Blakeman.net
Last update: 02/07/05
Any Blakeman by birth or existing marriage is welcome.
Voting membership to the Blakeman web site: $50 annually.
Non-voting membership: whatever amount you can handle.
A non-voting membership still gets you an email and a web site.
About "http://www.blakeman.net"
About The Internet, Web Pages, Web Sites, Hyperlinks, Email, etc.
The Webmaster, The Alternate And The Assistant
______________
As I write this document, and repetitively reread and rewrite and add material, I notice that it is going into a lot of detail and getting longer and longer. Don’t let that mislead you. I’m just trying to consider every situation and/or question and answer it.
I want this web site to provide a casual and relaxed atmosphere in which Blakeman’s can contribute whatever they wish and say whatever they want, as long as it is done with consideration and respect. I also want this to be a place where Blakeman’s can learn about each other, their histories and those neat little points in time where their paths may have crossed.
But what do you do about the occasional jerk? – The litigation minded, the monopolizer, the repetitive antagonist, etc., etc.. I will discuss possible safeguards to cover these situations.
What about the subject matters that really need a detailed explanation? How am I to decide which does and which does not, for every individual?
So I explain it all.
It will continue to refine itself and evolve, especially as others provide relevant input.
I would recommend that all members read this document and occasionally read subsequent iterations. In fact, each new member will be asked to state that they have read this document in full, understood it and agreed to its terms.
Members can participate as much or as little as they wish and they can define their own level of anonymity or online exposure. However, to minimize the web site’s exposure to malicious hackers, spammers, cons, etc., each member must strive to exclude any reference to personally identifying information, including email addresses, from online documents available to the general public and “spider” software designed to ferret that information. (That’s a good policy for anybody anyhow, if only to avoid having one's identity stolen and misused.)
At the very least, I hope that you will find this interesting and perhaps even entertaining.
Thank you, Van Blakeman, August, 2003
Until such time as an attorney is hired to transform this document into a legal statement, the reader must bare in mind that these thoughts are intended as a general guide to development and maintenance of the Blakeman membership web site. The webmaster will be the primary interpreter of these guidelines, except in matters submitted by himself or his alternate to the membership for a majority vote.
The primary goal of this guide is to ensure the longevity of the Blakeman web site. As one reads this text, one must keep that goal in mind.
The term “webmaster” refers now to this author, and then later to a member appointed or elected to maintain the Blakeman web site. It also refers to his alternate, should the webmaster be unavailable or unable to perform his duties, and/or where the webmaster is the subject of a vote.
The webmaster will make the general day-to-day decisions based on his or her interpretation of the guidelines. The webmaster shall refrain from submitting matters to the membership, except in situations where, in his opinion, they may be significantly affected. Any member that would like to play a greater role in the decision making process should ask to be an assistant to the webmaster. The webmaster may accept or decline the request.
The webmaster will maintain a complete online accounting of financial activities and interactions with the membership and with the service providers (host, etc.) of the web site. This will be in the form of a simple list of transactions and dates, with each item being a link to the relative document(s). This will be available to the entire membership, though it may be password protected as long as the User ID & password is known to the membership. Otherwise, personal identifying information must be removed from relative online documents, but not from the original documents that the webmaster has copied to backup media.
The “alternate” webmaster will be an individual preselected by the webmaster to represent him as needed. This individual would preferably have begun as an assistant who has worked closely online with the webmaster such that he or she understands and is able to perform all webmaster functions.
The webmaster will assure that his alternate and at least one other assistant know the password(s) in use and where they are being used. The password will be changed as the webmaster sees fit, but only after he has informed the alternate and assistant(s) of the new password(s). Should the services of any of these individuals come to an end, the password(s) will be changed by the webmaster or the alternate.
The term “member” refers to a Blakeman by birthright only. A spouse will be considered one with the member Blakeman, and will loose that right upon separation leading to divorce. A widow or widower can retain lifetime membership but can only pass that membership on to his or her children.
