OpenGen.net?!?

Submitted by Anthony Quinn on March 22, 2009 - 5:59pm

For about a year now, we have been re-imagining OHGen.net and thinking about what steps we should to fulfill its potential as a high quality resource for genealogical research.

Our priority is to create a site where individuals can freely share genealogy information, and we are currently developing a platform which will allow that.

We've also changed our site name to "OpenGen.net". It is shorthand for "Open Genealogy" and stands for our commitment to open access to genealogical materials for all researchers.

I must point out that all of the OHGen links you might have pointed to our site will still work and will still link to the same information they did before. Although we would certainly appreciate if you update your links to "opengen.net", it is not really necessary.

You may also be able to tell that there are a few changes to the site. This is the shortlist of what I can remember doing.

  1. New style/design. This is a work in progress, but my intention is for the site to have a text on paper type of look to it, and for the design to be as simple and efficient as possible.
  2. Added text links to the states and federal district on the front-page.
  3. Redesigned the front-page image map to be more clear.
  4. Instead of the front-page links going directly to a vital record search page, the link now goes to the state page with a link for the vital record search page. The reason for this is that we want to add new research material and tools on these pages to expand the usefulness of the site.
  5. Lists of newly created content on each page. In a few weeks time, there will be different lists based on which state's page a person is looking at.
  6. Reorganization of text. Keep in mind though that all links are the same, and the same vital record search links are still found in the same place as before.

I have always been humbled by the fact that this site has been used and enjoyed by so many people. We are committed to creating a more engaging and valuable user experience in the days and months ahead.