COMMENTARY

By Paul D. Peery, Editor

From the Editor's Desk

OCTOBER 1997

FACTS OF LIFE

  1. She's always late. Her ancestors arrived on the Juneflower.
  2. Despite the cost of living it remains popular.
  3. I have a photographic memory. I'm just out of film.
  4. It may be that your sole purpose in life is to serve as a warning to others.
  1. PCO MEMBER HOME PAGE LISTINGS (Long Statement)
    I was requested by a PCO member to list his Home Page in the Peery Cousins Online section of this home page, along with other member listings. As is my wont, I visited his page to check it out. I found it was brief, with links to extensive descendency charts for several lines of ancestry. Admittedly, I made only a cursory view of these various lists. I found few Peery listings among them, and then only named through marriage.

    As I looked further at his page I noticed it had a lot of unrelated material placed there by the firm providing this member's Web site. There were many selections from which to choose for further information, so I selected one and found a search location. I entered "Peery" at the surname box to see what would come up. Lo and behold, the search resulted in page after page of data taken from my "Peery Family History Home Page." I mean, a LOT of content. About ten items per page. Page after page. This concerned me.

    Now when I use Search Engines on the Internet, such as Alta Vista, Excite, Infoseek, HotBot and the like, I always find Peery information, but with a wide variety of Peery sources. The results are unlike the search I did, referred to above, where probably 95 percent of the hits were from my site, carefully selected, or so it appeared. It seems that Broderbund, a for-profit corporation, based in Novato, Marin County, California, known for its genealogy software and popular games, has carefully selected information from my Home Page for use at this, its, Web site.

    I perceived something like this might happen when I first began publishing the "Peery Cousins Newsletter Online" in January 1995. My concern led to my searching out copyright information, available from the Library of Congress, then further searching for statements that I could add to the bottom of each issue of the Newsletter. I wrote a cogent copyright statement and have placed it at the bottom of every issue of the Newsletter. When I began the "Peery Family History Home Page" in February 1996, I added the same statement at the bottom. Look for it. You'll see it.

    I later took a seminar class at the University of Utah regarding copyright, patents and proprietary content and intellectual property to learn more in-depth about the subject. The Professor was thorough, knew his material and provided case after case of the then developing case law that has yet to provide direction for cyberspace, so far as I know. Importantly, the case between Lotus and Borland was discussed, with copies of court material distributed at the class. The case went on for years. It was clear that the Internet was a wide-open area insofar as intellectual property was concerned. It is a subject that will be receiving MUCH attention in the years to come.

    As to the listing of the PCO members Home Page in the Peery Cousins Online section, I have made a decision not to list it. The reason is not that the members material might be helpful to others, but rather that all of the accompanying promotional material for Broderbund is not in keeping with the low-key nature of this page. A link could be made to Broderbund's Web page as a resource, to be placed in the section of my home page providing that information, but I'm not too pleased with that idea either, considering how so much of what we have here has simply been taken by the company for its use as a for-profit organization.

    This week I have been exchanging e-mail with the compiler/author, regarding the posting of his well-known series to our Newsletter readers, entitled "Generations." This was before the above problem arose. We both were concerned about his material being taken (stolen) by those would use it for-profit purposes. He was going to study the matter as we both would not want that to happen. So the jury is still out on that exchange. Then came the request from the member to list his Web site.

    If your getting the drift here, problems on the Internet affecting us have bubbled up. Now that they are recognized, I can only assume that my entire Home Page, with family history information, could end up in some for-profit book. Total disregard by unsavory people about copyright is involved here. What to do about it? Lotus and Borland tried to resolve it, albeit a different subject, taking about six years of lawyers and courts, only to arrive with about a draw on the various counts, as decided by the final court. Their differences had to do with the Lotus interface being used by Borland in its Quattro spreadsheet, done without Lotus' permission. A business to business matter.

    Peery Cousins Online is a non-profit organization with the purpose of sharing family history and genealogical information on the Internet, giving credit where credit is due, without charge. Our material is meant not to be resold by us to anyone. It is the result of individual research that, on its face, requires much time in gathering, sorting and writing. We wish to honor our contributors by maintaining that posture. I will say that Broderbund does give full credit to the source of the information to which I referred, as I recall. Perhaps more thought needs to be given as to how material is used from the Web site in a not-for-profit way.

