The Civil War Circuit

MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA

  

The Civil War Circuit is a Webring which aims to give visitors to its member sites quick and convenient access to other quality Web sites which may be of interest to them. Its entire focus is on the American Civil War/War Between the States (CW/WBTS). Here are the general requirements for membership:

The site must be entirely or principally dedicated to providing information, opinion, or other material about the CW/WBTS. If you have a general-purpose site with one major section devoted to the CW/WBTS, you can place that section in the ring. (The ring code and graphics would be placed on the entry point for the section.)

The site must provide content that makes a visit worth while. It can be information, opinion, music, graphics -- whatever. Sites which have the majority of their supposed content "under construction" will be asked to wait to join the ring until they've gotten their act together. Sites which provide only links lists will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. If the links have been well-researched and are organized and presented so the site is a true "finding tool," the site will be welcome in the ring; otherwise, probably not.

The site must be designed and constructed to a reasonable standard of quality. Everybody ends up with a broken link or two, an HTML fragment, or a couple of typos. But sites with significant problems that get in the way of visitors' enjoyment of the site will not be admitted to the ring. What do I mean by "significant problems"? Some examples: large graphics without HEIGHT and WIDTH tags (making the page an "eternal loader"), an over-large number of broken links, internal pages that won't load, serious HTML errors that make the site difficult to read or navigate, large amounts of spelling errors or bad grammar.

Commercial sites will be welcome in the ring if they conform to the above standards.

Sites will not be admitted to the ring if they violate any of the following restrictions.

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RESTRICTIONS

Here's the first and, I believe, most important restriction. The Civil War Circuit will be operated in strict conformance with the spirit of the following quotation from a fine "fighting general" and staunch defender of the South in the post-war years, Maj. Gen. John Brown Gordon, C.S.A.:

Gordon The unseemly things which occurred in the great conflict between the States should be forgotten, or at least forgiven, and no longer permitted to disturb complete harmony between North and South.... It will be a glorious day for our country when all the children within its borders shall learn that four years of fratricidal war between the North and the South was waged by neither with criminal or unworthy intent, but by both to protect what they conceived to be threatened rights and imperiled liberty; that the issues which divided the sections were born when the Republic was born, and were forever buried in an ocean of fraternal blood.

Let me make this very clear, so there's no misunderstanding. I'm a Pennsylvanian by birth and affection who has lived in the South almost half his life. I have great respect for both parts of the country, and for the people who worked and fought for what they believed in on both sides of the "late unpleasantness." If you don't share that view and your Web site shows it, take it someplace else. It won't end up in this Webring. If you want to bash Yankees or sneer at Southerners, you have every right to do so -- but not in this ring. If you want to promote vicious old stereotypes or advance your "cause" by demeaning others, you won't be doing it here.

Specifically, sites will be refused membership in this ring if they

Promote, encourage, or condone ethnic, racial, religious or sectional animosity or stereotyping, or promote, support, or advertise any group which does.

Use inappropriate or offensive terms of reference for persons of any ethnic, racial, religious, or regional background. (This does not apply, of course, to direct quotations of period speech or writings. We want to understand history, not re-write it.)

Disparage the culture or heritage of any racial, religious or ethnic group, or any section of the country.

In short, if you're not willing to treat those whose backgrounds, heritage and views differ from yours with courtesy and respect, don't bother trying to put your Web site in this ring.

OK, end of sermon. (Sorry about the length of that, but it's a subject about which I have some very strong beliefs.) Now for a couple of other problem areas:

Sites with "adult" or pornographic content or links to such content will not be approved for membership. The Web is a great place for children to explore the history of the war, so I want to keep this ring "G-rated."

Sites will not be admitted if they promote or facilitate illegal activities, such as illegal exchange of "warez," pyramid schemes, etc.

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I reserve the right to refuse membership in the Civil War Circuit to any site which, in my judgment, fails to meet these criteria, and to remove from the Webring any site which ceases to meet them.

Whew! So much for the "dos" and "don'ts." If you feel your site is appropriate for membership in the Civil War Circuit and would like to add it to the ring, please move along to

*  Joining the Ring  *

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Gilda
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