Currently, only the webmaster can add new people records, but anyone can edit them once they are created. Any changes are effective immediately but are queued to the webmaster for later approval. The webmaster may amend the changes in any manner he deems appropriate.
To request that a new person or organization be added, see this screen.
Records on individual people are edited by going to that page and clicking "Edit Information Above" in the top section (or by selecting "Edit This Person" from the list at the bottom of the page and pressing "Your Options").
First Name - This person's most commonly used first name(s). E.g.: Use "Bill" instead of "William" if that is how most people refer to him. Middle names or initials are allowed only if they are more commonly used than the first and last names alone.
Main Role - This person's best known role in our fields of interest, limited to a single line. Use a minumum number of words, and separate multiple roles by semicolons. The language should be neutral, and both supporters and opponents should be able agree with it.
Location - This person's place of residence or work, or the headquarters location of the organization. If this person is deceased, use the location where they llast ived or were most strongly associated with during their lifetime.
Home Page - Official, authorized home page of this person or organization, specified as a link number. Usually, the value in this field is "1" and the link for the home page appears at the first entry in the link list.
Photo - Insert the URL for an existing .jpg or .gif file containing the best known portrait of this person. The photo may be anywhere on the web. The width and height of the original photo, in pixels, should be entered in the appropriate fields just below. (This allows the photo to be sized correctly on our page.) If the size of the photo is already small enough for our page, the height and width can be left blank.
Photo Host - If you have provided a URL for a photo, then you must also provide a URL for the HTML page which originally links or displays this photo on its original website. (In the final page, clicking on the photo will take you to that page. This mechanism provides an acknowledgement of the photo's original source.
Aliases - Other names that a person has used. They may include nicknames that are not obvious, married/maiden names and legitimate name changes, as well as names used for deliberate deception. Do not include email names or on-line "handles" unless they are part of a deliberate deception or are known outside the Internet.
The format for aliases is "Lastname, Firstname" with multiple names being separated by semicolons. Sources may be given in the same format as those for relationships and topics (see below), by inserting text in parentheses immediately following the name. Example:
Additional Search Terms - Any search terms that help yield documents specifically about this person when plugged into popular search engines. This is especially useful with people who have common names like "John Smith." Since the common name yields no useful results, it may be useful to add something to it, like "John Smith MUFON" or "Smith abduction".
Multiple search terms are separated by semicolons, e.g.:
The final page will automatically include web searches based on a person's name, so the name alone should not be entered in this field, only the name with something added.
Career - This person's profession or primary financial support. Their former profession may also be included.
Initially, only a single line is provided on the editing screen for each relationship and topic field. However, there is no technical limit to the number of keywords that can be entered in each field. (You can keep entering text beyond the length of the displayed field.) If you enter multiple keywords in any one field, then in subsequent editing sessions, the field will be expanded to multiple lines for easier editing.
Each new keyword added to a topic or relationship field must include a footnote in parentheses immediately following the keyword. This footnote substantiates you selection by providing a explanation or reference.
Each keyword entered in a topic or relationship field automatically creates a reciprocal entry in the page for that topic or person. For example, when you enter "abduction" in the UFO Topics field for John Jones, then "John Jones" will automatically appear on the topic page for Abduction. Likewise, if you indicate on the Jones page that he has a certain relationship with Smith, the Jone will automatically show up in Smith's page as well. The change is made immediately, and if you later delete a relationship or topic, it will be removed in the reciprocal record as well.
Topics. For any topic field, you can select "these options" for a list of available topics for that field. Once you have reviewed this list, return to the previous screen to enter the topics you want. (You can enter either the full topic keyword or its number on the list.)
A person is assigned a topic only when they have conducted significant research in it, as evidenced by articles or other published works, or when they are strongly associated with this topic in the public arena. A person is not assigned a topic simply because he has voiced an interest in it. Each topic assignment must be substantiated with a footnote. (See below.)