    If anyone wishes to comment on this to provide direction, or to express an opinion, send an e-mail message to me at Editor - Peery Family History.
    I will post such e-mail under PEERY-L, adjacent to the "Commentary" highlight.
    [Sun, Oct 19, 1997 - PDP]

  2. AOL INSTANT MESSENGER
    This story is all over the news today. The new instant messaging product has been named "AOL Instant Messenger." It will be included in all future editions of Netscape Comunicator, the suite. Should be ready and connected during the fourth quarter of this year.
    [Wed, Oct 15, 1997 4:12 pm MTN - PDP]

  3. AOL INSTANT MESSAGE/BUDDY LIST and NETSCAPE
    A story this morning in ZDNN, the ZDNet News Channel, by Charles Cooper, reports that "Netscape Communications Corp. will soon allow people using its Web software to conduct live online chats with millions of other Internet users." As a user of Netscape Communicator 4.03, I will be able to participate.

    S. Paul Peery (Orlando, FL), wrote me last summer suggesting that PCO members who were subscribers to AOL had access to a Buddy List. He thought it would be good to begin using it among PCO members. While I am not a subscriber to AOL, I hoped it would proceed. I haven't heard since.

    What today's announcement means to me is that a deal has been worked out between AOL and Netscape whereby users of upcoming versions of Netscape Navigator (browser) will have full access to the AOL system. Instant online chats, in real time, will be possible regardless of ISP. Importantly, the technology alerts users when family or friends they want to chat with are online. This will work in Netscape Navigator as it does in AOL, bringing up a menu that launches a window with a list of people who are online. Other "buddies" in a pre-defined list will be similarly alerted. AOL will run the daily operation of the service.

    The report stated that the new arrangement will be available later this year. Netscape will include it in future upgrades of Navigator, which is part of Netscape Communicator 4.0, a suite. I have just upgraded to 4.03 after less than two months of having 4.02 . Changes come quickly. This opens a new channel for PCO communications. Anyone using the Netscape Communicator 4.0+ program will be able to participate. The piece did not mention versions of Navigator. Communicator is the latest, and runs on about sixteen different platforms right now.
    [Wed, Oct 15, 1997 -- PDP]

  4. NOVEMBER 1, 1997 - PCO NEW MEMBER CUT OFF DATE
    Peery Cousins Online will remain open to new members through October 31, 1997. More on this may be found in "Announcements." Since last weekend, we have accepted membership of two sisters, who have an active interest in Peery research. Much data has been provided showing Peery background and connection. PCO is interested in persons who wish to share/exchange information with us. In the process the data is compared with what we have in our databases. Not infrequently, differences will appear that are either reconciled, or offer the opportunity to make note of them.
    [Tue, Oct 14, 1997 -- PDP]

  5. FAMILY HISTORY STUFF
    Organizing all the information I have pertaining to this subject is an endless task. You know, a piece of paper here, a document there, a Family Group Record here, a Pedigree Chart there; letters here, floppy disks there; newsletters, directories, magazines, new product literature; ad infinitum. All that and more comprise what makes up piles of "stuff" that I have to move along as motivation and time allows. Right now I can see several piles of paper containing such material, neatly arranged on my carpet, table and other flat places that can hold the same. Eventually, I move it along, but getting there takes a bit of doing.

    When I first began using a genealogical software program, I considered it a giant step toward organizing my genealogy and family history materials. I began with Personal Ancestral File (PAF) 1.1 (I think), tried a couple of more programs, priced some others, and stuck with PAF. Probably this happened because I considered it a big program for me -- like a Mack Truck -- and neatness in storing data was appealing. Being able to printout documents was exhilerating. When the laser printer came along, I was really jumping for joy. Wow!