The term “paying membership” refers to the majority of paying members who submit a vote. Any member that does not submit a vote by prearranged email or in an online form shall not be counted. No member will vote more then once per subject. No member will represent any other member. In the event of a tie, the question will be submitted to the non-paying membership. Should that also result in a tie, then the webmaster will decide the vote.
Each member is responsible for his direct or indirect actions and consequences. Should one choose to become a member, his doing so acknowledges that he will not hold any other member, entity or individual responsible for any action concerning this web site and related matters. One’s only recourse, beyond reasonable give-and-take discussion and compromise, would be to resign. The webmaster will decide the meaning of “reasonable”.
It is up to the member to make sure that he or she can be reached by email; a non-response to an email sent by the webmaster, or his alternate, will be considered a non-vote. A minimum of one week will be allowed for such a response.
The webmaster will permanently store on backup media and on the web site, all email and scanned copies of paper mail. Scanned copies will not be converted to text (OCR) because they could then be read by external “spiders”; they must remain graphic images. As an additional precaution, the webmaster must erase addresses from the online copies, but not the original copy that is stored on backup media. Because this is so involved, written communication should highly be discouraged.
The membership shall be the final arbitrator in all matters submitted to them by the webmaster, or his alternate, based on their collective interpretation of these guidelines. The webmaster and/or paying membership may choose to include or exclude the non-paying membership in a vote.
Each subsequent publication of
this guide on the Blakeman web site by the webmaster shall supersede its predecessors, making
them null and void.
(Do not worry if you do not understand some of this; it does not matter - though you may find it interesting.)
I like what I write to be interesting and in my writings I usually try to impart the things that I have learned and a reader might want to know. By profession I am something of a teacher, “The Computor Tutor”. I have come to discover that people will actually pay me to show them how to use their machine and they often invite me back. Initially, it amazed (and delighted) me; it still does.
Within this document (and within my entire web site), I try to present those things that initially baffled me, even though they may now seem perfectly clear, in such a way that the reader may discover an “ah ha” here and there to something that he may have been afraid to ask, or didn’t know that he didn’t know. So bear in mind that when I get off into anecdotes, tangents and other barely relevant matters, I may be teaching – or I may just be getting off track because it’s fun.
Another thing I do is explain things that I may want to know later on, after I forget them, such as specifically how I or another did something. I have a lousy memory – it’s not old age; I always have (if I recall correctly). That is one reason I love my computer: I can set it up to remind me about anything and everything. On my web site, I have a ton of detailed information (with pictures) so that I can come back in a month or in 50 years to find out how I did it. However, I also do so suspecting that somebody somewhere someday may want to know about that very same thing.
Note: if you are unable to see the right side of this document, or anything on this web site, you really need to expand your screen to at least a 1024 pixel width. It is not hard to do. Just go to the Display option in your Control Panel and make the change. While there, you can also increase the size of the fonts (characters) and other things on your screen. Many of the pages on my site include a link to more information about this process: "About screen size and color".
Also, if you are using the MS
Internet Explorer to view web pages, press your F11 key to get a full
screen, and again to return to normal (try it now).
On Monday, August 18, 2003, at
8:06 in the morning, I began the systematic destruction of my online identity.
It began with the basic changes within my computer. When I duplicated those
changes online, my previous online identity ceased to exist.
Until then,
“http://www.blakeman.net” was synonymous with "Van Blakeman"; one and
the same.
I am Van Blakeman; I am www.blakeman.net (or was). (The “http://” is implied.)
On Monday, December 28, 1998 at
1:53 PM, I purchased and registered the domain name of blakeman.net.
On February 13, 1999 I sent the following
email to Jacob Levich, Senior Editor of http://miningco.com (now About.com):
I have purchased my very own domain from Internic and it feels about like I've just purchased some prime California land, being the only remaining domain of the 3 available (.com, .net, .org) in my family name. But what do I do with it??
It currently resides at vServers for free but doing nothing. Doing something is not free, there. I want to set up a web page (do it myself) and begin using van@blakeman .net instead of vaneil@prodigy .net, and I want it to cost me no more then the $20/mo. that I pay Prodigy now, including local access numbers. I do not expect any income from this setup, but won't refuse any either (I'm thinking; I'm thinking).
