OKGenWeb

How You Can Help.

Assistant

You might work with the current coordinator as an assistant or you and a friend might become co-coordinators of an area. You might assist in the research and transcription of information to be placed on the State or County pages.

Lookup Volunteer

You might become a Lookup Volunteer. Every Coordinator searches for volunteers to help researchers with simple lookup requests. If you have access to Census records, Cemetery records, County and Town Histories, Marriage information, or any other genealogically useful data, then contact your nearest Coordinator.

Contributor

You might become a contributor by contributing information that can be published on one of the County web pages. This might simply include posting a surname you are researching; posting a query about one of your ancestors; sharing your Family History (sorry no GEDCOMs); establishing a link to and from your Family Tree home page; listing a County Pioneer at a County web site; or sharing any information pertinent to Genealogy within a County.

Transcriber

You might consider becoming a transcriber. We are always in need of people willing to type obituaries, marriage indexes, biographies, etc.

Coordinators

You might become a Coordinator, responsible for maintaining a County, Agency, or Nation Site. If the county you are interested in is not available for adoption at this time, you may email the current coordinator to volunteer what time or data you have available, and/or add your name to the orphan county wish list.

OUR GOALS:

1. To maintain the quality we have come to expect of a USGenWeb site.
2. To attain a consistent interface for the convenience of OKGenWeb, ITGenWeb and USGenWeb visitors.
3. To retain as much autonomy of our Coordinators as possible, without requiring every one to "reinvent the wheel".

Requirements (as of Jun 2015)

Every OKGenWeb - ITGenWeb site must meet the following requirements in order to be associated with the Project and linked on the State List.

• You will be expected to comply and maintain your site as stated in the Coordinator Responsibilities and Required Content for Basic Compliance.
• You are free to redesign the site as long as it continues to comply with the Coordinator Responsibilities and Required Content for Basic Compliance.
• You are free to host the site where ever you wish. although it is recommended that you utilize the free hosting available here on OKGenWeb.

It is understood that you are the host of a specific area within the OKGenWeb project. Because your site is linked as a part of OKGenWeb - ITGenweb any submission(s) made to the project while you are the host shall remain with the project site should the time come when you no longer wish to host the site. A submission will be removed only at the request of the submitter.

Coordinator responsibilities:

• Be subscribed to the OK-IT mailing list for discussion of OKGenWeb-ITGenWeb business
• Answer roll call promptly
• Respond to website inquiries within a reasonable time frame.
• Update your site at least every three (3) months
• Notify the SC when they will be unavailable for an extended time
• Notify the SC if you change your email address, mailing address or phone number
• Periodically check for broken links.
• Refrain from displaying logos of similar projects on your main page.
• Have no commercial advertising, selling or Solicitation of funds for personal gain on your site, with the Exception of resources sold by Genealogical/Historical Societies
• Optional: Join the county mail list(s) for the county/counties that you coordinate

Required Content for Basic Compliance (Bronze Star)

To qualify for a “Bronze Star” a site must be in full compliance with all basic USGenWeb and OKGenWeb/ITGenWeb requirements.

• A. Contact Information. The coordinator’s name must be on the main page. Contact information must also be provided. An e-mail address on the main page with the coordinator’s name will suffice, or a link can be provided to a contact page that includes additional information.
• B. Copyright. The site must adhere to USGenWeb’s Project Copyright Policy. A copyright notice can be as simple as “© (current year) by OKGenWeb”. The date created or last updated also must appear on all pages.
• C. USGenWeb and OKGenWeb/ITGenWeb Logos and Links. These must be the official project logos. Both logos and links must be prominently displayed on the main page, whether separately or combined. If used as a link, such a logo must link directly to the index page of that project.
• D. Location Map. An outline map of the state must be provided on the main page, with the County or Area covered by the site clearly marked.
• E. History of the area and list of towns. This can be a relatively short presentation on the main page itself or the main page can have a link to a separate page if the information is extensive.
• F. Basic Research Information. Provide names, addresses, and phone numbers for the county clerk, library, and any genealogical or historical societies that cover the county or area. This can be a relatively short presentation on the main page itself or the main page can have a link to a separate page if the information is extensive.
• G. Oklahoma Resources. Provide a link from the main page to the Oklahoma Resources Page.
• H. Queries. Provide an easily accessible area for queries, such as a link to the OKGenWeb/ITGenWeb Message Boards.

