The planning for this site actually started about ten years ago, and a quick and dirty site was put up about eight years ago.
http://www.oldhippie.com/ancestors/I can't begin to tell you how much thought and work has gone into what little see see right now and how it only scratches the surface of what I have planned - but we're at a point where others can start helping whilst I be adding more and more to the site.
Over the next few weeks and months -- I will be finishing this web site and:
- Transferring pages from the old site here
- Repairing photographs for hi-resolution prints
- Adding features for personal Blogs, family Blogs, photo uploads, information downloads, etc.
- Putting together the catalog of old photos you can get prints for
- Developing a high quality Coffee Table book
- Designing a web based family tree application that all can work on, and they connect when they meet by marriage
- and much more
We are at a stage now where you can contribute with the knowledge and stories of our Ancestors who are no longer with us.
You can help with gathering old family photos I might not have -- and get them hi-res scanned (See he FAQ forum) and put on a CD -- so I can put them in line to be repaired, saved, and shared.
You can help by doing a little research on our ancestors and map out a tree with names and dates -- for when I have the software written, tested, and installed. Then give us a rolling start for the apathetic who won't get involved until they see that they 're the ones being left behind.
You can help by motivating other family members to not be complacent with helping to get this project done -- for not just ourselves but documented for future generations. I tried to put together a family board once before -- and the apathy was sad. It seems like there was a Mexican Standoff where everyone commits to be followers and only jump in after everyone else does -- but they're not going to be leaders and move first. Likewise -- you also hear excuses like they can't figure out how to do this (it is pretty damn easy -- so just ask for help if you're having problems figuring it out), or just aren't motivated.
Frankly, I'm not asking for anyone to spend their life posting on boards or visiting sites -- but I am asking all of my extended family to take five minutes to register, visit the site once a week for five minutes to get updated with what's happening, make an important announcement of an event, add an important date to the shared calendar, and maybe some weekend when the NASCAR race gets rained out or it is a rerun of the same plastic surgery show of fat people getting cut up -- to spend a couple of hours to prepare a nice memory of an ancestor no longer with us -- and then share it by posting to that family member's thread. If you can muster up the time to go a little beyond that -- all the better.
This will be my last shot at trying to motivate people to light the torch -- so the future generations will carry it. I hope fewer people just say "pffft" and will make a small effort to get involved.
In addition to gathering and documenting ancestry information - this site can be used to add important dates such as birthdays, anniversaries, get togethers, vacations -- and otherwise sync those dates that may be of interest to others. There is a chapel to list your prayer requests with family. Just about everything that gets put into one of those mass-mailed emails exposing dozens of private email addresses (and make it easy to get to the topics you care about, but by-pass the three-year-old recycled emails and Urban Legends) -- can be done here if ALL FAMILY MEMBERS use this place for that and encourages their kids, cousins, siblings, parents, etc... to do the same.
Most of the forums here are private -- as opposed to public. If you are not log in -- what you see is what the outside can see. What you don't see is the important stuff. You will have to take a couple minutes to register and then log in to see those forums family information. I do this to ensure that sharing of family information doesn't fall into the hands of someone that might try to use it to scam anyone -- like saying they know you uncle Fred and Jane and would like to meet you -- or need your help on something. Frankly, if someone is going to steal your identity or scam you -- they already know have that public information at their fingertips (that's how will Bill Collectors did well), but my intention is to keep the honest people honest with us -- and keep our business, our business.
If you got this far -- then I thank you. Virtually every question that you have on how to best use this web site will be in the FAQ forum. If the answer you need isn't, then ask for help in the Help forum -- and someone will get you help. I would like to (after seeing who demonstrates their seriousness) to have a couple of moderators to help with the board -- and maybe a couple of volunteers to proof for those asking for the help. I would like to see my kids and their billions of cousins to pull themselves away from My space and their wickin friends long enough to participate with building a family board. Look -- you spend a couple hours a day on My space -- why not 5 minutes a day -- or even a week here.
The bottom line is that you can help at least a little, and it will be completely painless. Register (see the FAQs if this is a mystery or you're scared of something new), visit once a week (put it in your Outlook as a reminder!), and volunteer to help where you can. Go through the FAQs and learn the best way to use this site. I will make a note with who participates for should there be a time where my participation is needed.
Thanx
Dave
