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What's New at SurvivalRing
By Richard A. Fleetwood - May 2001
The SurvivalRing F.A.Q.
As the ability to communicate almost instantaneously anywhere in the world
becomes the norm for the human population in the more civilized nations,
the ease of locating people, places, things, and information is literally
right at our fingertips as the internet brashly rushes into our everyday
existance. Bits and bytes shoot past our sensory nerve centers via
flickering moniters in low-lit, sometimes smoke-filled rooms, and normally
quiet areas somewhere in the backs of our homes and apartments...maybe even
the front seats of our S.U.V'S parked next to the worksite, or if we can,
from our work desk as time allows.
The ability to locate information on literally ANYTHING in existance humbles
those who suddenly come to this realization in a moment of enlightenment.
For those who quickly rush past this thought, and step sharply into
the stream of words, visions, thoughts, and opinions encircling this
globe in strings of light and electrical pulses, grabbing the needed info
for their purpose many times takes getting used to the idiosyncracies of
search engines, boolean routines, and wading thru hundreds, thousands, or
more, hits in a simple search for just that info they are looking for.
Websites, all 400 million and growing, cover all knowledge of human existance,
and then some...and when you just want to know the BEST generator you can
buy based on the experience of those that HAVE them already, finding that
little gem of info make take a while. You know its there, you know
that thousands of folks have that kind of product, and you know that some
of those folks will have an opinion, good or bad, about some of the different
products. You WILL find it, but you don't have any idea exactly how
long it will take. Maybe an hour, maybe fifteen minutes....maybe a week if
you are really persistant.
You have choices about where you might look. Websites are a good place
to start. But many people post messages on a daily basis to the myriad
of newsgroups that exist on news servers all over the world. You can
search them as well, such as thru DejaNews.com. You can even post your own
requests for reviews of products from those who are in the know of whatever
product it is you want to know about. Other possible search areas
might be for news stories, company websites, ftp sites, and many other places.
There is another option. Many years ago, a group of people came up with the
idea of linking their sites together, so that visiters finding a site of
interest to them, could follow links to OTHER sites that covered the same
topics or interests. This linking has evolved thru reciprocal linking,
to banner links, to paid advertising, to banner ads, to all kinds of new
ways. The most unique, and probably most useful, linking method that
is quickly becoming THE way to hook up sites of like minds and goals is called
a WEBRING, and it is here now.
Webrings allow any number of sites to join in a mutual linkage. The
sponser, and provider of some of the software used to make the webring idea
work, Webring.org, has an incredible system in place. With over 85,000
rings in existance, again covering everything under the sun, a visitor can
search using keywords for just the kind of sites they are looking for. If
they are in the mood, they can create their own webring on the system, and
develop their own ideas and hobbies into something new and useful. And
its all free.
This brings us to one particular webring. One that should perk your
ears up and make you sit up straight in your recliner, and maybe even raise
that somewhat slow pulse and bring a flush to your cheeks. You have now entered
the SurvivalRing Zone. Check it out now at
http://www.survivalring.org
What is the SurvivalRing WebRing?
The SurvivalRing webring is a large collection of websites that cover Survival,
Preparedness, and Y2k Issues. Member sites can be either personal sites,
business sites with products to sell, or non-profit group sites.
From the SurvivalRing homepage:
"The
SurvivalRing
is a set of websites with a common interest - to educate and inform individuals
who might want to learn more about the events that shape the world around
us and how to react or prepare for those events- specifically those
events that we as individuals have NO control over in any way, shape, or
form. Events such as natural
disasters (tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanic
eruptions, tsunamis', earthquakes, blizzards, flooding, etc.),
man-made disasters (nuclear plant leaks or explosions,
nuclear attacks, dam breaks, chemical leaks, biohazardous material, etc),
or even terrorist activity (bombings, nuclear threats,
poisoning, nerve gas attacks, biotoxin attacks like anthrax or vx, etc.)
can affect anyone within the range of areas of these events.
How we react to these events, how we prepare for them, and how
we survive, live, and pass thru these events is what our
SurvivalRing is about. We do
not have any grand plans about saving the world -- just ideas and thoughts
about how we can deal with what life gives us and make the best of what we
have been dealt. "
The owner and creator of this particular webring is Richard Fleetwood,
(rafleet@gmail.com), site designer and
author of The Blast Shelter website (http://members.aol.com/rafleet/index.htm).
Richard is normally a nice, clean-cut, outgoing, and very friendly mailman
in a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama. He lives about a half hour out of town
with his wife of 18 years, Annie, and his three home-schooled, wonderful,
intelligent children. Many years of prior experience in the computer
industry, plus vast amounts of time spent reading, writing, programming,
and sharing came together in 1997 to forge the idea for the SurvivalRing.
