REQUIRED ITEMS
• Name of Division and Chapter (be sure to include Division affiliation on Chapter web sites)
• Links to Division (www.ncudc.org) and General Web sites (www.hqudc.org)
• Correct use of Insignias and Forms (guidelines listed below)
SUGGESTED ITEMS
• NC Division Insignia (or General insignia as long as the registered trademark symbol is included and nothing appears above or on the same level as the General insignia)
• May include contact information (e-mail and snail mail addresses and/or telephone numbers only with the permission of each individual named)
• List of officers (with contact information if appropriate permissions have been obtained)
• Listing of members and their e-mail addresses (with appropriate permissions)
• Calendar of upcoming events (with links to pertinent Web sites, if any exist)
• Articles about Chapter activities, Confederate topics, or other issues of interest to members.
DO NOT use confederate symbols used by other socialites or groups, such as the confederate rose.
• Heritage violation alerts
• List of links to other Web sites (be sure to include a disclaimer somewhere on your site stating that the presence of a link does not imply endorsement, approval, or concurrence by the United Daughters of the Confederacy on any level.)
Remember that Web sites are accessible to the general public. A UDC site should not include anything that could be considered proprietary information or that would reflect poorly on the Organization as a whole. The current PC climate is not favorable to the promotion or celebration of Confederate heritage; UDC Webmasters should therefore strive to avoid giving detractors anything that could be subverted and used against the Organization or its members. In other words, dirty laundry should not be aired on the World Wide Web.
USE OF GENERAL INSIGNIA/FORMS
If a Chapter wishes to use the General Insignia or the NC Insignia on its Web site, it must apply to the President General or Division President (as applies) in writing for permission. If a site does not comply with the Web guidelines established by the General Organization or Division, permission to use the General insignia and/or NC Insignia may be denied. Although the General Organization and Division will never deny a Chapter permission to create and maintain a Web site, it must safeguard the integrity of its insignias by insuring that they do not appear on any site that misrepresents the stated aims and purposes of the UDC Organization. The decision of the President General or Division President (as applies) in these matters will be final.
A Chapter may not place or host on its Web site any forms that are devised or used by the General Organization to carry out the business of the UDC. The General Organization is responsible for ensuring that the most up-to-date, accurate versions of all its forms are made available to the membership, either by selling them through the Business Office, publishing them in The UDC Magazine, or posting them on the General Web site. There are several reasons for this restriction.
1. A Chapter may not always know when a particular form has been updated or revised and thus may be offering an outdated or incorrect version of that form.
2. A Chapter may unwittingly introduce typographical or factual errors into its version of a form that would render it unusable by the membership.
The General Organization thus reserves to itself the right to place General forms online. Chapters are permitted and encouraged to provide links from their sites to forms on the General Web site. If a Chapter wishes to post forms on its Web site that are specific to the Chapter, it may do so at the discretion of the Division President and Website Committee.
Forms that may not be placed on Chapter Web sites include (but are not limited to) UDC/CofC membership application forms, supply order forms, Winnie Davis and Jefferson Davis Historical Gold Medal application forms, engraved and non-engraved insignia order forms, ancestor research request forms, the Education Circular, and Military Service Award applications.
CHOOSING A HOME FOR YOUR SITE
Many companies offer Web site space. Some provide it for free; others charge an annual fee. Check your local newspaper or television station for an ISP (Internet service provider) near you.
There are some drawbacks to so-called “free” space. ISPs that provide space at no cost to the user often require that a site carry advertising banners over which the user has no control. Although there is no official prohibition against using such ISPs, think carefully before allowing your site to be hosted by a company that could force you to promote something you’d rather not be promoting. AOL does not require advertising banners as a condition of service.
Paying a nominal fee for a site (if your Chapter is willing) may prove to be a wise investment in the long run. If you experience technical difficulties with your site, being a paying customer may get you better (and speedier) service.
LEARNING HTML
You can learn it on the Web, you can buy a book, or you can invest in a program that will do most of it for you. Web-based tutorials are the least expensive route; buying a program is at the opposite end of the cost spectrum. Whichever you choose, learning HTML is not difficult. Grade schoolers are putting up their own Web sites these days; if they can do it, you can do it! If you run into snags, you can always e-mail the UDC Web consultant or contact your Division Website Committee.
GRAPHICS
Pretty pictures make any Web site nicer to visit. You’ll probably want to include some on yours. Just be sure that if you borrow one from another Web site, you get the written consent of the site owner before putting it on your page. And be sure to give credit where credit is due (including a link back to the site where you found it). The same applies to MIDI files. (Make sure to identify the tune on your page, too -- unless you want to spend the rest of your life answering “what’s that song?” e-mails.)
Three more words of caution about graphics. First, don’t use too many of them; they can detract from the main purpose of your site, which is to promote your Chapter. Second, make sure that the ones you do use aren’t gigantic. Some visitors to your site will have slow modems; if it takes your images forever to load, they’ll get tired of waiting and go elsewhere. Bigger is not necessarily better. Third, animated graphics are cute but get old real fast. If you simply can’t resist, by all means, go ahead, but remember that they can distract the viewer subconsciously and may shorten the time he/she spends browsing your site.
KEEP YOUR SITE FRESH
Your job doesn’t end once your site is online. Unless you keep updating and adding new material, people will quit coming. Be aware of what’s going on in your State (and around the country) and include any appropriate information on your page. Develop a network within your Division so you’ll know what Chapters are sponsoring interesting events, and make sure someone sends you photographs and write-ups. Aside from being a reliable source of information for Chapter and Division members, your site can also serve as a wonderful PR tool for the UDC as a whole by showing the world we’re not all blue-haired tea drinkers!
NOTE: If you move your site to a new ISP, be sure to notify the NC Division Website Committee of the change and ask that your URL be updated. Visitors hate broken links, and there’s no excuse for having them!
CONSULT WITH THE APPROPRIATE DIVISION AUTHORITY
When it comes to what goes on your Web, your Division President and Website Committee has the final say. Be sure to run anything and everything past the appropriate person or entity before going public with it. Chances are your President or Website Committee Officers has been in the UDC a long time and will have six different slants on a proposed article/site that would never have occurred to you. Put that experience to good use!
When you submit your Chapter site to the Division President and Website Committee for approval and linkage from the NC Division Web site, be sure to mail a Website approval form so they will know that the site has been seen and okayed by the appropriate Chapter authority. The site will not be reviewed until this written documentation has been received.
NOTES: The General Web site links only to Division Web sites. Links to individual NC Chapters will only appear on the NC Division Web site.
Chapters do not need permission from the Division or General to create and maintain Web sites. However, if a Chapter site is to be linked from the Division site, it MUST meet the criteria set forth in these guidelines.
Revised for NC Chapter use September 25, 2003