I have read a number of excellent articles by your people. I'll bet one of them could tell me (us) how to do this. Or have they?
Thanks, Van Blakeman
(I am no longer with any of the above mentioned entities.)
He replied:
Van,
Thanks for writing. What you do with your domain is entirely up to you. Some people do nothing more than get their email sent to their domain. Others set up home pages to tell the world about their everyday lives. You could promote your business, if you have one. Basically, what I’m saying is, the possibilities are endless.
Best, Jake
In time, I came to realize that connecting to the internet, sending & receiving email with ones own domain name, and maintaining a web site are 3 different processes. Well, 4 really. As of 2003:
1. I pay United Systems Access (competitor to Verizon, AT&T, etc.) about $41/mo, inclusive, to use my standard local telephone. I also pay about $44/mo to AT&T Wireless (which later merged into Cingular) to use my nationwide cell phone, including free long distance and free roaming. With either of these, I can make regular phone calls and my computer can go online.
2. I pay my ISP (Internet Service Provider), www.earthlink.net, $19/mo to answer my computer’s call and connect it to the internet. They also provide a free email address and space for a small web page, though I currently do not use them.
3. I pay my web host, www.aplushosting.com, $25 per year to provide me with 375 MB of space on their computers (aka: servers) to store all of the files that add up to become the entire Blakeman.net web site. On 3/21/01, I paid them an initial up-front fee of $220. They also renew my domain name registration annually with the internet powers-that-be, so that nobody else can use “blakeman.net”.
4. (To avoid capture by a spam spider, the @ within each email address below is replaced by an At.)
The 4th process is included in the
cost of the 3rd. Aplushosting.com receives and stores all email sent to anynameAtblakeman.net.
In other words, any email sent to an address (URL) that ends with Atblakeman.net
goes to my account (inbox) on the A+ servers. In their associated Control
Panel, I have designated that all email sent to certain individual Blakeman’s
get automatically forwarded to their non-Blakeman.net email address. I never
see those messages.
All remaining email is periodically downloaded by my mail
handler (MS Outlook) into my computer, which removes it from the Aplushosting
server. Prior to entering Outlook, it is filtered through another computer program called "K9" which I downloaded and installed to
heuristically detect and flag spam. In Outlook that flagged email is
then automatically deleted so that I do not even see it.
All of these fees are
automatically charged to my credit card. I don’t have to keep track of them;
all I need to remember is to initiate the monthly CC payment transfer from my
checking account (and MS Outlook reminds me to do that). However, I have found
that it pays to remain somewhat vigilant to confirm that all of these smooth
transactions are going smoothly; the occasional glitch does happen.
That was the situation until late 2004 when I made some changes:
- I subscribed to Adelphia's cable internet service - about $73/mo. including minimum cable TV, minus promotional discounts.
- I canceled my dial-up internet service account with Earthlink.
- I canceled my home phone account with United Systems Access so that my only phone is my cell phone.
- I moved the entire web site from Aplushosting.com to Lunarpages.com, subscribing to the latter and canceling the former. Lunarpages (LP) costs $114 per year. For that we get 3000 MB of space rather then the 375 MB with A+, online spam filtering (which is wonderful), and better service.
I
purchased a $70 wireless Belkin router (including a $35 mail-in coupon
which they honored 3 1/2 months later) which I plugged into the modem
provide by Adelphia, which I had connected to the old cable at the TV.
The Belkin router sends its signal through the walls to the computer in
my office, so no wires - love it. In fact, I can carry my battery
powered notebook computer just about anywhere around the house or yard
and remain connected to the internet.
At the time of the initial writing of this document (8/03), a Google search for "Van Blakeman" turned up 56 results. This is interesting because I had not submitted anything to the search engines, and I have only attached an html “Title” & list of "key words" to the coding behind my "home page" (file name “index.htm”). Over time, Google found those 56 all by itself (which is pretty cool), as did MSN, Yahoo and others. Google showed 6 of those on its initial results page; the other 50 if one clicked on "[ More results from www.blakeman.net ]".