Relationships. See Guide to the People Pages for a description of the available relationship catagories. A relationship entry is justified simply because a person knows another. There must be a significant connection, as justified substantiated with a footnote.
In the editing screen for each person, these fields are entered by typing in the file code of the other person. (The file code is usually the person's last name in lowercase.) Multiple file codes are separated by single spaces. The order within each field is not important, because names are automatically alphabetized.
The format of footnotes is identical in each case: The footnote is enclosed in parentheses immediately after the keyword or text it refers to. The footnote is in one of several formats, each of which is displayed differently in the final page.
All new keywords must include footnotes. This provides "proof" that a relationship exists or that a the appropriate topic has been assigned to this person. If you do not have enough information for a footnote, then the keyword should not be used.
The simplest form of footnote is a sentence enclosed in parentheses immediately following the keyword. E.g...
In the final displayed page, the sentence in parentheses is replaced by a footnote number, and the sentence itself is placed in a footnote section below.
Footnotes can also provide a link or a print reference, which are usually more useful than a link alone.
Remember that the same footnote will appear in both people's pages, so be sure it makes sense in both pages. (That is why we said "Smith" and "Jones" explicitly.) Please add your initials in to the end of the footnote so we know who wrote it. (Someday, this will be done automatically.)
Since parentheses () mark the beginning and end of the footnote, you can't use them inside the footnote itself.
This creates a hot-link to the URL stored at entry #3 on Smith's page, where some part of the document describes the relationship between Smith and Jones. The part of the footnote before the '#' is the URL of the page minus the 'http://' and server name. It must begin and end with '/'.
As a shortcut, you can also provide just the link number if the entry is on the current page...
The '#3' will automatically be translated into '/people/s/smith/#3'
The source page for the link can be any index page on our server. Decimal numbers are allowed to indicate subentries...
(We do not allow foreign URLs to be entered directly, because they are subject to change. By specifying the link entry instead, the system can automatically correct the URL if it is changed in the link entry.)
To be recognized by our system, this kind of footnote must begin with either '/' or '#'.
This creates a link to a book in our catalog with the product code 'remote' (which in this case is "Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies"). The number after the ':' is the page number in the book where the relationship between Smith and Jones is described.
A single page number is the only thing allowed after the colon. If you need to give a longer description of what is in the book, use the Print References system. (More)
A page number is recommended, but if you don't have one or if the entire book indicates the relationship, then you can leave the page number off...
To be recognized by our system, this kind of footnote must begin with '$'.
In this case, we are indicating that Smith has studies Alien Abduction claims but has declared that they are false. (Here we use 'skeptic' in the popular sense of one who actively disbelieves.)
Footnotes of 3 words or less are displayed with the entry and are not placed in a separate section like longer footnotes.
Note that the same sourcing mechanism applies both to relationships and topics. For example, to indicate that Smith is an active skeptic of the Roswell Incident, use...
UFO Geographical Case: us/nm/roswell(skeptic|#3)
Some short footnotes you might want to consider: skeptic, witness, practioner, member, funding, now estranged, married, family, abductee, self, etc.
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The one-word footnote "self" has a special meaning
in relationships. It indicates
that the subject of the page has himself reported this information.
You are allowed to use this footnote only if you
are the main person on this page.
(Obviously, no one knows better than you what your
relationships are.)
When a reciprocal footnote is created for the other person
in a relationship, the word "self" is changed to "other"
to indicate that it is the other person who is reporting.
"Self" is sufficient substantiation for relationships but not for topics, where a print or link reference is usually required. |
As a matter of style, these short footnotes should be all lowercase. Also, remember that any word or phrase you use must make sense on both sides of the relationship.
Although there is no technical limit to the number of footnotes, in practice you should try to limit them to two or three per entry -- just enough to specify the relationship and show that it exists.
Links and print references are preferred over text footnotes. If a text footnote is used, it may be no longer than one sentence, and it should end with your initials in brackets.[gc]
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Created: 11/15/97
Last Modified: 11/15/97
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Created: 11/15/97