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This is the text of the GeneaBank project. This project concerns especially the french world of the genealogy...But it can be a model for other countries... Why not a world GeneaBank ?

You can print it and submit it in the association(s) you are.

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Objective

The Genealogical societies have made indices and transcribed many of the parish or solicitors registers. These works are not always available for all. The internet is a fabulous tool to enable everybody to reach these works.

The internet is easy to access, cheap, even free (in the libraries, the Supermarkets...) A Genealogical society can easily place its databases on Internet for free: many organizations offer free space to the independent people or for non-profit organizations. Often the organizations don't wish to offer their data without anything in return. We propose to build a system that will permit to the associations to put their data on Internet with easy access for the genealogists, but also with a return for the societies. The idea is to create an unofficial economy just for genealogists.

Principles

To built a system on the LETS principle (Local Exchanges Trading Systems): http://www.personal.u-net.com/~gmlets/, the local exchange systems. The principle of the local exchange systems is to create an exchange unit. This unit allows the members of a community to exchange services without exchanging any money.

An individual , A proposes a service, pays with the LETS currency for a B individual, himself paid by a C individual for another service, etc...

In the LETS, the members begin with a 0 account and may have negative accounts, in some limits. This systems works good as long as it's not too big.

The GeneaBank project is a little bit different, as there would be only positive accounts with an exchange unit created in return of the parish or solicitors registers.

A Genealogical society would give all of its data, which will be available through this system. The records are deposited in a bank. In return, the societie's account is credited with a number of points proportional to this deposit. For instance, the associations deposit the 500000 marriages of an area, and receive in return 500000 points.

This is an example of how these points can be used: The society supplies points to its subscribers, for instance 1000 points for each one, by a credit transfer on its members account. The member of the Genealogical society consults the database on Internet: For instance, he finds 5 interesting entries and decides to look at them: in that case, the system debits its account of 5 points and credits the association's 5 points. This system allows to the members of Genealogical societies to consult the data of its society or of another one... That's only an example: the society may do what it wants with these points: selling them against services (perusals for instance) or other things.

The advantages

For the Genealogical societies:

-to recover adherents and extra resources: indeed, to come in the system, you need to get points, distributed by the associations.
-to pay the volunteers who do perusals.

For the genealogists:

-to reach the databases with a low cost
-to create an exchange currency , that you can re-use to sell other services (help between genealogists, paleography,...)

The Organization

A server posts the accounts and manages the transactions in a secure and open way, with means of control for all. This server is independent of the server containing the data, to avoid fraud. To begin and start the system, we propose to the societies a free accommodation for their data: they don't pay anything, for development or accommodation. The data could be indexed on GENEANET, to obtain a central access point.

The rules

-the points creation can only be issued in return of submitting data: parish or solicitors registers. that means for instance that gedcom banks don't create points.

Each one can:

-sell his own data through this system -create automatically an account on Geneabank
-do credit transfers from an account to another
-The system is completely free and doesn't keep any commission on the transactions
-The societies do what they want with the points: gift to the adherents, sell...
-A society that wants to go out of the system must return its points
-There's no exclusive rights in participating to the system.
-The association may propose on the same server a financial payment like Cybercash or GeneaBank points.

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A Mailing list is now running thanks to the IIGS (International Internet Genealogical Society). To subscribe to the lists requires that email be sent to the address that controls a given list. For example to subscribe to IIGS-GENEABANK-EN-L send:

To: IIGS-GENEABANK-EN-L-request@rootsweb.com (English version. Individual messages)

Subj: .

subscribe

To: IIGS-GENEABANK-EN-D-request@rootsweb.com (Digest of daily messages)

Subj: .

subscribe

If anything appears below the subscribe such as a signature the request will be rejected and a help file will be sent, because the server does not understand what you want.

If you just want to give your opinion about the project, without subscribing to any ML, you can just send a message at this adress: IIGS-GENEABANK-EN-L@rootsweb.com