Of the 6,
§ 2 did lead to my web site;
§ 1 to my web site’s Comment page which is actually on Guest City’s web site, only linked to from mine;
§ 1 to an opinion I emailed to www.sec.gov in the year 2000;
§ 1 to a message I submitted to a genealogy forum in 1999;
§ 1 to the results of a 2003 Palm Beach “RACE FOR THE CURE, MEN'S 5K” in which Van Blakeman placed 387 out of 505. That was not me, but another Van Blakeman – yes, there are two of us.
Of the 50, all are pages on my web site, out of approximately 361 primary pages (by running an internal search on my computer for *.htm* of a size greater then 3 KB). All of those provide links to images and documents and smaller secondary pages, which bring the count to 2,257 (*.* greater then 20 KB). By the time you read this, those numbers will have grown.
It is those 50 search engine
results and 2 of the 6 that will no longer work until the search engines take
another look and update their databases. (11/04: it took a little over a year for the search engines to re-find my web site.)
About The Internet, Web Pages, Web Sites, Hyperlinks, Email ...
A web page is just another computer
file (or set of closely linked files), just as a letter you type on the
computer becomes a computer file when it is saved. Either file can (but does
not have to) include hyperlinks to other computer files and either one can
include pictures (aka: images). If one clicks on a hyperlink, the file it links
to is opened as another web page for viewing.
A
web site is a collection of web
pages that are linked to each other by hyperlinks. The main, or parent,
web
page is called a home page. By convention, the home page is generally
given the
file name of “index.htm” (lower case generally
required), just as one might save a letter
as “Letter To Dad”, or whatever, to which the
computer program will append a
dot (.) and usually a 3 character extension so that the computer will
later know what
type of file it is. The file names of all secondary (child) pages that
are
linked to from the home page can be named anything the author desires.
The file name of a web page usually ends with .htm or .html.
The aforementioned "destruction of my online identity" was caused by my having moved my entire web site down one level from "www.blakeman.net", thereby opening it to Blakeman’s at large. In other words, all of my stuff was moved from www.blakeman.net/ to www.blakeman.net/_VA/. The web site, www.blakeman.net, then received a new index.htm home page of a more general nature with links to all contributing Blakeman sub-web site’s, including mine.
A hyperlink can also link to anybody else’s web site, just as my home page includes links to the Heritage Plantation of Sandwich in Massachusetts and The Lazy K Bar Ranch in Montana. Likewise, a page on Google’s web site contains links to my web site and others. A clickable link is usually blue and underlined like the 3 you see in this paragraph. This vast network of linked web pages is called the “internet”.
Any link to the Blakeman.net home
page would look for and go to an address on the internet called
“http://www.blakeman.net” which is registered as residing in a certain folder
on our host’s (Lunarpages.com) server.
Actually, the real address is a unique number called an IP Address.
Computers only see numbers, but we won't get into that here. www.blakeman.net was assigned to the IP address which makes things a bit easier for most of us humans.
Where LP’s technicians control how all of their customer’s folders
are arranged on their servers, the content of the Blakeman.net folder is
controlled by the Blakeman webmaster, currently me. The webmaster, in turn,
creates a number of secondary folders, such as one for each member. These
folders contain more sub-folders and the web page files that open up when links
to them are clicked on. Each member’s folder can be controlled by the member
and/or the webmaster, depending on the arrangement that has been made. Some
members will know how to do this; others will need the help of a professional
such as the webmaster or a web developer that they hire for that purpose.
At this time, there is one other
member, Virginia Blakeman. Her files are in the _VI folder, so any
reference to her web site will begin
with “www.blakeman.net/_VI/”, bypassing the Blakeman home page. All
email sent to virginiaAtblakeman.net ( At = @) is
automatically forwarded to the email address she normally uses with her own
ISP.
Hence, a new sub-folder will be
created for each new member. The name of the sub-folder will be 3 characters in
length, beginning with "_", short so that it won't take up too much
space in the length of the respective web address (URL). It begins with _ so
that it will sort to the top of the list of items in the Blakeman.net folder.
