Using the Family Website

This is the primary portal into a set of genealogy sites dedicated to our family history. This main site is the repository for helpful guides, tips, useful links, and other material to aid you in your r esearch on all of the collateral family branches. It is the family research reference library.

You'll find a set of three buttons at the top of the page labeled: Genealogy Database, Family Discussion, and Family Blog. These are the three main tools of the Riddick & Lapina Family Website.

Genealogy Database is the place to go to find details about an ancestor's life, such as birth, death, and marriage dates. Details about living persons, or persons that have not been assigned a date and are older than 110 years, are not visible to the public. Only registered, approved users of the Genealogy Database can see details about living persons. You do not have to log in to the database, but if you want to see details of living persons, you must be logged in. I have disabled the ability for anyone but myself to update, add, or delete data in the database. Once I am comfortable with the database operation, I may permit registered users to submit new data, photos, and updates for inclusion. Until then, please enjoy the read-only data. If you have material to submit, please use the Family Discussion to post it.

Family Discussion is a forum for family members and other family researchers to exchange information and ideas as well as to coordinate family events like reunions and visits. The Family Discussion functions just like most of the other discussion forums you might be familiar with on the Internet. The difference here is that to post a message or make a comment, you must be a registered user in Family Discussion. This enables us to control who posts on the forum and helps prevent spam and other obnoxious material from being posted to our family site.

Family Blog is a standard Web blog where I will post my thoughts and other information for family members to read and comment on. The Family Blog is also protected by requiring anyone who wants to post a comment to be a registered user. Once I approve your account request, you will be able to comment on any blog notes I post. Unlike the Family Discussion, registered users cannot create new blog posts, they can only comment on existing posts. I will use the Family Blog for posting my thoughts and opinions about genealogy, our family history, and anything else associated with our family. Please use the Family Discussion to initiate your own threaded discussions on any family topic you wish. Just try to keep it pertinent to family history, events, or genealogy.