ABOUT THIS WEBSITE AND OUR POLICY STATEMENT
This website was compiled with the assistance of a great number of family members, without whom it would have not been possible. As such it is as much theirs as it is mine. I am simply the keeper of the information.
It is a non-profit website which means I gain absolutely nothing from it monetarily. In fact, since I have started the family tree research I have invested a great deal of my own money into research and development over the past decade or so, particularly in the early stages while running all around the countryside and burning up phone lines. But, as someone has recently pointed out this website and my research used to be a passion, and such things will cost money. The expenditures were my choice and I can live with that. In terms of return I have gained tenfold in the process simply through meeting and corresponding with the good people of the family.
Since it’s inception this site has attracted attention from a great number of sources. Some of these are pretty exciting and will help to ensure our family’s history for many years to come. In 2004, for example, I was contacted by the Archdiocese of Canada Orthodox Church in America who, after viewing the site, asked for permission to store and to use some of the information and images in their Main Diocese Archives located in Ottawa. They also asked if I could elaborate somewhat on our family history so that they could document it and use it for historical purposes. They were particularly interested in the “people” side of things and asked that I send a number of photos that they could use. Think of it- photos of your great, great, grandparents and parents, their homes and their daily lives all archived in Ottawa, with permission to be used on display as they see fit.
The Saint Nicholas Church Organization posts Saint Nicholas churches from around the world and has asked for, and been given permission to post photos of all of the Saint Nicholas churches from this site on their world wide site (www.stnicholascenter.org). We are also linked to a number of other sites that deal with the same historical information as a source of further information.
These are only a few examples, but the point is you should be darn proud of it!
I have received e-mails from all around the world – England, Australia , Ethiopia, Sri Lanka and the Ukraine being just a few examples that come to mind - all either commenting on the site or asking for more information on specific topics. It seems that lately schools are asking children to research family trees as part of their Social Studies curriculum and a number of our younger relatives have apparently scored pretty high marks based on the information we have left for them. It warms my heart to get e-mails from them telling me how excited they were to find the information. My young nephew hadn’t seen the site until his assignment, but was pretty darn happy with the 100% mark he received.
In each case I am more than happy to provide all I can. On that note you should know that any and all personal information is held in the strictest confidence. If someone contacts me for information on a person I forward that request on to the family member in question. If they choose to respond then they are free to do so.
In the world of genealogy names are published in order for family members and other researchers to find information. This is perfectly acceptable practice . Without the legal freedom to do so the world of research would halt and family trees would be meaningless. It is a sharing world- you get as much as you give. That holds true in most aspects of life.
By the way- and this is important- using your mother's maiden name for a secret code is no longer a wise thing to do. That type of information can be found in a matter of minutes by anyone with a basic knowledge of the internet or can be accessed for a few dollars from any source of public records. This site will not make a difference, as the world of information is not what it used to be. For your reference I refer you the the legal position stated below, perhaps the most easily translatable one I could find:
"The copyright laws affect both the research and the publication of your genealogy, either a narrative family history or a simple pedigree family line. First, though, consider that the basic facts about your ancestor's life (such as name, birth date and place, marriage partner, date and place, and death date and place) do not receive copyright protection, no matter their source. Whether you went to the county courthouse, rented a microfilm of the relevant records, or found the data in a commercial CD-ROM, the basic facts of a person's life may be freely copied; they are in the public domain." (Source: Genealogy.com)
Basically what this says is that anyone can get information from a variety of sources ( a lot of which are not listed ) and that names are part of the public domain and can be published by anyone. Time consuming- Yes, but illegal or immoral- No. Personal information beyond that is another issue in itself. No responsible genealogist would publish exact birthdates, for example, and would take every reasonable step to ensure that type of information remains secure. The exception to this is after someone dies. In this case it is perfectly acceptable to publish both date of birth and death.
So why a website? Certainly not because I'm not busy enough. I was blissfully ignorant of things such as "html" codes, and learning them and writing them is still extremely painful. The reason for choosing a website follows today's trends of information gathering. Quick and easy access for our descendants will reach much farther into the world and be preserved much longer than a book. It will also help the world as a whole to gain a better understanding of our history. While a book will still be printed, and made available to family members only, we have to accept the realities of the global community. Let it never be said that the Menzak family is nothing less than progressive and sharing. And now on to to policy as it relates to our site - some simple rules I think we can all live by:
2. If you marry into a family or are born or brought into it you are, by default, a member of the family tree and part of its' history. More importantly you are a member of that family, as are your descendants. There is nothing you can do to change that. Help preserve that history for your children and their children to come by acting responsibly and doing your part.
3. Be patient regarding changes. It is not as simple as pressing a “delete” or "add" button. It takes about 8 hours of dedicated time to regenerate all of the databases and make changes- and I can only do them when I can find the time, and as I am somehat inexperienced it sometimes takes longer. As a rule I try to do updates every 6 months or so.
4. PLEASE KEEP ME UPDATED. This only takes a few minutes of your time and is really important. If you know of a birth or passing of a family member please advise me. I rely on your information to keep this thing alive and accurate. Drop me a line with your e-mail or address for my contact records, if I do not already have it, or if you are changing it. Please pass this link and my contact information onto other family members. Contact information allows me to keep everyone updated as well. Besides, who is to say when my time will come? My hope is someone will pick up the banner and they will have to know where to begin.
Thanks for all your help. Enjoy, and be proud of, YOUR website.
Send email to: nkerychuk@shaw.ca