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Standards
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
* 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.