This allows for 676 members. When member #677 comes along, or is a name is already taken, a 4 character
sub-folder can be created. Of course, any member can choose a longer name for
their sub-folder, as long as the webmaster agrees. However, longer URLs can run
into problems, such as being truncated in some situations, or from being too
long to remember on the occasion where one must type in the entire URL from
memory. Short ones are generally easier to work with. Here are 2 URLs, each leading to a valid web page:
- http://www.blakeman.net/_VA/index.htm
- http://www.blakeman.net/_VA/CA/JT/2003-01/Struc/deck/posts/18/Post18.htm
The Webmaster, The Alternate
And The Assistant
One member will be the webmaster,
and that will continue to be me until I am no longer able or I hand
over the reins. Eventually, I would like this to become a democratic process
where the members vote in a new webmaster as needed. There should also be a
hierarchy of web assistants available to handle things when the
webmaster is unable to do so. The head assistant I refer to as the
alternate webmaster. The webmaster and assistants should be compensated
according to the level of participation, and according to excess funds
available.
The webmaster must make all day-to-day decisions and perform functions relative to maintaining the Blakeman web site. The assistants should remain aware of all matters relative to the web site, so that he or she can assume the duties of the webmaster. As the membership grows, more assistants can be added and perhaps take on certain responsibilities designated by the webmaster. If the webmaster is not performing his or her duties in a timely and responsible manner, or dies, then he or she must be quickly replaced by a new webmaster elected by a majority vote of the paying membership. Presumably, that would be the Alternate, but it should be voted on.
The webmaster will perform some or all of the following functions:
§ Establish an email address as webmasterAtblakeman.net and avoid using personal identification;
§ Establish the alternate’s email address as alternateAtblakeman.net; ( At = @)
§ Arrange matters so that responsibilities and identification can be easily assumed by the alternate;
o Keep the alternate and another assistant informed, including addresses, passwords & user names;
o Forward copies of relevant email to the alternate & assistant, using the “Cc...” box in outgoing;
§ Handle all communication with the web host;
§ Maintain the Blakeman.net online Control Panel on the host’s server;
o Establish automatic forwarding of each member’s Blakeman.net email to his usual email address;
§ Handle all communication with the membership and approved representatives (web developers, etc.);
o Including the emailing of informative information and questions in need of a vote;
o Assist members as needed. Should such become excessive, work out a fee for excessive services;
§ Maintain and monitor online financial accounts such as PayPal.com and a credit card company;
o Arrange to have all relevant bills automatically paid through one of the financial accounts;
o Assure that there are adequate funds in the financial accounts, even if personally funded;
§ Maintain a financial statement on the web site detailing all transactions;
§ Subscribe to newsletters (i.e.: The LangaList) & join forums to remain current on the technology;
§ Retain all forms of communication and maintain a list of same for viewing by members on the web site;
§ Respect a member’s right to privacy and anonymity especially from potential cons, spammers, etc.
o Use first names, but do not use last names, addresses & phone numbers, etc. online;
o Avoid the use of email addresses online. If necessary, precede them with a spam trap;
§ Be vigilant for new technologies that protect the membership and yet allow the free flow of ideas;
§ Maintain the Blakeman web site. Keep it up to date and notify the membership of significant changes;
§ Maintain multiple forms of backup, such as to off site CDs and storage in another secure online location;
§ In case of hardware failure, have an alternate computer ready to go & fully loaded;
§ Have all hardware protected by quality power strips and a UPS, each replaced every 2 to 3 years;
§ Keep anti-virus software (such as Norton) and a firewall (ZoneAlarm) up to date & active;
§ Keep computers maintained (such as with Norton & EasyCleaner) & up to date with OS patches, etc.;
§ Assure that one or two assistants are available and able to assume duties at a moments notice;
§ Perform any other functions that he finds necessary, and add them to, or alter, this list accordingly;
The webmaster must perform a
number of duties and make a number of ongoing decisions. He must also remain readily
accessible to all members, paying or not, by email. (Avoid phone conversations.
A “paper trail” of sorts must be available online for casual review by himself
and the membership.)
