JewishGen ShtetLinks Project Policy

Smaller localities (e.g. hamlets, farming communities) may be described on the ShtetLinks pages for a nearby shtetl, or within the pages of a Region and District Study Group.

III.   Designation of a Shtetl Project

1. All ShtetLinks sites must first have signed a ShtetLinks Donor Agreement on file with JewishGen before any material can be placed on a JewishGen web server.

2. Any shtetl (as defined in Section II above) will be included in the ShtetLinks Index Page of the corresponding modern country, providing that a ShtetLinks Page has been completed and is online, or has been designated as being under the three-month construction limit with a start date noted.

3. If a ShtetLinks page is not yet ready for listing, it will be listed as "Under Construction" on that country's ShtetLinks Index Page for a maximum period of three months, with a projected start date. (See Section IV, below).

4. No group or person shall have the exclusive right to create a ShtetLinks Page for a locality.  Anyone with an interest in providing a page memorializing ancestral origins has the right to proceed under the direction of the ShtetLinks Project Coordinator, who will have the authority to implement and oversee the three-month period for page completion.

   1. If more than one person wants to create a ShtetLinks Page for a particular shtetl, more than one ShtetLinks Page for the same shtetl can be created.  (See Duplicate Shtetl Pages, below).
   2. Any person who has created or will create a ShtetLinks Page within the geographic area defined by a group (see Region and District Study Groups, below) shall not be compelled to be part of that group.

5. Final approval for a ShtetLinks site rests with JewishGen's Vice President for Editoral and Content Management.  The Vice President's decision will be based on recommendations from the ShtetLinks Project Coordinator, acting in concert with the ShtetLinks Peer Review Committee.

IV.   Shtetl Pages "Under Construction"

Only three ShtetLinks Pages may be listed on a ShtetLinks Index Page as being "Under Construction" by one individual or group at a time.  This will ensure that the pages under construction can be placed online within a three-month time frame.  As each "Under Construction" site comes online, an individual or group may add an additional site as being "Under Construction".

If your ShtetLinks site is not ready within the designated three-month time period, the listing will be removed, unless you contact the ShtetLinks Coordinators and request an extension.

1. Each shtetl will be listed on the ShtetLinks Index Page for the modern country in which it is currently located.

2. Each shtetl will be listed on the ShtetLinks Index Page by its modern native name, as is the standard throughout JewishGen.  One or two alternate names for the shtetl (e.g. pre-war name, Yiddish name) may appear in parenthesis following the modern native town name.

3. Because a locality was subject to historical boundary changes and could have been included within the boundaries of more than one country during its existence, any ShtetLinks Page may be linked reciprocally to/from any SIG or Research Group focusing on that particular country or region, at the discretion of that SIG or Research Group.

1. All Region and District Groups will be listed only on the "Region / District Studies" ShtetLinks Index Page http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/regions.html.

2. The shtetls within these areas will be listed on the respective ShtetLinks Index Page for the modern country containing that town &mdash only if:

   1. the locality meets the ShtetLinks Project's definition of shtetl;  and
   2. the Region or District Group has actually created and placed a substantive ShtetLinks page for that town online;  and
   3. the resultant effort has the approval as per Section III.5 above.
   The link on the ShtetLinks Index Page will point to the specific ShtetLinks page for that town, and not to the Group's home page.

3. Those towns without any actual ShtetLinks Page behind them will be handled in accordance with the policy described in Section IV above, which allows a person or group to have no more than three ShtetLinks Pages "Under Construction" at a time.

4. Any person who has created or will create a ShtetLinks Page for a locality within an area defined by a group shall not be compelled to be part of that group.

VIII.   Location of ShtetLinks Pages

1. All ShtetLinks Project pages will be housed on the JewishGen servers.  Pages housed on offsite servers will not be considered part of the JewishGen ShtetLinks Project.

2. Shtetl pages not on the JewishGen servers are not entitled to use the trademarked terms "JewishGen" or "ShtetLinks", or use the JewishGen or ShtetLinks logos.  Offsite pages are also not able to link directly to the JewishGen databases.  (Direct database access from non-JewishGen servers has been disabled, for security purposes, to prevent data mining and viruses).

IX.   JewishGen Acknowledgements

1. ShtetLinks Logo:   All ShtetLinks pages are required to use the standard JewishGen ShtetLinks logo, referenced via HTML code such as: <IMG src="/images/shtetlogo.jpg"">   Should the ShtetLinks page webmaster decide not to use this logo, a smaller-sized one may be used, provided that it is displayed with the print large enough to be clearly visible and legible.  In concert with the smaller logo, the text "This site is hosted by JewishGen, Inc. and part of the ShtetLinks Project" must appear.  The designer may choose the placement of the smaller logo taking into consideration the aesthetic impact on the total page.