    As the years went along, my natural curiosity led me to taking looks at more genealogical software programs, and, yet, I stayed with PAF. You know, when you learn how to use one software program, and become somewhat efficient/proficient with it, it is hard to break-away to another competing application. That goes not only for genealogy, but also for word processor, relational database and spread sheet programs.

    Getting started with a computer means your at your whits end as to what's what. Its better now. You've been there, I know. Well, my first program was Lotus 123. I was so excited learning it -- on my own -- that I spent MANY all-nighters studying and working with the program. Somehow, as I recall, I loaded it on my new IBM PC, running on DOS 1.1 (I think) with 256K of RAM and no hard drive. It was slow, or so it seemed to me. But what did I know? I had made sure it came with a Hercules graphics card, a good move. I kept reading the eight PC magazines that were floating into my mailbox. I figured I was getting good information. After all, I was reading InfoWorld, PC Magazine, PC World and a bunch of others, some of which disappeared. I didn't want to make any mistakes in selecting products. I figured those guys were the experts. Still do.

    This all began back in November 1984, in San Francisco. I soon found and joined the San Francisco PC Users Group. They met weekly at one of the old Fort Mason buildings in the Marina, kitty-corner across from Safeway. There must have been 300 people in that group. I stayed with it for a couple of years. There was good attendance. SF is a main center for high technology, of course, so a lot of guys who knew about PCs were members of the group. I was just a guy, a member, in the audience. Their volunteers running it were able. And in a big city, you get numbers. Besides, SF is in a strategic location.

    Silicon Valley begins some 40 miles south down US 101 on the Peninsula. Arguably, Menlo Park in San Mateo County is about where it begins and continues on to beyond San Jose in Santa Clara County. Menlo Park is a significant Venture Capital center, adjacent to Palo Alto, home of Stanford, the original breeder of Silicon Valley, to put this into perspective. Well, the SFPCUG did wonders for me. I asked questions. I learned a lot, which enabled me to self-train in using my PC. I was well along my learning curve. I moved on.

    Along the way, I installed an Intel card that eventually took me to 2.5 MB RAM. It had a clock on it, something I wanted. There was no clock on my original IBM PC. A clock was good. And I wanted a clock on my PC. Clocks let you know what time it is. They enable you to mark documents with the time. Yes, clocks are good. I wanted a clock on my PC, and the Intel card had a clock, so I bought it. The card. I installed it myself. I then had a clock. (I watch Charles Grodin.)

    From reading the monthly Newsletter, published by the SFPCUG, I learned in detail how to install a hard drive. That motivated me a lot, so I headed to the magazines and catalogs and read and read. I finally decided it would do me good to buy a 10 MB hard drive from Seagate Technology (a Silicon Valley company) and install it myself. Buying the drive by direct mail was an experience. Installing it was a lot easier. It all worked, however, and I want to tell you there is great satisfaction in knowing I did it myself. When I finished formatting the hard drive and it came up all done, I was ecstatic! I mean, I DID IT! I installed a hard drive by myself. SUPER GREAT!

    Well, this story may not interest some of you, but the reason I wrote it is this. When you commit to learning a software program, it pretty well requires your devoting some time to what your trying to accomplish. Having done that satisfactorily, your efficiency increases and you feel pretty confident in your use of the application toward getting things done. So when something else comes along, like an upgrade, you tend to move with it, until you finally come to realize you don't need that upgrade stuff anymore. After all, your not using all that came with your last upgrade.

    Things can always be improved, and in high technology the next upgrade is already in preparation the day they ship the current one. Then there are the competing products. Heh!... It just doesn't stop. What an industry! Have you taken a look at "The Red Herring" magazine? Are you aware of whats going on in the Initial Public Offering (IPO) market these days?

    I have stayed with Personal Ancestral File, currently running 3.0 on Windows 95. Of course, it helps to have a new Pentium computer (my third PC) to make it fly, but that's another story. There are other programs out there that have bells and whistles that PAF doesn't have, but I'm sticking with PAF, at least for now, until I'm absolutely, positively sold on an alternative. That learning curve is a time eater-upper. There are other things I need to do with that time. But since I consider change a constant, I go with the flow. Innovation and change make things dynamic, not always better, but certainly dynamic. But new changes lead to things getting better and better and better and..... well, you know, just like the Duracell bunny.