The webmaster should be able to
provide a basic generic web site to a new member, including text and images
provided by the new member on a CD or as email attachments. He should be able
to mentor novice members as they learn to develop and upload their own web
pages. For anything beyond that, or even if that basic assistance becomes too
time-consuming, he should arrange to be compensated by that member.
For members to upload their own
material, the webmaster must provide the specs required by the software they
use for uploading. The following are the settings currently required by CuteFTP:
§
Label:
Blakeman.net_LP
§ Host Address: fomax.lunarpages.com
§ User Name: blakem3
§ Password: **********
§ FTP site connection port: 21
§ Login type: Normal
From time to time, the webmaster should change the password and notify active uploaders of that change, except for individuals that may be abusing the privilege with excessive bandwidth consumption and/or inappropriate material. This information should be provided only on an ‘as needed now’ basis. Notify all members that the password will be changed on a certain date and time, but only provide it to those who are actively uploading on a regular or occasional basis.
The email containing the actual password should be sent separately, as prearranged, couched within other terminology, with nothing else in that email indicating what it is for. If the email is intercepted as it passes through numerous servers on the internet (most email does) before it reaches the recipient, the interceptor will not know what it applies to.
Likewise, the IP number may change as the host upgrades to new servers, or if the webmaster decides to go with another host. In the latter case, the webmaster should only be seeking enhanced security and long term reliability, regardless of cost or a slight loss in performance due to enhanced security. The webmaster must be confident that hackers cannot penetrate the host’s servers and that the host is going to be around for a very long time. If the webmaster switches to another host, he will probably have to download the entire web site into his computer and then upload it to the new host.
However, from time to time, the webmaster should download the entire web site, compress it and move it to quality CDs or DVDs to be stored off site, perhaps in a bank’s safety deposit box. He should then delete it from his computer. With such backups, include a copy of the compression software (such as WinZip) on another CD, with its label named & dated to match. He would probably never need those CDs again, but if he does need them, he will REALLY need them.
No such backups should ever be trashed, simply because newer backups
make them obsolete.
They should be retained forever in case future Blakeman’s need
them, if only to
compile a history, or for reasons that we in the past cannot be aware
of. For
this reason, the information should not be encrypted or otherwise
protected
because the password could be lost and forgotten by then. Store all
backups where they will be safe in the event of a fire, flood or
whatever.
The webmaster should be compensated, especially as the membership grows. This could easily become a full time job. Initially, the reverse is true; the webmaster pays the bills out of pocket and provides services for little or no compensation. As funds become available, the webmaster should first see that a sufficient reserve is available in the financial account online for 3 years worth of expenses, including the monthly connection costs implied below. Then he should be free to purchase hardware, software, upgrades and services necessary for the maintenance of the web site, as long as he remains the webmaster and maintains that reserve. These compensations could include but not be limited to:
§ A reasonably fast dedicated internet connection (cable, DSL, etc.) at a reasonable cost (which would exclude expensive high speed lines and such, unless approved by the membership);
§ A reasonably powerful notebook computer with portable accessories that can travel with him so that he can service the web site from anywhere at any time;
§ A backup portable or desktop computer, fully loaded, in case the primary notebook malfunctions or is lost to theft, fire, etc.;
§ A data capable cellular or other portable phone setup for the same purpose;
§ All software necessary for maintaining the web site, from a professional grade operating system to security software, an html editor, an image editor and FTP utilities;
Regarding
theft, in home or while traveling: set up the BIOS of each computer
such that a password is required to start the computer. That way, if
stolen, the information will be inaccessible
to your common thief or black market buyer. Also, there are ways to
make the computer visually unappealing to a thief such as a permanent
$25 anti-theft barcode tattoo.
Whenever possible, all services
and products should be purchased in the name of Blakeman.net, webmasterAtblakeman.net or Webmaster Blakeman. In other words, he should avoid
using his own name or SS#. Perhaps this will first require the establishment of
a company, limited partnership, foundation or corporation with its own legal
identification number and such. However, the membership would have to make that
decision.