He spent many long nights searching for and finding all the preparedness
info that he could dig up on the world wide web. Much was useful, some
was dated, and a lot disorganized and not really easily accessable to the
sometimes restless folks who travel the phonelines in search of an info
injection. After creating several pages on different areas of preparing for
'stuff' on his website, teaching himself html, site design, graphics
manipulation, and ftp protocals, and anything else needed for his projects,
he put the SurvivalRing webring online in November of 1997. As he has
since the begining, he is the sole operator of the SurvivalRing and
is known as the Ringmaster of the ring.
What will the Survival WebRing do for the average person who's trying to
prepare?
The SurvivalRing webring makes it easy for
a visitor into the ring to find many sites covering all areas of survival.
Finding info first requires a NEED for that info, then finding sites
that might contain that info. Sites are listed in the SurvivalRing
site in two ways....by simple link, and by full description. The full description
version contains the description of the member website as it was entered
by the webmaster/author of that site when it signed up to join the webring,
as well as the date the site joined the ring, and the name and email
of the creator. This is best way to locate what you might be looking
for. Every page in the SurvivalRing has the SurvivalRing html programming
that contains links to allow a visitor to travel thru every site in
the ring, by just clicking on the 'next site' logo.
How long has the the Survival WebRing been around?
Since November of 1997, the SurvivalRing webring homepage
has logged over 132,000 hits. It is by far the favorite page of my
entire website, and seems to get the most interest from both site owners
and visitors to the sites. I intend for the the site to be around as
long as the WWW stays running, barring y2k problems. ;0
What gave you the idea of of starting the SurvivalRing WebRing?
I created the SurvivalRing to fill a niche, one that
was needed, and one that provided an answer to all those folks who had a
hard time finding what they needed, in the groups that I associated with,
such as those fine folks in the Misc.Survival newsgroup. It also provided
me a challenge to learn some new skills, and educate myself further in the
secrets of the internet. While I have been around computers since the
early 1980's, including running VAX mainframes, running my own bbs for several
years , and guesthosting on now defunct national networks, I had never been
on the internet until the fall of 1996. One may ask why so long, and
it is simple. More important things to do until then. Glad it worked
out this way, since I am very happy with what I have accomplished so
far.
What were the goals that you wanted to accomplish when you started the
SurvivalRing WebRing?
First and foremost in my mind in making the SurvivalRing was to make it simple,
and easy to use. When it was just starting, with just a dozen or two
sites, it was great...easy to run, fun to direct people to, and a useful
tool for web travelers to drop by and visit. It is and has been
that way almost from the beginning (barring a short learning curve on
my part, that is).
Have you accomplished those goals, yet?
Yes, and oh so much more. At this point some
of the biggest, most respected members of the preparedness and survival community
have joined the SurvivalRing. I have made lifelong friends in countries
all over the world thru the ring. Almost every day brings me more email from
folks letting me know that I have helped them thru providing the ring and
its content and members links. I can honestly say that I feel I have
made a difference to the lives of people who have found the SurvivalRing,
and I look forward to much more of the same.
What are your next goals? What can we look forward to in
the future?
I have many big plans for the SurvivalRing webring,
some of which are almost ready as I write this. A larger home for the
site pages, with 10 meg of server space, its own domain name, member message
base, email mailing list, SurvivalRing of Honor section for those member
pages that are TRULY outstanding (chosen on a monthly basis), addition of
a banner page for those sites who want to vie for a little 'extra' attention
from ring visitors, and even some brand new pages that will help those who
wish to 'share what they know' learn how to create a website from scratch
to allow them to become members of the ring. There have even been requests
from members of the ring who wish to advertise on the SurvivalRing
homepage...something I had never considered. I am taking this under
consideration, and reserve the right to add or not in the future. Other
sections will be coming as well, all under the umbrella of the SurvivalRing.
All I can say is 'Stay Tuned...' , it will be worth the wait.
How many web sites are a part of the Survival WebRing?
As I write this in late July 1999, I have just added
site 677 The number of sites that can join ANY webring is theoretically
only limited to the available server space on the Webring.org system. I
am aware of some webrings that number their members in the THOUSANDS (AOL
Members Websites Webring for example). What is so unique with the webring
system, and its administration of the rings by the ringmasters, is that sites
can sign up to join, then move from the holding queue, into the ring, and
out again, with out any affect on regular member websites. The ring effect
enables one to add or remove a site, like adding keys to a loop
keyring. New sites can be inserted into the ring list anywhere by the
adminstrator, and old sites deleted, and no one gets lost while traveling
around the ring. Regarding the SurvivalRing, I take every chance to
mention the ring in posts and emails, and when I come across a site that
looks like a wonderful source of info, I personally send them an invite to
join the ring. Many times these folks will take a peek at the ring
and sign right up. Others will pass. Both are fine with
me.
What sort of survival and preparedness sites are on the Survival
WebRing?
You can find sites on all kinds of topics right
now. One of the more prevalent themes right now is the threat that
Y2K presents to the world at large. Several sites offer products for
sale such as food storage, water filters, storage systems, and all kinds
of supplies and equipment. Many of the personal sites, mine included, offer
personal experiences in all kinds of scenarios or general planning or great
links to much more info on the web.
