Researchers formerly approached publishing family histories in book format with all the solemnity that the work of a lifetime deserves. But the ease of Web publishing has provided a new-found freedom in presenting pedigrees to the world. No serious researcher would ever consider printing his or her family history on black paper with neon pink letters, but that option is available with Web publishing. Similarly, genealogists formerly decorated family histories with only the cherished photographs of ancestors. Now we can easily add animation, blinking text, and other theatrics to our genealogy Web pages.
Decoration aside, genealogy Web pages should be held to the same standards to which other genealogical publications are held. Because Web publishing has become so simple and ubiquitous, we often find that a genealogical Web site may be the only place where the results of genealogical research are published in any form.
Recognizing this, the National Genealogical Society has recommended a set of guidelines for publishing Web pages. Called Guidelines for Publishing Web Pages on the Internet, these standards were created to assist family historians in properly publishing the results of their research on the Web. They consist of fifteen points that will help make online publishing consistent with publishing in other formats. The society’s direction comes in the form of simple, non-technical language, focusing on common sense design elements for making genealogy Web pages usable, citable, and credible.
Usable, Citable, and Credible
In the context of Web publishing, usability refers to how a Web site functions so that a visitor may easily access the information presented. Stating a clear purpose for the Web site, providing easy-to-use navigational tools, keeping hyperlinks in working order, and avoiding technically advanced browser tricks are all ways to help a visitor understand and use your site.
Because Web sites are often the only published copy of the results of genealogical research, other researchers will need to cite your Web page as a source, just as they would any other publication. To be citable, the Web page should include at least minimal reference information. Consistent publication titles, contact information, and revision dates will assist the user in correctly citing your Web site.
Finally, credibility addresses the need for full disclosure in genealogy Web sites. Anonymously posted information with no source citations does not inspire the visitor’s confidence in your research or your site. Providing proper source citations, correctly labeling extracted information, and using full names, dates, and places when noting the life events of ancestors will make your research both believable and reproducible.
The genealogy community still has not resolved all of the potential conflicts that arise from the use of the World Wide Web, and the Standards Committee certainly cannot solve these bigger issues simply by writing a few guidelines. But the Committee tried to approach the development of its guidelines with flexibility, and it took great care to deal with three of the most problematic issues for genealogists: observing privacy rights, sharing sources, and using advanced features that aren’t supported on all browsers.
The Privacy Issue
Many discussions have focused on privacy issues in both public and private discourse. In general, genealogists want others with similar research interests to contact them. But providing permanent information, such as a street address or telephone number, depends upon how comfortable you are with having this information on the Internet. The Standards Committee recommends that an e-mail address be provided at a minimum, but also says is preferable to use more permanent contact information.
The NGS Guidelines for Publishing Web Pages on the Internet address privacy in three specific guidelines:
- 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.
- Adhere to the NGS Standards for Sharing Information with Others regarding copyright, attribution, privacy, and the sharing of sensitive information.
- Respect the rights of others who do not wish information about themselves to be published, referenced, or linked on a Web site.
Along a different vein, two of the common sense steps that a Web publisher should take when considering the privacy of others are never publishing private information about living individuals and using discretion regarding family secrets.
Sharing Sources and Data
The second issue of concern to genealogists who are publishing on the Web regards the sharing of information sources. Responsible family historians systematically cite their sources when they publish family histories. Genealogy without source citations is mythology, but a problem arises due to the ease of copying things on the Web.
Anonymous visitors to your Web site can easily copy your research and source citations without your knowledge or permission. Researchers who have spent years in carefully gathering their source citations are reluctant to share them on the Web when they can be so easily harvested. If you don’t want to give the sources of your hard-won research to strangers, offer your sources only upon request so that you retain control of who has access to these important proofs of your research.
The NGS Standards Committee has provided a neat compromise on how to share source citations:
- Include unambiguous source citations for the research data provided on the site, and if not complete descriptions, offer full citations upon request.
The Whiz-bang Features Issue
The third issue addressed in the Standards Committee guidelines is the variability of Web browser capabilities. Not all Web browsers can handle all of the effects, tools, and techniques available to a Web publisher. Some genealogists are still happily using older versions of Web browsers.
If the purpose of a genealogy Web page is to communicate your research to your visitors and to share your common interests, you don’t want to do anything on your Web site that will intimidate visitors. The use of Java, ActiveX, Javascript, frames, animated graphics, blinking text, Web browser plug-ins, or other technically advanced Internet features may actually be a barrier between you and your long-lost cousin with the family Bible in the attic.
The NGS guidelines address this problem in two ways:
- Provide Web site 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 Web site, 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.
Practical Guidelines
The NGS guidelines are straightforward tips for effective and responsible Web site development. Genealogy has had a long history of publishing standards for the medium of the printed word. The ubiquity of personal Web sites that display the results of genealogical research have taken our family history publishing in a new direction. And these guidelines are a first step toward helping us familiarize ourselves with the rules of the road.
To read these and other guidelines, visit the NGS Genealogical Standards Committee page.
Mark Howells is a Certified Information Systems Auditor and a Certified Information Systems Security Professional. He hosts the Norfolk-L genealogy mailing list and is chairman of the Internet Branch of the Norfolk Family History Society.
Ancestry Magazine