The webmaster and/or his family should be prepared to turn everything purchased with Blakeman.net funds over to a succeeding webmaster, alternate or assistant and to absorb or discontinue the monthly or periodic services that cannot be easily transferred. If he is unable to remove his personal data prior to the hand-over, then the successor should move it all to CDs or other reliable media, erase it from the machines, and turn the CDs over to the previous webmaster or his family.
With all of the above in mind, it may be best to provide the alternate with the same or similar material compensation which may require separate purchasing of software where legal or ethical matters might become an issue. Perhaps, as the webmaster buys new hardware and software, his older hardware and software could be turned over to the alternate. With the alternate fully supplied, temporary or permanent transitions would be simplified. Should the webmaster’s equipment be lost to fire, theft or vandalism, the alternate could immediately assume the duties and maintain the web site until the webmaster is back up to speed.
The webmaster is critical to the enduring existence of this web site. If he looses interest because he is not properly compensated or because one or two members are demanding considerably more then the norm, to the point of harassment, or if he gets hit by a bus, the entire site could go down because proper safeguards were not in place. The webmaster must have the authority to withdraw sufficient, but not excessive, compensation and to block harassment. In turn, he should provide a complete accounting of his activities online for review by the membership.
If he exceeds his authority or does not perform his duties in an adequate and timely manner, then a majority vote of the membership should be able to overrule and/or replace him. No such action shall involve litigation initiated by the webmaster or by the membership (current or past) or their representatives beyond the powers of the average small claims court. We will not get into litigation; just cut our losses, change the passwords and get on with it.
An alternate or other assistant must be prepared to step in at the request of the webmaster or the majority membership, and be prepared to relinquish authority to the current or new webmaster. An assistant that is deemed to have performed necessary duties should be compensated if the funds are available beyond an adequate reserve.
Whatever the available balance, it should not be treated as an open till. Each purchase must be considered carefully with the financial health and longevity of the Blakeman web site being the primary consideration. Any financial compensation must have been prearranged with the membership and will only be withdrawn from excess funds over and above the reserve required to meet the recurring expenses of a 3 year period. Should the latter expenses become jeopardized, the webmaster must be prepared to pay them out-of-pocket, but this does not give him permission to borrow or take his compensation from the 3 year reserve.
Other then quiet or active membership in a gathering of Blakemans, you get an email address that ends with @blakeman .net and a web site where you can put just about anything you want: photographs, documents, your own writings, letters and articles of historical interest, and even a small business. Your email address can begin with anything, presumably your first name, unless it is already taken.
The webmaster will provide you with the basic web site and assist you with its initial development. Limits are flexible but are determined by the webmaster’s available time and effort, the space available and by what the webmaster determines to be reasonable.
Each member shall be responsible for maintaining his subset of the web site, following certain basic guide lines:
§ Don’t jeopardize the integrity or the well being of the Blakeman web site or the host of that web site. Since the rules of the host supersede those of the web site, the member should be aware of the host’s regulations (see their web site).
§ Don’t do anything illegal, immoral, vulgar or unethical on your web site, nor provide links to such material. This includes, but is not limited to, pornography, the distribution of illegal, immoral or unethical products, etc., the nature of which will be determined by the webmaster and can be voted upon by the membership. The webmaster will disable any member page that he finds objectionable until the respective member cleans it up, or he gets over-ruled by the membership.
§ If any member’s activity requires excessive attention by the webmaster and/or the membership, or excessive space provide by the host, the fee for that member can be raised appropriately, after the member has been notified by email.
§ The member should keep file sizes at a minimum (I try for less then 100K per file but it can go to as much as 300K or occasionally even higher).
Each member is asked to pay an annual fee. The accumulation of fees and interest will be used to cover all expenses involved in maintaining the web site, including the services of the webmaster and anybody else that provides prearranged services. Available funds should be adequate to maintain a reserve of 3 or more years worth of regular expenses and enough to cover additional expenses such as purchasing more space from the host to accommodate new members.
