The Birth of IIGS™ -- A Personal View
by Camilla von Massenbach



Day 1 - 16 May 1997

Message from Dr. Brian Leverich hits the Internet. About 300 people join the mailing list.

Why are we here? The message is inspiring: unite the Globe; connect all genealogists; save records for posterity; transcribe them; distribute them. Messages fly around the World. Here, in London, time is suspended, my children forgotten. I have to be involved.



Day 2 - 17 May 1997

How do we organise? Aha, there is a website. We can see who has volunteered for what. We can reread Brian's message. We can view different names and logos at our leisure - sorry, did I say leisure? No sitting back here - another 20 e-mails have arrived. Everywhere, the message is "Just do it." People are volunteering, the legal process of registering us as a non-profit entity is already underway. It seems people from Canada, UK, Germany, Mexico, France and Greece have subscribed to the list. But there are already worries about the scale of the task we have taken on. Is it possible to do so much? Can we become international enough to attract a global membership? But we must be multi-lingual too. I have to stop and consider. No, we can do it, we have a vision, the Internet provides the way.



Day 3 - 18 May 1997

This morning, there are well over 100 waiting e-mail messages. We have our own space on Rootsweb, later the same day, we go live there. While some sleep, others, somewhere else in the world, are thinking, reading, writing, beginning to organise. Where else but the Internet could this happen? I've not experienced this before. Teams are forming, the translators are discussing whether the automatic language translation packages work at all. How do we manage the teams? People are signing up by the hour, with their ideas and offering their skills. How to structure without an imposed formal structure. It seems to me it is happening naturally. There may be some argument and some overlap at first, but I have confidence that it will sort itself out. So, which teams to join? Where can I help? Is everyone wondering the same thing? I decide to volunteer to coordinate the UK-end of the Global Village and contribute my European slant. Everyone else is so talented maybe I can be useful with my own biased viewpoint. Serious questions are coming up. What does "International" mean? How can we spread the word? - We need translators, but what languages should we start with? The important thing is to include, not exclude, but if we leave any language out, will we be excluding them? On the other hand, pragmatically, how many languages can we actually support? The prospect is daunting. Behind the scenes, more discussion is taking place. Daryl Lytton conceives of the Talent Pool, there to give everyone an opportunity to join in and find their niche. Various ways to communicate are discussed. Chat rooms are an option. Joanne Rabun updates the organisational chart.

People are slotting in. It's good to know who to talk to about an idea. Meanwhile, the name debate rages unabated: IIGS™/DIGS/WIGS/GIGS and so the list continues. It must cross language frontiers, that's important. Then Brian Leverich formally uses the phrase 'Just do it.' I do wonder if I am brave enough to just launch in. Well, I've not been flamed for my ideas yet, it is a risk though. Will my feelings be hurt? Do I care? I'm not sure. Some people, it seems, are flaring up. I hope people can hang in there and remember the reason they joined in the first place. We have different cultures and backgrounds and the power of the written word to communicate, can we cross these barriers? Someone says brainstorming is what this is all about and no one should be personally criticised for an idea. If we can communicate here, there is hope for world peace yet. I am conscious that I've spent about six hours today at the keyboard, but I have another life, too. It must be the same for everyone else. Are they managing? Will we all be burned out by the end of the week?



Day 4 - 19 May 1997

"Slow down a Second" - time to reread our mission. Focus. Jean Smith wrote:

This has an enormous impact on me. It is time to put these ideas into action. In fact, when I really take a look, this is already happening. We need a name. The call is out "Submit your ideas -- voting in a couple of days." The big issue for now. When we have a name, we can start actively getting members, can't we? So, how are we going to vote? The programmers are on the job. STV method and a web page to vote on. The ideas for what we can do and support flow in. We are not there to duplicate other people's efforts, we must be original as well as supportive. I don't think we are ready to be specific on projects, but I hope someone is collecting the ideas. The last call for names has been sent out and names are still flooding in. Most of them are promising. I wonder what to vote for? Also, for how long should the polling page stay open? The consensus seems to be that it should be as short as possible. Without a name, we can't spread the message effectively. Maybe we need our own newsgroup. That is a good way to spread a message. Maybe, but not yet. We can only just cope with the load we've got, let alone inviting thousands of questions on a newsgroup. But, yes, we have the technology for the future.



