User:Evancol/Sandbox/WikiProject

Overall Objectives
The purpose of the project is to help researchers find and use STATE* records for genealogy and family history. The project will update and improve:


 * County pages, such as COUNTY* EXAMPLE
 * STATE* main page.
 * Statewide topic pages. Example Vital Records
 * Other STATE*-related pages


 * Highlight important and relevant items. Long lists of every website or every publication would bury, rather than highlight, what's important.


 * Tell readers what to expect when they follow a link or search a suggested record.


 * Balance content with these four factors in mind:


 * a. Genealogical Value. Does this help Wiki users further their research?
 * b. Clarity. Make sure everyone understands your meaning and the purpose of your words.
 * c. Brevity. Be succinct as possible without sacrificing purpose or clarity.
 * d. Documentation. Use footnote(s) to identify the source(s) of the content you are creating.

First, basic content will be added to the county pages. Some tasks are identified, with step-by-step instructions. You are welcome to suggest additional project tasks or add information to other topics in a county. First focus:


 * Links to online resources: indexes and/or images of records or how to use those records.
 * Local repositories (libraries, archives, museums) and the records and resources they have.
 * Links to catalogs such as the Family History Library catalog, Google books, and WorldCat among others.

Community Meetings
Online meetings with focus on Wiki pages for STATE*.


 * Share ideas, suggest improvements
 * Get news and progress reports.

Attend from home, at a library, or wherever you have an internet connection and a telephone.

Time: SET A DAY AND TIME

Click to attend the online meeting.


 * Enter the meeting ID: XXXX and click Attend Meeting
 * Sign in as a Guest (or with your FamilySearch Account)
 * Select the desired "Connect Me" options, enter your phone number, and MeetingPlace will call you.
 * Click the Connect button.
 * Once you answer, press 1 on your phone to join the meeting

You can join up to 10 minutes early. If you try to join the meeting at any other time, you will get an error that the meeting doesn't exist. First timers: Test your connection well before the meeting. Follow the link and select Run Browser Test (in the blue area to the right of the MeetingPlace screen).

Email CONTACT NAME for help or more details.

STATE* Wiki project tasks
The following are tasks to be accomplished for the STATE* Wiki Project. Each task has step-by-step instructions to accomplish it.

Things You Can Do

 * History section of the counties Link to online histories of each county.
 * Cemeteries in the counties Link to websites that can be linked specifically to the counties.
 * Family Associations/Societies Links to organizations based on descendency (e.g. Jared Pratt Family Association)
 * Repositories in the county: libraries, museums, etc. Phase 1: Add contact information for local libraries, societies, and other record holders in each county.
 * State repositories: State Archives, DUP, SUP, State Historical Society, state libraries, etc.
 * Church records Phase 1.
 * Major websites: statewide and county-by-county.
 * Migration: Railroad, trails, etc.
 * Native American records
 * Newspapers by county


 * Links to topics in the Family History Library Catalog This allows only the best items to be highlighted in the Wiki while informing users of other records or resources that are available. This also makes it so the Wiki won't have to be updated each time new things are added to the sites included.
 * Fix Starting Dates for records in the Top Table on each county.
 * Top Table in the counties Copy and adapt the table to each county.
 * County GenWeb Links Link to databases on county GenWeb sites and archives, with information to help users decide to click or not.
 * County History List by year historical events that affected the records and the record-keeping in each county, such as settlement and migration, or natural events, such as flooding, drought, or fires.
 * County Courthouse Find uncopyrighted images of the courthouse (historical or current) and upload them. List their contact information (address, phone, email), including a link to website, addresses, etc.

Register of Interests
Register your interests in STATE* counties or topics. By registering, you will be invited to share ideas and suggestions, you will be kept up-to-date, and you won't be contacted for everything else.

To be clear, this is not a committment of labor. It is a pool of expertise and advisors.

Please post the following project banner template on your user page:


 * '''INSERT PROJECT BOX TEMPLATE INFORMATION

You can impact future users of the STATE* Wiki with your insights and knowledge.

Project Guidelines
The following guidlines will be followed by the WikiProject STATE* members until end of the project, tentatively scheduled for TBD 2012.

Style
The first few weeks of the STATE* project we will agree on a model style, and create at least one example page of it. To keep the project moving forward, NO style changes nor further discussion of changes will be allowed after that for the remainder of the project (tentatively until TBD 2012). Participants are expected to follow that style during the project.

Style includes but is not limited to:


 * Use of standard STATE* templates
 * Headings (anything that would appear in a table of contents) match with FHL Catalog subject headings as much as possible
 * Heading levels: use levels three, four or five; avoid levels one and two
 * Order of presentation
 * Table of contents style or position (or lack of TOC)
 * image, table, or template positions or size; prefer sharp images relevant to the topic on the page
 * font
 * bold
 * italic for titles of published books
 * underline
 * indentation
 * bullets. Items under headings on county pages will be bulleted lists. Information describing the headings themselves will not be bulleted.
 * numbering
 * citations in footnote style
 * Please use the full Chicago Manual of Style footnote style (modified):


 * Author(s), followed by a comma
 * Title (book titles in italics)
 * Publication data in parenthesis:
 * - Publication place, followed by a colon
 * - Publisher
 * - Year of publication
 * - comma, and the the page number(s) followed by a period
 * Access information:
 * - link to free online copy, if any. IF a free online copy is available no further access data needs to be added.
 * - IF NO free online edition is available, then add:
 * - WorldCat template:.
 * - FHL template:.
 * - Brief annotation explaining the content, or why, or how a reader would want to use the source.


 * image, table, or template style
 * internal link style
 * external link style including brief annotation. Prefer http:// links over https:// links.

Wording changes
Before changing the saved wording of another team member who followed these rules you must get their consent (except for obvious minor typos).

Links with purpose
The Wiki is not a links repository. It uses links to support the genealogical educational purpose of a page or section of a page. Show and explain links with an educational purpose in mind. Annotate each external link briefly but well enough for the reader to realize what they will be getting if they click that link.

Seek out local and unique
Seek out local and unique genealogical search strategies, records, or repositories and explain them to readers.

Describe each edit
Describe each edit in theSummary field before clicking the Save button.

Non-compliance
Non-compliance will result in work being reverted, or changed to follow these rules.

Templates
It has been decided to use templates for wording that will be used over and over in county, town, or other pages. This will allow changes to be made across all pages simultaneously.

If you wish to edit an existing template page, please post your proposed changes to the discussion page for that template before making changes. Please place a watch on templates you have written or edited. If no responses within 1 week, contact the team member(s) who created the original.

Before creating a template, click on the what templates already exist.

To create a new template that will be used on several pages for the STATE* WikiProject:

1. Create a new page with the following name: Template:UtahCo[record type] 2. Type the text for your template. Make sure that all concepts, sentence structure, and grammar are independent and can stand on their own if need be. 3. Add the category to the new template page using the following wikitext:. (Be sure to include the . Otherwise the category will also appear on all pages that merely have the template placed on them.) 4. Approve the wording with administrators of theSTATE* WikiProject Team. 5. Add the template to county pages using Otherwise those pages will be added to the category Templates for STATE* project.