2. ShtetLinks Index Link:   All ShtetLinks sites must have a link back to the main ShtetLinks Page and/or the JewishGen Home Page.

3. Webmaster Identification:   Each ShtetLinks site's webmaster must be reachable and identified by name and/or a linked e-mail address on the shtetl's home page.  The ShtetLinks site's creator, or someone designated and authorized by the site's creator, is responsible for ongoing maintenance of his or her site.

4. JewishGen-erosity Link:   A link to the JewishGen-erosity pages that are appropriate to the research interests of readers is strongly encouraged.

   Wording such as "This page is hosted at no cost to the public by JewishGen, Inc., a non-profit corporation.  If you feel there is a benefit to you in accessing this site, your JewishGen-erosity is appreciated." should be linked to http://www.jewishgen.org/JewishGen-erosity/ShtetLinks.html.

X.   Copyright Protected Material

JewishGen cannot post any copyrighted material without the permission of the copyright holder.  Since we have no blanket permissions from any source, you are responsible for getting that permission.  Your responsibility for any permissions is defined in the generic JewishGen Donor Agreement (as amended July 2004) at http://www.jewishgen.org/JewishGen-erosity/Form_donor.html.

1. All copyright protected material must contain the legend "Permission to print granted by [insert name of person or organization] on [insert date]".

2. Any donated text must properly cite the source (author(s), title, publication date/place, archival source citation, etc.) and have a donor agreement on file with JewishGen.

3. Photographs of any recognizable living persons require permission either of the person or the owner of the photograph. (The rule of thumb, for the time being, is that on pictures taken before 1925, all persons who appear to be adults can be considered to be no longer alive).

4. Violations of copyright will be handled as described under Section XV, below.

Attorneys are still reviewing some of the copyright laws as they apply to the internet, thus it may be necessary to change these rules in the future.

XI.   Static Lists

ShtetLinks pages should cooperate with existing JewishGen programs; not compete with or duplicate them.  In order to avoid duplications of effort and data, to promote uniformity, and to provide ease-of-use for researchers, the following JewishGen publishing standards and policies apply to lists of data:

1. Databases:
   Any list of more than 2,500 items (i.e. 2,500 records, 2,500 individuals) should not be placed directly on a ShtetLinks page as a static list &mdash all such lists should be placed in a searchable JewishGen Database instead.  Please review the "Contributing Databases to JewishGen — Guidelines for Contributors" at http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/$description.html, and contact the Database Project Manager to proceed.  Reciprocal links between the relevant databases and ShtetLinks pages are recommended and encouraged — see the ShtetLinks documentation.

   Databases or portions of databases already online should not be duplicated on a ShtetLinks page.  Instead, the searchable database should be linked to from a ShtetLinks page.

2. Temporary Static Lists:
   To promote the availability of information not yet online in a searchable JewishGen Database, a temporary static listing of data is permitted on a ShtetLinks page.  However, this data must be removed as soon as the data is available in a JewishGen Database in searchable format.

3. Researchers' surnames of interest:
   Lists of researchers and their surnames and towns of interest may not be included &mdash all researchers should be encouraged to list their surname/town interests in the JewishGen Family Finder (JGFF) instead, and the ShtetLinks Page should provide a direct link to the JGFF, as described in the ShtetLinks documentation.

   This policy is in place to protect the privacy of researchers, by ensuring that their names and contact information can not be captured and reported via web search engines, thus making them readily accessible to spammers.  The use of the JGFF also helps to ensure that all contact information is always up-to-date.

4. Cemetery / Burial Data:
   We require that all burial data must be submitted to the JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry (JOWBR).  However, we realize that a visual perusal of a static list of this type can be a useful way of making connections, so burial lists may also be presented in static form on a ShtetLinks Page.  Photos of cemeteries and an occassional headstone may be included.

5. Family Trees:
   Extensive family trees should not be placed on ShtetLinks pages.  Instead, they should be submitted to JewishGen's Family Tree of the Jewish People (FTJP).

XII.   Links

All links to external web sites must be genealogically related. ShtetLinks sites can not link to commercial vendors, with the exceptions noted below.  If there are any questions, check with the ShtetLinks Coordinators.

1. External web sites: Links to external web sites may be used to enhance or provide additional resources or information only when the primary purpose of the site is not commercial.  However, there are exceptions to this rule.  Some specific examples might help ensure clearer understanding of when a link to a commercial site is permitted:

   • If a publisher is willing to grant permission for the inclusion on a ShtetLinks Page of a copyright protected portion of a book far greater than what would be "fair use", then we permit a link to that publisher's site or business address.
   • If the ShtetLinks Page included a mention of a book or a list of titles, no hyperlink to the publisher would be allowed, since there is nothing being granted to the ShtetLinks Page that is out of the ordinary.
   • If a commercial site provided a free resource of genealogical interest, there could be a link to that commercial site.
   • If the same commercial site instituted a fee to access the above resource, there could be no link to the site, but the URL could be listed on the ShtetLinks Page as a genealogical resource.

