FAQ's

	FAQ's
Just the facts, ma'am, as Officer Friday used to say. Well, these FAQ's, or Frequently Asked Questions, are a little different. These are some of the questions people like yourself have asked us over the past couple of months. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask me at mwilson32@earthlink.net, whether it be with Genealogy or the site itself... Michael
Why the line on the home page about Netscape 4.x, javascript enabled and 800x600?
This is a three parter: 1) Microsoft IE and Netscape are similar in certain aspects but in some ways they are not. Basically we prefer Netscape. You may use either browser but it should be current (Netscape is at 4.76 and Internet Explorer is at 5.5.) Opera or Mosaic (yes Mosaic is still around for you webnerds :~) are also available. I have used Opera with pretty good, but at times, mixed results. I would appreciate it if someone would let me know their reaction to our site using Opera. 2) We use javascript in our navigation rollover buttons at the top of the pages and for our counter. All browser version 4+ are able to use the javascript here. 3) Most of the pages here are under 640 pixels (the dots that make up your screen) wide which should fit any 15" or higher screen. The only main exceptions are the surname pages which are set to 700 p. So you don't have to scroll lengthwise we suggest 800. If your monitor can display 800 and you would like to change first left click on your desktop. Next select Properties and than click the Settings tab. Move the desktop area slider to 800 or more, click OK and your set.
Will you ever provide a Gedcom File?
Yes, we are currently working on that. When it is posted it will more than likely appear on the surnames page.
Will you ever provide your surname list in a descendant type report as opposed to the current table list?
Probably not. We think that the style our surname list is in is probably the easiest format to read and when the gedcom file is posted this will probably become a moot point as most genealogy software can print some sort of descendancy report.
How long have you been researching your lines?
About 10 years ago my Uncle Alex sent me a pedigree chart with what he had uncovered at that time; you would know this if you had read my boring but informative words on our home page :~) Anyway, it was neat to me but I didn't do anything with it back then. Joan, mom to me and sister to Alex, picked it up and never let go. So she has been doing research for the past 10 years or so. Myself, I have been dabbling in it for a while but it wasn't till the past year and a half or so that I started to do dual research in Ireland and Canada, two countries with not the greatest of resources for the 19th century and prior, boy what fun.
How long has Genealogy Planet been on the web?
Conceptually since 1998 in some stage or form but it wasn't until April of this year (2000) that I started working on it as a project and uploading pages. What you see now is of course a continuing work but has been up in its' entirety since 1 September 2000.
What do you think the best resources are on the web?
Too many to count. Actually, the best resource is probably a public, genealogical or university library where you can actually read the sources. But as far as the web goes, one of the sites I prefer is RootsWeb, which is located at rootsweb.com. RootsWeb is a site that allows you to subscribe, free of charge, to a vast number of lists or forums. Once you sign-up for a list, depending on how you subscribe and the frequency of the list, you will be provided with an e-mail discussion forum pertaining to the area you want to research. You may just listen or post a question. The forums include novices and experts alike and is a great place to hopefully learn not only about your ancestors but about the region itself.
Do you trust what you see on the Internet?
Yes and no. There are many helpful experts out there but even one unintentional mistake by anyone can be multiplied all over the web (I have seen mistakes on my Palmer line that I know are not correct on the web.) On the opposite side of the coin I have been helped out with sourced information many times through sites I have just happened upon. We are lucky in that there is a genealogical library about 10 miles from us so every few (more like several) weekends it's up the library we go (yes I have a life, that's why it isn't more often (LOL).) It's sad to say that even books I have read sometimes (it seems rarer than the web though) contain small errors. The best thing to do is get the information and check primary sources such as wills, birth certificates, baptisms. Find out also if the person you are researching was a member of a church. In many cases churchs were the sole repositories for civil information, in many cases years if not centuries before a country's government even thought that that might be a good idea. Wherever you get your information try to get the original material. If you are new to genealogical researching you may find some pointers at our GEN 101 page.
Why do I have problems when using WebTV?
WebTV is great for e-mail and some surfing of the net (we also have a webTV so we know the problems firsthand) but unfortunetly some of the problems lay with WebTV's operating system (os) and some are with the amount of pixels, or dots, that your tv can display. The os for WebTV is Microsoft Internet Explorer 2 which is several years old. This version of IE does not correctly render tables , a commonly used tool for formating. Since Microsoft purchased WebTV over a year ago we would hope that MS would update the os but that probably will not happen. Another problem is the resolution an everday tv can generate. Most pc's and mac's will show a minimum of 640 pixels wide and newer pc's can produce 800 on up to 1280. WebTV is stuck at about 530. The pages here are between 500 and 600 but some pages, such as the surnames pages, are 700. We have tried limiting the amount of info. provided widthwise but we do not want to limit what we provide. This and the amount of WebTV viewers to our home page is minimal, less than 1%. I have used a WebTV dev. browser and while the site is viewable, many formating errors occur. If the amount of WebTV viewers increases we may take a look at providing seperate pages but at this point it is unfortunetly not an option.