Help/FAQ

The Idea behind this Site
Viewing
Submitting Entries
How to Edit an Entry
How to Scan for this Site
Submitting text
Deleting a Family Tree Entry
Help in writing an Oral History

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The Idea
The idea behind the site is simple: people interested in Kythera can view material and submit their own material to share with others. The site is free for all to use and has been funded independently by various organisations and individuals connected to the island.
As previously mentioned, the viewer can easily become a contributor - instructions as to how to submit can be found below. We hope that the system we are developing is easy to understand but if you are having trouble with any part of it then just send us an email at [email protected].

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Viewing
You do not need to be registered to view the entries. Simply click in the sections and categories on the left. In most cases a second column will appear to the right of the category which contains the names of the various entries. Click on one of those and you can view it.

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Submitting Entries
If you aren't already registered with the site (a free and easy process) It is necessary to perform the easy registration process before you submit entries to this site. In the "Login" box at the top left of this page the word "register" is underlined and in brackets. Simply click on it and fill in the short form titled "New User". (We will never pass on your name or email address to anyone for any reason). Once you have clicked on the "submit" button you will be sent an email which has a "link" in it. Click on it (or copy it into your browser address area and click on the return key) and the registration process is complete. If you wish to log-in again in future you only need to enter your email address and password.

Once registered you can submit entries to almost any part of the site. Just go to the category and you will find the underlined link "Add to ......" in the top right hand corner. Upon clicking on this you will be presented with a form which will accept the details of your entry. If you are submitting a photo you click on "Choose file" and select the photo on your computer (for how to scan a photo for the site, see below). When the form is completed press "submit" and your entry will be presented to you one last time for checking. Then either click on "OK" if all is well or "back to edit" to modify your entry. The administrators also get a copy of your submission by email, usually to their great delight.

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How to Edit an Entry
If you have already submitted an entry and wish to edit it simply log on with your email and password, then click on "Your Personal Page" in the navigation on the left. There you will see a list of all your entries. Click on any one of them and you can edit it.

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How to scan for this site
This website is capable of taking almost any picture saved as a jpeg (a digital format which your scanner software can produce). That said, it is still better if the scan you submit is sized correctly, otherwise it might take much longer to upload than necessary. So here is the format which you should try to achieve:

Format:
72 dpi (dots per inch) resolution
landscape: 27 x 20 cm or
portrait: 20 x 27 cm

alternately:
72 dpi
780 x 570 pixels

If you have any questions about scanning or optimalising your pictures, or if you have a large collection you would like us to upload for you, you can contact us via:
[email protected]

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Question: "How do I actually send the entry to the site without having to type the whole thing out again. My entry has a photo and text. I thought that all I had to do was to attatch it directly from my computer".

Answer: You copy the text from your text-program into the text box on the submit page - takes about 3 seconds. If you aren't familiar with the process, here's how you do it. You open the text you want to submit in whichever program you wrote it in (Microsoft Word?). So that document is open. Then you open your browser (internet explorer?), log-in to the site, go to the category where you want to submit and click on the "add to..." link at the top right of the page. Then you are in the submission form. You go back to your text program and select the text you want to copy by pulling the mouse cursor over the text or by pressing control+"a" (selects all). Then you switch back to the internet browser program, click in the text box, and "paste" the copied text into it (control+"v"). The text should then appear in the box. If you want to place the picture with the text, simply click on the "add an image" button under the text box and you can upload it. Fill in the rest of the form and click on submit. It will show you how the entry will look on site and you can either OK it or go back to edit it.

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Question: "I've added a person in my family tree more than once. How can I delete the entries?".

You can delete unwanted entries in your own family tree by:
1. logging on
2. clicking on "your personal page" in the main navigation on the left
3. clicking on "Your Family Tree" which now also appears in the navigation on the left
4. Checking the delete boxes next to the unwanted names
5. Clicking on the submit button at the bottom of the page.


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Help in writing an Oral History
Here are some questions which might come in handy if you are writing your life story or interviewing someone about theirs. It is adapted for this site from a list compiled by Heather Venn.


1. Your Birth
- Where and when were you born?
- Was there anything special about that day?
- Were you born on the way to hospital or in the family home?
- Are there any anecdotes about you as a baby?
- Did you have any health problems or were you particularly lively as a baby or toddler?
- Are there any significant or funny family stories surrounding your birth or early childhood?