2. Professional researchers and their addresses may be listed as a resource, but they may neither be recommended nor criticized, and there may be no live link to their e-mail addresses.  Additionally, the following disclaimer is required: "This listing implies no warranty on the part of JewishGen or this ShtetLinks page and is provided only as a convenience.  All researchers are encouraged to investigate each professional listed privately, thus performing due diligence prior to engaging in any contractual arrangement."

1. Page creation programs / Hit counters:  No commercial mentions of the program used to create the page or the program used to create a hit counter are permitted.  The code to create a hit counter is available in the ShtetLinks documentation.

2. Yizkor Book material:  No material from a published Yizkor Book may appear on a ShtetLinks Page — all Yizkor Book material should appear only on the JewishGen Yizkor Book Project site.  Reciprocal links between the ShtetLinks Pages and the respective material about a locality on the JewishGen Yizkor Book Project are recommended and encouraged.
   [A Yizkor Book is defined as one listed in the Appendix B, "Bibliography of Eastern European Memorial (Yizkor) Books", in Estelle Guzik's Genealogical Resources in the New York, (New York: Jewish Genealogical Society, 2003), pages 302-361.  This list of books can also be found on the JewishGen Yizkor Book Bibliographic Database].

3. Travel Agencies:  No links to travel agencies are permitted, but the ShtetLinks pages can include material freely provided by travel agencies to encourage trips to a particular location or to augment learning.

4. Negative comments:  No negative comments about a researcher, archive or organization is permitted on any site hosted by JewishGen.

5. Items for Sale:  No items for sale may be handled through a ShtetLinks page. 

6. Mailing Lists:  If there is a mailing list associated with a shtetl, the ShtetLinks page may include a suggestion to "join a mailing list", linking to the subscription site.  However, no JewishGen-hosted page may contain the logo of another organization or a link mentioning that organization.

7. Records Acquisition:  No ShtetLinks page may solicit funds or promote a project to facilitate the acquisition of records on behalf on an individual or small group of people.  Any records acquisition project must be directed towards the acquisition or indexing of a complete body of records, which will provide a future lasting benefit to the entire JewishGen community.  These records will be placed in a JewishGen Database.  A link to a specific JewishGen-erosity page may be used as a source of fundraising for an approved records acquisition project.

8. Fundraising:  There can be no fundraising or solicitation for any non-JewishGen project or organization, no matter how worthy.

1. A Readiness Checklist, based on the requirements above, has been prepared for use by the person(s) creating a ShtetLinks Page: http://www.ShtetLinks.JewishGen.org/documentation/ReadinessChecklist.asp.  The Readiness Checklist will also be used by the ShtetLinks Project Coordinator to maintain quality whenever new material is added, and also in the annual review process conducted by a team working under the supervision of the ShtetLinks Project Coordinator.

2. Before embarking on any new project, ShtetLinks webmasters and coordinators are advised to consult with the ShtetLinks Project Coordinator, so that duplication of other projects, either in negotiation or under construction, does not occur.

3. FTP access may be granted to a ShtetLinks webmaster under the internal guidelines established by JewishGen.  No new pages will be linked to a ShtetLinks Index Page until the ShtetLinks Peer Review Committee has had a chance to review and recommend inclusion.

4. Non-adherence to the requirements should be brought first to the attention of the ShtetLinks Project Coordinator to enable correction, if necessary.  If it is not possible to accomplish correction within 7-10 days, the ShtetLinks site should be hidden until such time as the necessary corrections are accomplished.  If satisfactory corrections are not made within one month of their having been brought to the attention of ShtetLinks site owner, it shall become the responsibility of the JewishGen Operations Committee or Vice President for Content Management to take appropriate action.  (See Copyright Violations, below).

5. All new ShtetLinks sites will be reviewed by the ShtetLinks Peer Review Committee, under the direction of the ShtetLinks Project Coordinator, before being listed on a ShtetLinks Index Page.  All modifications to an existing ShtetLinks page should be brought to the attention of the ShtetLink Project Coordinator as soon as they are added, and the Project Coordinator or his/her designee will conduct the review.  Anything requiring correction will be addressed expeditiously by the ShtetLinks site owner and only in the event of a serious problem will the page be hidden until corrected.

By consensus: Warren Blatt, Joyce Field, Carol Skydell, for the JewishGen Executive Committee
November 13, 2001. Updated Nov 13 2003; Dec 1 2004; Apr 23 2005; May 31 2006.