A business account has been set up
at PayPal.com
in the name of webmasterAtblakeman.net. ( At = @)
To make a payment, just click on the PayPal link here or on the button at the bottom of the home
page. You can pay by credit card, check, money order or a transfer from your
own PayPal account. (PayPal will then deduct a fee of $1.75 from the webmaster
account for USA payments and a bit more for other countries. This will not
affect your payment; just letting you know how it works.)
PayPal is a good way to go
because they are secure, fairly easy to deal with and any money in the account
earns interest. They also provide a means of handling financial transactions
while keeping ones personal information confidential.
If a member requires additional
space such as for a busy income producing endeavor, or simply because he has a
heck of a lot to say (such as myself), then that member should be asked to pay an
additional fee.
This is a family oriented web site
even though some Blakeman’s may not be related to each other and the various
members may use their corners of the web site for radically different purposes.
One major reason for its existence
is to develop something of a Blakeman history, past and present, for the
pleasure and enlightenment of all.
For this reason, no member’s web
site will be removed because he has passed away, is unable to pay his dues, is
in disfavor, or whatever. It must remain available to the membership and future
generations. I am not referring to outright ever-changing retail web sites of
little personal interest to anybody and of little historical value; I am
referring to personal creations of meaning to the creator that other members
and future generations may find interesting for one reason or another.
I would
also discourage spouses, siblings and children from altering the web site of a
deceased or otherwise unavailable family member unless they were in it together
from the beginning and the family member is only adding new material to the
site. I would encourage a family to simply leave the original alone and open
up a new site for their own contributions.
As the membership grows, the
webmaster may choose to replace groups of membership links with relative
category links, such as those of one family and /or country and/or general
subject matter. In turn, he would create sub-pages for each category and/or
assist a group in creating their own. The idea is to keep the Blakeman home
page simple and uncluttered.
The webmaster can move
objectionable material to another location on the web site unavailable to the
web and replace it with a comment as to why, but he may not delete it. Only the
respective member can delete his own material. What one webmaster finds
objectionable may be acceptable to another and the webmaster must be
open-minded enough to consider this.
Extreme caution must be used here.
Books that were banned 100 years ago are perfectly acceptable today. Blatant
pornography is very objectionable to me and I would readily turn a child
pornographer over to the authorities, at minimum. However, I appreciate well
done artistic portrayals of attractive women in modest attire (or none) where
the intent of the artist is to express her beauty.
I think that if any member finds
another members material objectionable, and the webmaster agrees, then the
webmaster should consider opening the question up to the membership. Again,
unless the offending member removes the material, the webmaster can only move
it to a location unavailable to the internet, but available for objective
review by succeeding webmasters.
A member may have a need to
password-protect some material, though not all of it. This should be
permissible as long as the webmaster is provided with the password. Such
material is of course useless to anybody else, so the password should be
removed by the member as soon as the privacy is no longer necessary. If that
member dies, then the webmaster will have the right to review the material and
judge accordingly. If it is going to cause emotional harm or embarrassment to
another, then perhaps it should remain protected until such is no longer the
case, but at some point in the future it will be of value as a historical
document and should be made available.
So that each member can enjoy as
much or as little anonymity and privacy as he chooses, no member should be
allowed to mass-email the membership in whole or in part unless he has the
express permission of the recipients in advance. Even the webmaster will only do so with discretion and only
concerning web site issues that require attention. Should a member wish to find
others with like interests in a given subject matter, perhaps the webmaster can
provide a bulletin board, message center or chat room in which members who wish
to converse can do so at their leisure. However somebody will need to monitor
these activities to lock out anybody that becomes offensive or disrespectful. This
is common practice on serious forums and chats and should be exercised here.
Otherwise one self-possessed individual could overwhelm and destroy the harmony
of a coherent community.
That’s about it for now. Though I
have been quite explicit in this document about how I would like to see this
web site develop, I am not really trying to define any specific rules as much
as provide a guide upon which the community might develop and evolve. What
actually comes out of all this will be up to the membership; not myself. I will
be looking for and encouraging the contributions that can make that happen.
As an example of sorts, you might
want to review my online Journals
in which the subsequent responses become a significant aspect of that Journal.