The main purpose of this webring is TO EDUCATE AND UPLIFT all visitors. This
can be done with stories about personal experiences, links to
useful information, information of historical nature, and all commentary
that provides personal insight to problems that we all face (hopefully with
great suggestions or solutions on how to deal with those
problems). I lean heavily in favor of sites that really have original content
that visitors can use and learn with. Also, commercial sites that
offer tools, supplies, books, training, and the like are welcome here, as
long as the products deal with some facet of preparedness and survival.
For example, this past May, the 8th to be exact,
I was a witness to one of THE worst tornadoes to ever hit the state of Alabama.
An F5 twister hit just 6 miles from my home, traveling 31 miles on
the ground, killing dozens, destroying millions of dollars of homes, churches,
businesses, and property. I heard the whole thing reported first person
on my police scanner, thru my internet connection for radar updates, and
via the phone from my bishop, who called me 20 minutes BEFORE the tornado
touched down to ask me to check the radar to see if it was ok to send
the kids and their families home from the weekly wednesday evening activities
at church. He was aware of the dangerous nature of the approaching
cold front, and knew I could tell him the absolute latest facts about what
and where. In one mere moment, I told him to wait a bit as the storm
was fast approaching, to let the worst stuff pass before letting everyone
out on the road in a blinding rainstorm. I didn't know at that moment
a tornado was about to appear. And I didn't know that one of those
families at church, was about to loose their entire home to the savage winds.
In fact, my wife spent the evening in the genealogy library with one of them.
What happened, where, with whom, and how much are reported on this
one page, as well as much info on how to SURVIVE a tornado no matter where
you are, with links, graphics of safe areas, and more. THIS kind of
page is my favorite thing for the webring....people sharing to help others
avoid the same outcome in a disaster.
I will look closely at what a potential member site offers before admitting
them to the ring. One thing I will NOT allow into the ring are
sites that do the following, as mentioned on the SurvivalRing Homepage:
"Adult material, off-color remarks, racist or bigoted
statements, and information for illegal or immoral acts WILL NOT be
tolerated here."
How does one go about joining?
Joining the SurvivalRing webring is very easy. To join, first you must
have a website, obviously. There is a short form to fill out on the
'Add Your Site' page, after which you will be given a unique SITE ID number
for your site, and then the html code will be generated for you to COPY by
cutting and pasting into your webpage. Go to this URL to sign up.
http://www.survivalring.org/addsurv.htm
There is no cost involved and the only thing you have to do is add a bit
of html code to your page.
Please understand that I am the sole operator and
contact point for this webring. I add, delete, and modify member
site info as needed to maintain smooth operation of this webring. I
fully intend to do this indefinitely as the ring grows and prospers. I decide
who joins the ring, and who doesn't fit into the ring. There are
a few sites I have found out on the web that actually use my SurvivalRing
LOGO, table html data, and even assume the site ID of sites actually
authorized to be in the SurvivalRing webring. If a site happens to
have the above HTML code with the two tornado photos/links, but does NOT
appear in the
INDEX
of sites in the SurvivalRing, then that site is breaking copyright law. Remember,
there is NEVER any cost, obligation, or dues required to join this webring.
This will never change. If you wish to be a part of the SurvivalRing,
truthfully fill out the short form, have a site that fits into the above
topics and categories, and add that little bit of html to your webpage. It
doesn't get any easier, or harder, than that.
Any advice on navigating through the Survival WebRing?
Easy. Go to the SurvivalRing homepage. Read thru the list of
sites and select one. Or , locate the SurvivalRing table logo
with the [previous, next, next 5, etc] links in it, and click on the NEXT
button. You will travel completely around the webring by hitting the
NEXT link on every page you visit. Or, hit RANDOM, and the webring.org system
will select a random site for you to visit. Cool, huh? NEW navigation
possibilities can be found on the SurvivalRing NAVIGATION
page
Any other thoughts or comments that I forgot to address?
Yes. I want all readers of this article/FAQ/file to know that I truly
believe that each and every one of us now living on the face of this planet
are here for one reason that is more important than all the others.....that
is, to serve, and love, our fellow man. Do what you can, everyday,
to make a positive impact in someones life, no matter how small, insignificant,
or tiny it may seem. Practice going out and performing random acts
of kindness everyday. Look for opportunities to help. Make those
opportunities happen when you can. Develop your skills and ability
to be as self reliant as you can. Don't take advantage of the others
when they WANT to help you, when you need it. If they can, and truly
want to, let them help you...they will gain riches by their service as well,
either on this earth or later, and for the right
reasons.
My SurvivalRing belongs to the members of the ring,
and the visitors who pass thru everyday. Help others out by sharing
its knowledge with those who want to know. God Bless and keep us all in the
upcoming trials we all will pass thru.
Richard Fleetwood
rafleet@gmail.com
July 1999
My thanks to Robin Hanus for the idea and
outline of this questionaire/file. Robin, you are a good friend. Let
me return the favor when I can.
Updated May 2001 - © 2001 By Richard A. Fleetwood |
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