Being re-posted to reduce the thread. Please note that these rules differ
from those posted by MNGenWeb leadership (Shirley). When
replying/responding, please note which set of rules you are referring to,
ie: Rules Committee or MNGenWeb Revised. Thank you
Greetings CCs,
The rules committee worked very hard to come up with a reasonable and
basic set of rules for our project. The following are the rules that
the committee came up with and submitted to our Co-SCs. We had hoped
to also get member input on our hard work so please read our
submission and let us hear your comments. If you wish to hear how
similar rules work you can contact any member of the MTGenWeb project
that you might know. These rules are very similar to theirs.
Karen De Groote
Mary Alice Schwanke
Bryant Walker
Martha A Crosley Graham
Laverne H Tornow
========================
*MNGenWeb Policies and Procedures*
*I. General Introduction*
The MNGenWeb Project is a member of the not-for-profit, volunteer
genealogical organization called, The USGenWeb Project (
http://www.usgenweb.org/). As such The MNGenWeb Project (currently located
at
http://www.mngenweb.net/) website and all associated county websites
must conform to the established policy and procedures set forth by our
parent organization. The guidelines that are described on the USGenWeb
Volunteers Information page and the USGenWeb Project Bylaws which describe
in great detail the organizational structure, election procedures, and
general policies of this organization, form the foundation for each state
project. All project members and those interested in becoming project
members should carefully review the above websites before agreeing to
participate in any MNGenWeb Project.
*II. MNGenWeb Project Rules*
The following rules and procedures are specific to our state project. All
MNGenWeb Project members are required to read and understand the following
information prior to their participation in this project.
*III. Project Name*
The name of our organization is "The MNGenWeb Project." Please note that
the correct name and spelling is in upper and lower case letters without
any space breaks (correct: MNGenWeb, incorrect: MN GenWeb or MNGen Web or
Minnesota GenWeb).
*IV. Our Mission*
The MNGenWeb Project is an organized group of volunteers working to create
an online center for genealogical research by linking sites representing
every county in the state of Minnesota. The purpose of this organization is
to gather genealogical and historical information for free online access by
researchers.
This is accomplished by creating websites which are central repositories of
historical and genealogical research data, donated either by the website
coordinator or other contributors and kept at the local county level.
*V. Organizational Status*
The MNGenWeb Project, as a group of volunteers participating in a
not-for-profit organization, is considered to be an "Unincorporated
Non-Profit Association."
*VI. Project Administration*
The MNGenWeb Project is administered by a team of members including one or
more State Coordinators [SC(s)], and one or more Assistant State
Coordinators [ASC(s)].
*VII. Responsibilities of Project Members*
a. The State Coordinator (SC) is elected by the project membership and can
serve an unlimited number of terms. Although the SC may serve in an
unlimited capacity, he or she, must be re-elected by the project membership
every two years (see election procedure below). Duties for the SC include
recruiting and training new project volunteers, maintaining an internal
mailing list, and creating and maintaining the state web site. The SC may
appoint other members to serve in volunteer positions such as webmaster,
archivist, welcome hostess, new member training coordinator, special
projects coordinator, etc. These positions should be held by members in
good standing and do not merit any special project authority or position
other than meeting specific needs of the project.
b. An Assistant State Coordinator (ASC) is selected by the State
Coordinator(s) based upon volunteer interest. An ASC is responsible for
assisting the SC(s) in any special projects that the project may develop.
They also serve as SC in the event that an elected SC resigns, becomes ill,
is on extended vacation, or is unable to meet the SC position requirements.
An ASC's primary duty, other than assisting with state matters, is that of
Quality Control Coordinator for county and special project websites. An ASC
performs an annual check of all county and special project websites. These
checks help ensure the smooth operation of the project, help maintain a
consistent standard throughout the project, and identify any problems with
links, navigation, or html coding.
c. The County Coordinator (CC) is selected by State Coordinator(s) based
upon volunteer interest, residence in the county of interest is not
required. The CC is responsible for creating and maintaining websites at
the county level, and is required to include certain elements on the county
website. The CC may select one (1) individual to serve as an Assistant
County Coordinator (ACC) who will have equal rights to voting in any
MNGenWeb or USGenWeb election. The ACC's will be subject to the same
criteria used for selecting CC's, and must be approved by State
Coordinator(s). Aside from providing the required elements, each county
website should strive to include other elements suggested by the USGenWeb
and MNGenWeb.
