MTGenWeb Project encourages individuality on it's web sites! Currently, we have all of the counties online from previous coordinators' or put up by an Orphan County Coordinator. You'll be allowed to copy those pages at first if you wish, and then change them however you wish after that.

If you're new to html, there are many good sites to help you out.  Once you begin to learn the basics, you'll find it fun to use your creativity and "do your own thing"!

 

REQUIREMENTS

The USGenWeb Project and the MTGenWeb Project have only a few basic requirements which have been designed to provide some conformity within the project:

1. Under By-Laws adopted July, 1998, our official name is the "USGenWeb Project", with upper and lower case as shown. The state projects are all named "XXGenWeb Project".
   USGenWeb logos are here.

2. The MTGenWeb Project Requirements for all county websites are listed here.
   MTGenWeb logos are here.

   That's about it for the requirements. We like to keep the requirements down to the bare minimum, and thus your creativity to a maximum! As long as no one disregards the spirit of the Project on their pages, I think we'll all be pleased with the results.

IS YOUR SITE READY TO GO?

As you finish getting the requirements on your county page and arrange to place it on a remote or local server, you will then be ready to have your link placed on the MTGenWeb site. Please e-mail me and I'll quickly check it out and get it linked. If there are any problems with your links, or required elements are missing or incorrect, I'll let you know so that you can correct the problem. By the way, while you are creating your page, there are many good sites from which to obtain icons, graphics, etc. free of charge. Please make sure that you follow the proper procedure in obtaining permission to use any graphics, backgrounds, etc. that are not specifically placed for public use. It is also a great idea to ask before linking to someone's site!
~Shirley

ABOUT THE USGenWeb PROJECT ARCHIVES

We have many volunteers transcribing records as described in How You Can Help.

• Records can be published on a page within a county or state project or site,
• Records may be submitted to the free USGenWeb Project Archives or
• Records placed on a transcriber's home page may be linked from the proper county or state page.

If you browse through the USGenWeb Project Archives Table of Contents you can see the huge amount of data that has been accumulated in the archives. Some county coordinators prefer to keep the data on their sites, or linked directly to their site from an individual's personal page. Many servers, however, do not allow space for large databases, and the archives is the best choice.

COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ARCHIVES

1. Will the USGenWeb Project Archives ever charge money for the data we submit?

   • The USGenWeb Project has continued to emphasize the fact that the goal and purpose of this project is to provide free research data and resources to the genealogical community. There are no plans to charge money now or in the future for access to data stored in the archives.

   Can I copy any book or material and submit it to the archives?

   • No copyrighted material can ever be submitted to the archives, unless it is being submitted by the person owning the copyright and is accompanied by written permission for use in the archives

2. Is there anything to assure me that the material I submit won't be copied by another site on the web and sold to genealogists doing research?

   • Unfortunately, no. In fact it seems that at least one well-known genealogy site may have stolen some of the USGenWeb Project Archives and are charging for access to the material on their site. We are hoping that this will be combated in two ways:

     1) As our project grows in popularity, researchers will discover for themselves that they can get the data free through the USGenWeb Project pages and they will boycott those sites.

     2) Files that are uploaded contain the contributor's name, the fact that they contributed it for use in USGenWeb Archives, and a notice that says (and some file managers vary it):

     "USGenWeb NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages cannot be reproduced in any format for profit or other presentation."

     It is our suggestion that all volunteers see that this message is on their page, and perhaps add a statement that the file remains in the ownership of [contributor's name] and or is copyright by [contributor's name, date]. Public facts such as census records, marriage indexes, etc., of course, are in the public domain and cannot be copyrighted. Any original material created by an individual may be copyrighted

3. How do I transcribe and submit material?

   Simply transcribe the data in such a way that it can be saved as a text file. Contact the state coordinator and you will be given instructions as to how to submit the document.