Why in the World Wide Web?

Jeffrey A. Bockman



First Presented at
Roots And Routes
DuPage County (IL) Genealogical Society's
22nd Annual Conference, Wheaton, IL
1 March 1997

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Questions That Will be Answered

What is the WWW?
Why does a genealogist need the WWW?
How can you use it for research?
Where can I find things on the WWW?
Who will I find in/on the WWW?
When should I do it?
What is needed? & What does it mean?


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What is the WWW?

The World Wide Web
Started in 1989
Graphical/hypertext part of the Internet
(INTERconnected group of computer NETworks)
World wide network of computers
Originally designed for military and education
Not dependent on any single computer or location


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WWW is the Graphical/hypertext part of the Internet

Hypertext allows users to jump from a page in a document to a page in another system or another country

The Commercial and Personal WWW Page growth
has been exponential the last few years.

Other Internet applications include:

FTP, Gopher, Telnet, UseNet (news) and E-mail

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Why does a genealogist need the WWW?


"The WWW should not change
what a genealogist does.

It can change how they do it."


JAB 1 Mar 1997

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The WWW can help you
Do or prepare to do Research.

Starting from Scratch ===> Research

Given or Find a Family History

Well Documented - Need to Verify ==> Research

Not Documented - Need to Prove ==> Research

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In General - What are you looking for?

Family History - Correct & Well Documented


Vital Records or Other Evidence


Extracts of Records


Where to Get Records or Extracts


Information about an Area


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How can you use the WWW for research?

You need to know the territory!




Locating People, Places, and Things

Telephone numbers, addresses and web sites
for people and businesses

Your family history may already be on-line

Research Trip Planning


Posting Queries



Publishing Your Family History

Put your family information on the WWW for the world to see.








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Where can I find things on the WWW?

Jeff's Home Page: http://users.anet.com/~jeffb

Then choose:





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How do I move around? -
Helpful Surfing Techniques

Hyperlinks
Text that is linked to another portion of the same document, another document, or another site. Usually shown as underlined and a different color and the URL will be shown at the bottom.

Back
Icon to return to the previous page.

Go or History
Quick method to return to a previous page (rather than 5 Backs)

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Bookmark
Add a bookmark or Favorite to remember the URL of a good site.

File, Save As
Can save the current page to the hard drive for later use.
This only saves the current page - not items that are "included."

Stop
To stop the loading of a file that may be incorrect, too big, etc.




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How do I find things?

Helpful Searching Techniques

AtltaVisa - Simple:

Keyworks treated as OR

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Alta Vista - Advanced

Search argument can use AND, OR and NOT







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Getting Started

Person's Name

Location

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Who will I find in/on the WWW?

Yourself (in switchboard)

Others interested in the same area or family

In the not too distant future -

almost anyone - then everyone


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When should I do it?

If you have an internet connection - Go Home at 4:30 and get busy!

Once you see a benefit!

If you have the equipment - Today?

Once you have the necessary equipment. (see Appendix)

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Appendix

What is required to connect to the WWW?

Computer - probably 386 or better
or

Web TV - about $350 - $450, a special computer
plus

Analog Telephone Line (may want second line) or an ISDN line

plus

Internet Service Provider (local or a service such as America On Line - abt $20/month)

Browser Software (Netscape, Microsoft's Internet Explorer, AOL's, etc.)





What does it mean? - Definitions

Browser
Software that lets you view the pages of the WWW and has attachments to view or see various file types (pictures, sound, video, etc.)

Cache
A part of the hard disk that stores the information downloaded from the web. When you want to go back to a prior screen or site, it is usually read from the cache rather than downloading the entire contents again. In OPTIONS, Network, Cache you can set it to:
Update Once per session
Update Everytime
Never
E-mail
Software that lets you send and receive electronic files/memos to another user. It usually has a method for storing them and doing file clean-up.
E-mail Address: jeffb@anet-chi.com name@computer
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions (abbreviation) - Problem Solving tool often put on a web site to give answers for FAQs.
File
An digital electronic unit that contains text, a program, data, picture, sound, etc. A web page can be made up of many files. Images, pictures, logos, etc. are usually separate files that are included in the web page when it is displayed.
HTML
HyperText Markup Language - a programming language that is commonly used for web pages.

HTTP
HyperText Transfer Protocol - the communication method for sending hypertext between two computers.
Hypertext
A method of displaying text that is linked to another portion of the same document, another document, or another site. Usually shown as underlined and a different color (ex. Link details) and the URL will be shown at the bottom.
ISDN
Integrated Services Digital Network - a two line high speed connection that will allow one line to be used for telephone and fax while the other is connected to the internet. It will require an ISDN modem and the installation of an ISDN telephone line. Contact you local telephone company.
Search Engine
A service that lets you access the millions of pages by using just a few keywords.

URL
Uniform Resource Locator - case sensitive after the "/".
http://www.dcgs.org/
1 :// 2 .3 / 4
1. Transmission Protocol - tells computers how to talk to each other.
http:// - Hypertext Transmission Protocol
gopher:// - Gopher (an early text browser format)
ftp:// - File Transfer Protocol - for downloading data files
news:// - UseNet News groups protocol
2. www.name - www. name of the company (purchased for $50/yr) or server
3. Type of organization
COMpany
ORGanization
GOVernment
EDUcation
4. Detailed path for the page - case sensitive

Telnet
A communications program that lets remote users use a computer to act as a terminal. Also used to upload home pages to an ISP.

UseNet
Software to access a global network of newsgroups for specific interests. Information is automatically download to your computer.

WWW
World Wide Web


Where can I find more? - Bibliography

Note: With the rapid changes to web site URLs and content any book is obsolete before the ink is dry. If you cannot find a listed site then use a search engine to look for the title or keywords. Bookmark the good ones.

Netting Your Ancestors, 3rd ed.

Cyndi Howells, 182 pages, paperback $19.95 Genealogy Publishing Company, 1997

Genealogy Online: Researching Your Roots, 2nd ed.

Elizabeth P. Crowe (Illus). 400 pages, paperback $24.95 McGraw-Hill, 1996

Genealogy Via the Internet:
Tracing Your Family Roots Quickly & Easily Computerized

Ralph Roberts, paperback $12.95, Alexander Books, 1996

© Copyright 1997 Jeffrey A. Bockman

"Why in the WWW?" cannot be presented or copied without the written or electronic permission of Jeff Bockman.

28 September 2001