*VIII. State Coordinator Election Procedures*
Every two years there will be a State Coordinator election to be held in
the month of May (*to be chosen). An election committee (EC) shall be
convened and comprised of two county coordinators and the ASC(s). The EC
shall set the date for the election and choose a method for casting votes
(manually or electronically). All project members will be notified via
email on how to cast their votes and when the voting period will begin and
end. The Voting period should be scheduled to begin on or around May 1.
Each County or Assistant County Coordinator may cast only one vote In the
event a CC hosts more than one county, that CC will only be allowed one
vote.
Any interested volunteers who would like to run for this position should
make their intentions known to the project no later than September 1.
Candidates must have been a CC in the state for the preceding 12 months to
be eligible for the position of State Coordinator. The month of September
may be used to announce candidates and for the promoting of campaign issues.
The state coordinator will be elected by the project membership. Each
County or Assistant County Coordinator may cast one vote only (no matter
the number of counties hosted). The winner of the election will be the
individual who receives a fraction over 50 percent of the votes cast, if no
candidate receives at least a fraction over 50 percent of the vote then a
run- off election will be held between the two individuals with the highest
vote totals. The winner of the run-off will be the individual who receives
at least a fraction over 50 percent of the vote caste.
In the event of tie in the run-off vote, the position of State Coordinator
will be held by both individuals as Co-SCs. One of the two SCs can resign
at any time without a need for an additional election.
*IX. Selection of County Coordinators*
The position of county coordinator is selected by the SC. All interested
persons should contact the SC to see if the county of interest is
available. If it is available, the SC will determine qualifications for
hosting the county (qualifications include but are not limited to:
knowledge of the county's history, ability to create and maintain a
website, file transfer protocol (FTP), and desire to serve). The most
important quality is a desire to serve as part of this project. If a person
is interested and is knowledgeable in the county but is new to the internet
or to website design, help is available from other project members. The
county coordinator needs to be available to make updates to the website,
answer researcher queries (no research is conducted), and generally provide
assistance as needed. Time requirements for this position can range from 30
minutes per week to several hours. The amount of time given to each project
is solely dependent on the volunteer but a minimum amount of upkeep is
required to keep the website on active status within the project. New CCs
are expected to have a site up and running within two weeks of appointment,
and if this does not happen, the CC will be to have a site up and running
within two weeks of appointment, and if this does not happen the CC will be
replaced.
A County Coordinator may solely host up to 5 counties within the state, and
at the discretion of the SC. A County Coordinator may serve as an Assistant
County Coordinator in as many counties as they have time to help with.
All County Coordinators will be subscribed and will remain subscribed to
the Official MNGenWeb mailing list.
*X. Active Status*
It is imperative that all websites remain active once they are networked as
part of this project. A website is considered active when regular updates
and additions are made to the website. The Project Administrative team
understands that not all volunteers have access to materials and are not
able to transcribe volumes of information for use online. However, it is
expected that every CC will maintain their sites to the best of their
ability. Date stamps are required on all county websites and must be
current within 6 months.
Regular website checks will be performed by the Leadership Team. Website
checks will include all required elements and links, query board usage (or
email page updated regularly), as well as general appearance and
functionality of the site (link checks, etc.). Obvious errors in coding
will be brought to the cc's attention but choice of layout, design, colors,
etc., are not part of the check process. However, if any background choice
makes type elements practically illegible, this will be brought to the CC's
attention for modification.
Website checks will be conducted twice per year and email notification will
be sent to each CC with a copy sent to the SC. Any websites that do not
meet the project standards will be noted and the CC will have approximately
two weeks to make corrections. If the CC doesn't make corrections within
the two week period(exceptions include vacations, illness, etc.) the
website will be placed on an "inactive status" and the link may be removed
from the county index. If after 30 days the website corrections have not
been made and the CC is unresponsive to email requests the website will be
removed from the project and a new host will be recruited to fill the
county coordinator position.