2. Your Family
- What do you know about your parents and grandparents?
- What were their names and nicknames?
- Do you know where and when they were born?
- What did they look like?
- Did anything exciting happen to them?
- How many brothers and sisters do you have?
- Were you born into a large family or were you the only child?
- Can you remember your first family home?
- What was your childhood like?
- Did you have to share a room with your brothers of sisters?
- Can you remember what it was like?
- How have your relationships with your siblings and parents developed over the years?


3. Home
- Where did you grow up?
- Did you move house, to another city, another state, or another country?
- What was It like to move?
- What was your favourite home town?
- What was it like growing up where you did?
- What were the people in your home town like?
- What did your home look like?
- What changes did you notice over time?


4. Childhood
- When did you first go to school?
- What school did you go to?
- Who was your best friend when you were small?
- Was school a positive experience for you?
- What did you do during the school holidays?
- Did you play sport?
- What toy was all the rage when you were at school?
- Did you learn to dance?
- Did you have any favourite toys?
- What were your favourite books?
- What work did your parents do?
- Did you help them?
- Do you remember any extreme weather you experienced as a child?


5. Animals
- Did you have any animals around the house or in the fields?
- Did you help with them?


6. Special Events
- Do you have any memories of Christmas Day or Easter?
- Did you go to church?
- Did you have a special family traditions?
- Did you visit relatives for special events or holidays?
- How did they celebrate their special days?
- What was the rest of the community's reaction to your family's special celebrations?
- Did your family have a special tradition all of its own?
- Did you go on holiday to a special summer/winter place where your family went?
- What was your favourite New Year's Eve?
- Where did you go?
- Who was with you with?


7. Teen years
- What can you remember about becoming a teenager?
- Did you grow quickly or did your school mates sprout up before you?
- Did you cruise through puberty or was it a difficult time for you?
- What secondary school did you go to?
- What differences did you notice about the kids around you?
- Did you settle in easily?
- Did you find study difficult?
- What were your favourite subjects?
- Who were your favourite teachers?
- Did you play sport for your school?
- Who was your first boyfriend/girlfriend?
- Did you ever get to the movies as a child?
- What movies did you watch that you remember fondly?
- What did you do for entertainment?
- Did you listen to radio?
- Were you interested in the fashions of your day?
- Did you wear clothes that are funny to look at now?
- Are they back in fashion?


8. Adulthood
- What was your first job?
- Did you enjoy your job?
- What career did you hope to have?
- What was the best/worst job you ever had?
- When did you move out of home?
- Did you travel?
- Who was your first love?
- When did you marry - do you remember the first time you met?
- What was the first home you owned like?
- Did you join any community or political organisations?
- Did you continue or return to study?
- What changes in career path did you choose to take them?
- When did you decide if you wanted to become a parent?
- What were your reasons?
- What other life decisions did you make as an adult, that was different from how you were raised?
- Did your beliefs change, as you grew older?


9. Migration (If you or your parents migrated)
- When was the decision made to migrate? Did you want to stay?
- Did your whole family come?
- Where did the journey start and where did you stop on the way?
- What was the journey like?
- Where did it end?
- What were the first reactions upon seeing the new country?
- Were relatives awaiting you?
- Did you feel welcome?
- What did you do in the first few days after the arrival?


10. Highlights
- What were the most wonderful experiences of your life? (falling in love, getting married, children being born, winning something, helping someone, meeting someone?).


11. Tragedies
- Do you remember the most difficult moments in your life? Would you like to reveal them?


12. Differences
What cultural differences did your family have from mainstream society?
Did you experience a culture clash?
What cultural traditions did you follow?
Did you experience greater difficulties, as you grew older?
Did you embrace your family's traditions or rebel?


13. Your Wisdom
- What experiences have made you who you are?
- What things have you learned which you would like to pass on to the reader of your biography?
- Experiences about family, friends, money, expectations, life?


14. Friends
- Try to remember as many of your friends as you can.
- If you have any school photos, go through them and try to remember their names, then try to remember something about them.
- Who were your schoolyard friends?
- Who were your work friends?
- Who were your special friends?
- Did you lose contact with some friends and then meet up with them years after?
- Did you become friends again?
- Think about the friends you have today and compare them to the friends of your past.
- How different or similar are they?


15. Conclusion
- How would you sum up your life?
- What would you like to be remembered for?