all those school teachers weren't really.

BUT

First and foremost, your website belongs to you and you're in control of the links you place there. If the site fits with YOUR purpose, you can link to it. If you need black and white, post some rules on your submission page but, in the end, if you're concerned about being accused of discrimination, you should probably not be in the publishing business.

Virus-free. www.avast.com

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[Pat Asher]

Cheryl, I too spent many years in the legal profession and government is a whole different kettle of fish than private organizations like USGW. We are not supported by taxpayer dollars, but by the work and contributions of our members. Private organizations "discriminate" all the time based on their organizational documents.

Democrats can exercise their right to free speech on public sidewalks outside of Republican conventions -- but they have no right to demand to speak to the delegates from the podium inside the hall.

Conservative leaning newspapers can not be required to publish op-ed pieces written by liberals.

Pro-life organizations do not have to add links to Planned Parenthood or abortion clinics; and you wouldn't expect a General Motors website to have links to Ford or Toyota.

As others have said, we may add links to web or social media sites whose content is in line with our reason for existence, but discrimination in choosing which links to add is required by our by-laws.

Pat Asher

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[Jt Harper]

Years back, when I was still on Facebook, I had created two ‘family groups’ as well as a couple county sites. If asked, I would have had no problem supplying a link to those. I also make sure, if someone has a ‘personal’ website for their genealogy, I include those links on my various county sites.

When it comes down to it, it’s all about research and sharing our genealogy journey. If we, as the CC’s, can help in some small way then we should utilize all tools at our disposal.

Jeannette Harper

member of CAGW, COGW, MOGW, ORGW

Sent from my iPad

On Aug 6, 2022, at 7:44 AM, Cheryl Rothwell <genealo...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Dale H. Cook]

On 8/6/2022 10:44 AM, Cheryl Rothwell wrote:

> I had a request to add some links to my county pages. Some were websites
> that should be added. Some were Facebook. Do we add links to Facebook
> pages to our county pages? This has not come up before that I recall.

The only Facebook links that I add are for regional genealogical
societies and lineage societies who have moved their online presence
from web sites to Facebook groups.
--
Dale H. Cook, Member, NEHGS, AGS, MA Soc. of Mayflower Descendants;
Massachusetts State Coordinator for the USGenWeb Project;
Administrator of https://plymouthcolony.net

[Sandra Bauer]

I am definitely adding links to County Genealogy Facebook groups.  We have many in southern IL and we make any person requesting to join our group answer questions about doing genealogy research on families from each county. 

I currently have 784 members of Jefferson county, IL and 606 members of Wayne county, IL for Facebook groups I have set up.  If anything is posted that is not related to genealogy and families from the county, I remove the post.  Rarely do I have to do this but everyone knows I will delete a post if they post anything not related to genealogy.

We have active Franklin and Hamilton counties on Facebook as well.

I get lots of photos that people share and they give me permission to post on our county ILGenWeb sites.

I would not want to link to the other social media sites.

I am thrilled when they contribute photos that everyone can enjoy on Facebook.  So easy for people to upload from their cell phones directly to Facebook groups. Lately I have been thrilled to get school and class photos posted.  Currently Wayne County has the following school class photos and more coming every week:  There are too many county websites that are basically "dead" - no new info is being added.  Facebook gives genealogy researchers a way to communicate with each other and get help from families they share in common.  They are much better than the old mailing lists that did not support images or text formatting.  PDF files can be uploaded as well as images.  Both can be great additions to our county websites.

Sandy Bauer

State Coordinator - Illinois

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[woodsid...@yahoo.com]

I agree with Linda.  If we want to connect with people where they are, we need an interactive platform - particularly younger folks.  I would not link to every Facebook page, but would link after vetting it.