A County Coordinator who unsubscribes from the Official MNGenWeb mailing
list and remains unsubscribed for more than two (2) weeks will be
considered as to have dropped out of the project and their county(ies) will
be placed for adoption.
*XI. Resignation of a Coordinator*
In the event that a coordinator no longer wishes to volunteer with this
project, notice must be given to the SC as soon as possible. The SC will
announce to the mail list that the coordinator is stepping down and will
offer the county up for adoption to the membership first.
If no existing County Coordinator is interested in adopting the orphaned
county, a notice will be placed on the county index and a new host will be
recruited to fill the vacancy. The outgoing coordinator may choose to
remain with the project until a new coordinator is found or may choose to
step down immediately. In the event a CC chooses to leave, they will agree
to give the existing website back to the MNGenWeb Project for future
reassignment. All contributed material will remain the copyright of the
contributor.
If a state coordinator resigns, the ASC's will serve out the remaining
term. A new election will be held the following May (*to be determined) to
elect a permanent SC. In the event that there are two SCs and one of the
SCs resigns, the other SC will continue to serve in this capacity until the
next election.
*XII. Removal of a Coordinator*
Every coordinator is guaranteed due process in the MNGenWeb Project and is
given 30 days to rectify any problems or issues within the project.
However, certain behavior will not be tolerated and may be grounds for
immediate removal of either an SC, ASC or CC. A coordinator that cannot be
contacted for a period of 30 days either by e-mail, phone or letter will be
replaced. The following are types of behavior that are considered days
either by e-mail, phone or letter will be replaced. The following are types
of behavior that are considered inappropriate for this project:
*use of foul, derogatory, abusive language on the state mail list
*derogatory, inflammatory, or abusive comments made towards any member of
the project
*failure to correct flagrant copyright violation within a period of 30 days
notification of said violation
*any CC profiting from third party advertisements placed on any pages of
the county site
*XIII. Arbitration, Grievance Procedures*
All problems within the project will be resolved according to the following
procedure. Issues between Coordinators should be handled privately and with
discretion. If a resolution is not forthcoming the two parties should
contact the state coordinator for assistance. The SC may include the ASC's
in any problem resolution issues and ask for guidance and suggestions. If a
resolution cannot be reached that is satisfactory to the two parties, a
neutral committee of two county coordinators (one from each region, eastern
and western) shall be asked by the SC to arbitrate the grievance. Upon
further discussion of the issues, the committee shall present its findings
and a resolution to the SC. With the SC approval of the committee's
resolution, the parties shall be contacted and the outcome shall be
considered final.
*XIV. Website Guidelines*
The following guidelines are to be in effect for all members of this
project until further notice.
1. The MNGenWeb logo and return link must be placed on every county
website. The USGenWeb Project requires every project to display the USGW
logo and include a return link
tohttp://www.usgenweb.org/.
2. Every county must maintain a query page. The coordinator may choose any
method for maintaining
queries so long as the page is current. Automated type systems are easiest
and hosts are encouraged to use this method -- as it seems to work best for
everyone. However, the choice is up to the host.
3. Every county must include a copyright notice on the main page of the
county website. The following
Copyright notice is an example only of common copyright statements used on
the internet (you may choose your own wording). © Current Year. XXXXX
County MNGebWeb Project. All Rights Reserved.
4. All website contents remain the property of the county website for
future CC's to use unless the contributor requests its removal. Any
material that is copyrighted and published without permission from the
author must be removed immediately.
5. Each county coordinator may choose to host the county's website anywhere
on the internet.
6. Date stamps must be on the main page of each county website and must be
current within 6 months.
*XV. In Conclusion*
All coordinators are required to keep fresh in their minds the mission of
this project. Our goal is to help visiting researchers find useful resource
and reference information online and assist them in tracing their family
history. Our job is to be friendly, responsive, helpful, cordial and most
of all available. The Project Administration team has worked hard to try
and cover every possible scenario that may occur given the nature of
internet genealogical projects. However, we cannot guarantee that your
experience as part of our project will be perfect or stress free. We have
created a working policy that will serve this project well so long as all
members agree to participate fully and without any measure of distrust or
dishonesty.