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Yes, we need help... |
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| By now you may have noticed that this is a less than professional effort, particularly in this web site aspect of what we do. The coding is not current with html5 and the overwhelming impression is of clunkiness.[oh waily waily waily...]
That is because the wrong generation is in charge; we need a young person or people to help us improve the situation.
The trouble is most young people who might otherwise be interested in designing and displaying the latest methods of web presentation wouldn't be seen dead in association with a site of this kind. |
| The second part of the equation is what shows on the main menu as MOP (Myra's Other Place) which is in fact constructed and maintained by a professional in on-line databases.
That person - Stephan - is constantly working on translating the key relationships and lists into something which can be used with confidence, something that has a natural air and approaches that help the user.
That work is difficult because of the developing requirements that demand changes that screw up what was designed in the first place, but changes that are nevertheless necessary to achieve the final result. | |
| The third part is data entry. Without data the system cannot fly. Someone has to sit there and type in information gleaned from newspapers, books, websites and more.
Not only must they be able to do that, they must be able to recognise rubbish when its in their face and not perpetuate the errors of others. Fortunately the data itself is an aid, for it becomes perfectly clear in the resulting lists when some date is wrong.
If you blindly believe newspapers you'll be able to accept a ship of 500 tons being reported the following week as 1200 tons. And with Google Earth to hand, try to map the reported voyages of some of the immigrant ships.
It soon becomes clear that ship crew had a very poor opinion of reporters and enjoyed feeding them rubbish...
So... it becomes a requirement that you develop a healthy dose of scepticsm. In the matter of ships and voyages you also need to learn what was practicable and what was not.
A ship labelled as a 'steamer' before 1880 was more commonly a 'steamer-sailer' because no ship could carry enough coal to cross the globe on steam alone.
It may be that only some aspect of what we do is of interest to you; that you have some speciality or personal talent that shines in some area. It might be that you're retired and would really like to contribute, to construct something that will have your name on it going into the future.
If that describes you, please get in touch because I am old and inclined too spend far too much time in front of this computer but I love the patterns that emerge, the stories waiting to be told. |
| We are particularly keen on involving people in Oceania or in Southern Africa because in those places time is running out with old cemeteries being overgrown, lost or defaced and the older people who have the knowledge will pass.
I (Alan speaking here) spent time in Africa and in Papua New Guinea and I fully understand the situation many older people find themselves in.
Yes, we are unashamedly appealing to your sense of continuity when in so many cases the next generation does not understand the nature of what they're ignoring. Need help in these places to learn how to do stuff on line? Talk to us.
Problem with languages? We can help there too and if primary work is in a language other than English, we have that covered too.
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| So... if you feel you can contribute in one or more of the following, please email Alan or Myra... |
| Person or persons capable in web design, particularly in CSS integration
Persons willing to do data entry for ships and voyages
Similar for genealogy/headstones
| And what do you get out of it?
In the case of a young web person, the right to nominate the work in their own portfolio In the case of the data entry persons; satisfaction... |