Strongly Recommended Items (Silver Star)

To qualify for a silver star, a site must have all of USGenWeb’s “Strongly Recommended” items in addition to the Basic Requirements:

• A. Search Engine.
• B. Link to USGenWeb Special Projects. Include a brief description of information that can be found there that pertains to the County or Area. The URL is http://www.usgenweb.org/projects/index.shtml
• C. Link to USGenWeb Archives. Include a brief description of the information in the Archives that pertains to the County or Area. The URL is http://usgwarchives.net/
• D. Bibliography. Provide a list of reference books available for the County or Area, including information about obtaining information from them.

Recommended Items (Gold Star)

To qualify for a gold star, a site must meet all of the requirements for bronze and silver, and have any four on the following list:

• A. “What’s New?” Create and use a “New Items” page for the site, which helps visitors find new and updated material.
• B. Historical Links. Provide links from a pre-statehood site to the corresponding post-statehood sites or from a post-statehood site to the corresponding pre-statehood sites.
• C. Geographical Links. Provide links to OKGenWeb/ITGenWeb sites adjoining the County or Area.
• D. Maps. Provide County Boundary Maps. This is a USGenWeb recommendation for counties whose boundaries have changed over time.
• E. OKGenWeb Links. Provide a link to the OKGenWeb County All gateway.
• F. Mailing Lists. Include instructions and a link for subscribing to various mailing lists that pertain to the county or area covered by the site.
• G. Disclaimers. Add a disclaimer about links, for example: “OKGenWeb/ITGenWeb is part of the USGenWeb Project. Links to web sites that are not part of USGenWeb Project are provided for your convenience and do not imply any endorsement of the websites or their contents by The USGenWeb Project.”
• H. WorldGenWeb Project. Provide a link to the WorldGenWeb Project, with description of the contents that pertain to the County or Area covered by the site.

When changes are made in the basic guidelines/standards Coordinators will be notified through the OK - IT list and the online versions will be updated.

Guidelines for Replacing Non-Communicative / Non-Compliant Coordinators

In the case of non-communication of a Coordinator with the project and/or visitors, including non-response to roll call for a period of thirty (30) days, the State Coordinator will make two (2) attempts to contact the Coordinator via email at least one (1) week apart. If the messages go unanswered or undelivered a final attempt will be made to contact the Coordinator by phone or mail using the information of record. If no contact is made by the end of thirty (30) days, the site will be considered abandoned and placed for adoption. Any Coordinator who anticipates a period of inactivity but does not wish to relinquish the site is responsible for notifying the State Coordinator. It is your responsibility to maintain a working method of contact.

In the case of a Coordinator who is not complying with the basic requirements, the State Coordinator will contact the Coordinator via email to remedy the omission. If the omission is not corrected within thirty (30) days, the site will be considered abandoned and placed for adoption. Any Coordinator who anticipates a period of inactivity but does not wish to relinquish the site is responsible for notifying the State Coordinator.

Procedures that may be taken when removing a Coordinator

• Appointing a new Coordinator (temporary or permanent)
• Removing links to the State List that point to the removed Coordinator's site
• Redesigning the site to comply with the basic requirements, retaining any posted queries and other data posted to the site. All data contained within the site will be used unless the original donater specifically requests the removal of the information.
• The removed Coordinator shall turn control of any Mail List, Message Boards or Automated Query Systems associated with the site to the State Coordinator.

THANK YOU for your support of the OKGenWeb - ITGenWeb Project