    I trust many reading this will identify with the problem of having LOTS of genealogy and family history information and a need for organizing it. It's an ongoing effort, so we must keep at it. It probably never will be completed for most of us, because we keep reaching out for new stuff. That keeps you thinking about those neat piles of paper that are still there. Is genealogy an obsession? May be.
    [Sat, Oct 11, 1997 - PDP]

  6. TRANSITION IN THE HANDLING OF CONTENT
    The two publications I produce provide a different approach to sharing PEERY family genealogy and histories. A gradual shift is taking place from the Newsletter to the Home Page, moving toward greater use of the World Wide Web and HTML presentations. This will result in fewer issues and a smaller Newsletter via e-mail to members of Peery Cousins Online, with a shift to additional information for the Home Page.

    The Home Page has been the main source of surfer contact. The Newsletter Online is a supplement. Search engines on the Web enable people to find the Home Page, where the focus is on TEXTUAL HISTORIES and WRITTEN INFORMATION. The page is not meant to be a skeletal genealogical data site. Selected links to other sites with such information are provided, however.

    Importantly, genealogical databases are being maintained offline that derive added information from the Newsletter. Various genealogical software programs are being widely used by PCO members. Several are in-depth by nature and are extremely valuable as a research source. For that reason, the Newsletter is an essential link between the Home Page and the offline databases. Databases could be added to the Home page, but byte space is a limitation, at least for now. Accordingly, linking to selected Web sites enhances the value of the Home Page.

    Anyone with Peery and Peery-related textual histories who is willing to share, is invited to submit their content to me. I will read it, consider its appropriateness and reply with comments. Adding the piece to the Home Page might then follow, after some format editing. Submit to:
    Editor - Peery Family History Home Page

    [Thur, Oct 9, 1997 - PDP]

  7. PEERY FAMILY NEWSLETTER ONLINE
    During the fourth quarter 1997, several more delayed-distributions will be made of the Newsletter. These will complete publication in the format as members of Peery Cousins Online (PCO) have known it. In 1998, frequency of the Newsletter will be reduced further, with much of the information being placed on the Home Page. The Newsletter will be reduced in size and will likely have a narrower focus. Genealogical queries will likely remain significant as content.
    [Tue, Oct 6, 1997 -- PDP]

  8. WELCOME TO COMMENTARY - NEW!
    "Commentary" is an editorial page that begins today. It will serve as a means for providing information to visitors to this site beyond the content of the overall purpose of the site. Here is where considerations and plans for ongoing development can be shared with the interested reader.

    There is a need for providing information from selective sources, including e-mail messages, for others to see online. The process of handling this information may change, but the idea is germane to the usefulness of this site. I am exploring tools that can be used for enhancing communications.

    Changes to improve the information flow on this Web page are an ongoing consideration. I find that constant improvements and added data-flow are essential for making a site viable, to maintain its overall value. Like any media tool, there must be useful content and action to maintain interest and an audience.

    The work done here is the result of a long-time interest in Peery Family history. It is a hobby for me that at times has become an obsession, which needs to be toned down. While I may follow the path of adding bunches of data at a time, the reader eventually sees there is something worthwhile here for him/her to return time and again to find it.

    This page began in February 1996, now nearing 20 months on the Net. I like how it has developed, and intend to keep moving toward improvements. My enthusiasm for maintaining it has not been lost over the months. A revamping of priorities, however, places it higher on my list of interests so that it can receive the attention it deserves. I also have added Pentium and Windows 95 technology that will permit me to revamp the site over time.

    The "Peery Family History Home Page" has been found by many persons, who have chosen to request membership in Peery Cousins Online. Growth in membership has resulted from the presence of this Web page. This growth, however, has required an inordinate amount of time. For that reason, there is a need to make changes, which are being implemented, brick-by-brick.

    Thanks to all those who have written to let me know how this site has been useful to them. Suggestions for improving the site will be considered.
    [Thur, Oct 2, 1997 - PDP]
Editor - Peery Family History Home Page
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