This is another message that Betsy Mills sent to Cyndi regarding how sites
are listed and you may find this information helpful.
Linda B.
I had some concerns about how the USGenWeb state and county projects are
shared on Cyndi's List and expressed those concerns to Cyndi. I have heard
some of the same concerns from other CCs across the project, so I thought I
would share Cyndi's answer to me. She has given permission to share as you
see fit to benefit your states and counties. I specifically used my AR
county and my Texas county when I asked questions so you will see those
mentioned in the answers.
Betsy
Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2011 17:59:13 -0800
Subject: Re: USGenWeb state and county links
From: Cyndi Ingle Howells <cyndi(a)cyndislist.com>
To: Betsy <betsym(a)1starnet.com>
1) When I first set up county pages many years ago I had to use a
generic template for all 3,000+ counties. So, it was easiest to list
all pages for the USGenWeb project named as "USGenWeb." I
do have
more flexibility now with the upgrade, so am willing to go through
and change things as necessary.
2) One of the problems I had at the beginning was that I named all
USGenWeb county page links exactly as found on the sites. This meant
that they were all different based on the owner/author. Well, as
time went on I found that I had to change the URLs and titles so
often it was becoming a headache. There was so much growth, change,
in-fighting, people coming and going in the project. Keeping up with
3,000+ links was making me crazy. Thus, another reason for me to try
to standardize the link title names.
3) I do use the titles of web sites as shown on the site in the
TITLE bar (TITLE tag) at the top of the window. That is the same
that is used by bookmarks, favorites and search engines, so I've
adopted it as my standard as well. I am always willing to be
flexible with specific veteran sites like USGenWeb sites. In the
example of the Nevada County page, the TITLE is: "Nevada County,
Arkansas - part of the ARGenWeb Project" so that is how I would
generally title the link.
4) The way the database on my site works is to list things
alphabetically, so I can't change that.
5) The Arkansas state link is under Arkansas - General Resources:
us/ar/general/?page=2
6) I list the main link to the state project and the county project
under General Resources because those pages are the entry points
into your USGenWeb project. General. I am always happy and willing
to deep-link into other areas of the USGenWeb sites for
sub-categories. So, doing a BMD link under my BMD sub-cat is fine.
Please feel free to submit new links that I don't have yet. They
will be categorized quickly and they will get new exposure for you
on the What's New and the mailing list.
7) I will take a look at the Arkansas links tomorrow and give them
an update for you.
8) If a resource within your project deserves special attention,
such as your Lamar County cemeteries, please DO submit it as a new
link to Cyndi's List. Yes, it deserves to be recognized and
highlighted. I don't have a link to it under Cemeteries because I
didn't know about it. I don't know about sites like that
unless
someone tells me. There are 3,000+ county coordinators out there,
and just one of me. So, you guys are always welcome to use the
submit function as often as you like.
I hope all that helps,
Cyndi
This was a follow-up to the links/tags question (county name was
deleted to protect the CC:
Here's an example of inconsistency which makes it hard to label
things with any standardization.
<
http://www.argenweb.net/yell/>http://www.argenweb.net/xxxcounty/
That page's TITLE bar shows "Xxxxx Co. AR"
That is all that will show up for a title when people bookmark
that site or locate it in Google.
Then in the body of the page it shows (in a graphic, not text)
"Welcome to Xxxx County Arkansas Part of USGenWeb"
In that case, it doesn't mention ARGenWeb at all in the titles.
And the stuff on the graphic won't appear on any Google searches.
This type of inconsistency is very common across the entire USGenWeb
project on county pages. So, in order to maintain 3000+ links it
became easier for me to list them all as USGenWeb. I love that you
have consistent URLs for your project. I've always wished that all of
the states would do the same. And I also wish that standardized
titles for the states and counties would follow suit. Maybe some day.
If I had my wishes fulfilled, all 3000+ county USGenWeb sites would
be titled using the same standard:
ARGenWeb - Carroll County
WAGenWeb - Pierce County
ORGenWeb - Wallowa County
etc., etc. Or, if you want to get the words genealogy and history in there:
ARGenWeb - Carroll County Genealogy & History
WAGenWeb - Pierce County Genealogy & History
ORGenWeb - Wallowa County Genealogy & History
And, if you want USGenWeb in the title these are 3 ideas:
ARGenWeb - Carroll County Genealogy & History, USGenWeb
WAGenWeb - Pierce County Genealogy & History, part of USGenWeb
ORGenWeb - Wallowa County Genealogy & History (USGenWeb)
Cyndi