Day 5 - 20 May 1997

Yet again, my mailbox is crammed with IIGS™ messages. The serious issues continue to be discussed. The USIGS has launched. There are concerns that we are duplicating their aims. Are we sure where we are actually headed? It seems that the USIGS are concentrating on the USA and we are International. We are complementary organisations. What progress are we making? We now have two preliminary sites, we are decided on supporting languages other than English, the "how" is being worked on. We need more volunteer translators. I wish my French and German weren't quite so rusty. The vote on the name is pretty much set up, the voting page is ready. We'll start voting tomorrow. There is some discussion about what STV means. A couple of helpful and not so helpful sites are mentioned, and Fred Rump sent, "Ah, But How Would Dr Seuss Handle This? :-)

WHAT IF DR. SEUSS DID TECHNICAL WRITING?
Smile folks. It's almost time to vote."

Meanwhile, the Public Relations team is having problems talking to each other. My distribution list keeps going awry. What hope is there if I cannot even manage that? In spite of this, the PR team approve their mission statement. Everything needs doing at once, it seems. The pressure has really built to a pitch. People joining the list are confused and don't realise we are less than a week old and we don't have handy answers to everything. We would like them to help with the answers! They complain there is too much e-mail on non-genealogical subjects. Some of them are unsubscribing. We are all working as hard as we can, and could do with some help, so it's especially distressing that we are losing people who might well join in, if they understood what was going on better. Good news for the Global Village - we have a volunteer to help with Scotland, gradually things are moving. The Webmaster's team is already getting down to details as to what sort of pages we should have so as to be able to support as many browsers as possible. The Newsletter, Journal, and PR teams are beginning to compile sources and ideas, ready for use when our name is finalised.



Day 6 - 21 May 1997

My backlog of things to do is growing at an alarming rate. There are just so many messages to read, just to keep up, that I hardly have any time left to "do" anything. Some people are beginning to unsubscribe from some of the lists, so they can manage. This introduces a new problem of how to make sure everyone who wants or needs to know something is told about it. We need liaison people who will bridge the teams. The "How to be International" debate still continues. Again and again it has to be stated for new people that we are International and therefore not in competition with any of the country-specific organisations. Barbara Weaver said "Right now, we're barely an organization ... let alone international. It isn't what we've achieved that makes us call this "international" ... it's what we're striving for." The voting is opened and then closed again. Some candidates were missed from the list. Half an hour later, the polling page is open again. I must remember to reregister my choices. The translators are asking for help, automatic translation programs or much better would be real people volunteers. People are joining teams, and new teams are emerging. The preliminary organisation chart is fast becoming outdated, so it's becoming harder to know who to speak to.



Day 7 - 22 May 1997

We are a week old. It is amazing how much we have achieved. There is still a long way to go, but new concrete things are happening and have happened every day. The Call for Articles for the Newsletter is ready to put on the site. People are joining in their droves; special welcome letters are being worked on, so people don't get completely lost. The Talent Scouts will try to match new members to areas they are interested or have some experience in. We are losing some subscribers, but many of them ask to be told when we are more organised. This is being tracked. Our domain name, IIGS™.org, has been registered. The first version of the translation of the Mission Statement into French is available. The vote is underway, on Saturday we'll have our name. We will make a success of the IIGS™ (how could we not?) with so much enthusiasm, hard work and talent at our disposal.

About the Author: Camilla von Massenbach currently works part-time providing business plans and cashflows for a hi-tech company and previously owned AL Publishing Services in London. She has written public relations materials but this is her first foray into writing for a publication. Camilla is a member of the Cambridgeshire Family History Society and Union des Cercles Genealogiques Lorrains and is co-owner of http://www.links.org.site. Camilla resides in London and is the mother of two small children. She is the IIGS™ Public Relations Liaison to the Publications Staff.

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