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Post by kerry on Dec 8, 2009 7:28:26 GMT -5
While I've been successful in getting my Chinese names to be searchable from google (try searching for my grandfather 蔡文粹), I was hopeful that this might end up working it's way across to other engines. Doesn't appear to be the case. This forum appears to be searchable from baidu.cn whereas my site does not.
First question: (Henry?) has anyone ever submitted this site to baidu.cn for inclusion in their index or any other Chinese language search tool?
Second question: Do any of the other forum users here have material that they have intentionally made useful to Chinese readers and been accessed by them?
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Post by Henry on Dec 8, 2009 9:37:27 GMT -5
Hi Kerry, First question: I believe Kevin Lee, webmaster of SiYi Forum. needs to answer this question. Second question: several members have made valuable material available on this website for the benefit of other Forum members, such as on the "Clan Progenitor References" thread: siyigenealogy.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=clanprogenitorIn particular, Philip Tan has been so gracious as to post the wonderful lineage chart of the Chen surname from HuangDi, the Yellow Emperor, down to his son - about 4700 years worth of pedigree descent. Philip has collected scores of Chen zupus in order to compile this chart, the pictures of many of the ancient ancestors are stunning: siyigenealogy.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=clanprogenitor&action=display&thread=845&page=4This chart is no longer posted because the website that was used to host the image was no longer available. The SiYi web master and I have offered to host this chart on our own websites - so Forum members can still have access to this amazing chart. Philip was recently appointed to serve as an Energy Commissioners of Malaysia and has been quite busy, however, he mentioned that he will revise the chart and provide a copy for me to post on my website for display on the SiYi Forum. Henry |
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Post by Doug 周 on Dec 8, 2009 13:04:21 GMT -5
Kerry, I need to ask a newbie type question: You said: While I've been successful in getting my Chinese names to be searchable from google (try searching for my grandfather 蔡文粹), I was hopeful that this might end up working it's way across to other engines. Doesn't appear to be the case. This forum appears to be searchable from baidu.cn whereas my site does not. What is the advantage of being searchable across 'other engines'? What is baidu.cn? Doug |
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Post by Woodson on Dec 8, 2009 15:45:05 GMT -5
You mean Baidu's spiders, unlike Google's, don't just come, crawl, and index sites? One needs to submit as during Yahoo's hay days? Do you have the link to Baidu's crawl and index request page because I can't find it on their site.
Doug, Baidu is the biggest search engine in China.
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Post by kerry on Dec 8, 2009 15:46:09 GMT -5
Doug,
good questions. If we did a poll of the readership, we'd find a variety of search engines being used. In the main, it would be Google, Yahoo or Bing. (At least for this week) They don't necessarily return the same answers to the same query.
I've made my website searchable via these tools, so I know that if someone searches for one of ancestors, they can find me. Everyone who has found me so far comes from Australia, UK, USA or Canada. But no one has found me from China. I have a few theories why but one of the most significant is simply the search engines in use.
Google and Microsoft are probably well represented in China, but there are competitors out there in China. Baidu (http://baidu.cn) is the largest I think. And when I try and find my site via Baidu, I can't. Not sure why but I'd like to be seen by that tool as well, just in case a potential user is out there and using that tool.
Ancestry is a search engine in it's own right - but being more specific to genealogies from it's own databases. That's another bunch of users who won't "find" me unless I put some data there. Some phpGedView users keep a minimalist version of there tree on Ancestry.com just so other researcher's can find them.
I'd be interested to know if a Chinese name being managed on a tree at jaipu.cn comes up in the search results of ancestry.com? Or from Google?
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Post by kerry on Dec 8, 2009 22:46:14 GMT -5
Woodson,
the googlebot may find you if someone else links to you, and that other site was itself already being searched.
Google has some tools to help the 'bot find your site. I assume there's something similar for Baidu.
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Post by Woodson on Dec 9, 2009 14:06:28 GMT -5
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Post by kerry on Dec 10, 2009 1:48:39 GMT -5
Woodson,
i've posted my site to Baidu. I'll let the forum know if it comes up.
Henry,
re my "second question": of the material that has been posted that is potentially useful to native Chinese speakers, do we know if any of them found it?
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Post by Henry on Dec 10, 2009 9:16:05 GMT -5
Hi Kerry,
I believe that most of the information remains scattered among all the emails that requested such information. There have been a couple major SiYi threads that focus on specific themes such as clan lineages, DNA genealogy, genealogy software that group the information.
There is a considerable amount of information available across all the SiYi postings, however, it was previously very difficult to search and find such information via the software used to host the SiYi Forum, however, with this new software: "WordPress" - perhaps, the search functions are superior.
For example, if a person wanted to see all the maps that have already been researched and posted on the SiYi Forum that pertain to Taishan county - how could this be attained?
Kevin Lee - is this possible with "WordPress" - if so, please post the technique to do this.
Perhaps, there should be a "Map Gallery" for maps of all the locations and ancestral villages that have been researched.
Henry
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Post by geoff on Dec 10, 2009 14:56:38 GMT -5
"A "Map Gallery" of all the locations and ancestral villages" is a great idea Henry.
For a newbe like me a couple of years ago, a map of our ancestral villages in english was the first request I made here. Henry was so kind & efficient to post a Zengcheng map, eventhough at the time I didn't this is a "Siyi district" site. All you guys are so friendly & helpful to your "country cousins" in neighbouring counties.
I've also received detailed replies to my questions & hope that I've repaid some of your generosity by sharing some of my experiences gained thru my Australian chinese research.
Geoff
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Post by Woodson on Dec 11, 2009 21:17:34 GMT -5
Henry,
Wordpress' search capability is due to its use of categories and tags. This message board uses Web 1.0 software which isn't tags savvy.
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Post by Doug 周 on Dec 12, 2009 15:29:05 GMT -5
Actually, Henry, YOU are the map gallery. Every request on this site for locations usually gets a response from you with a full color map, frequently with annotations.
Having a map gallery would relieve the work load on you. Others can log in and do their own search of the various maps uploaded.
However, many of the requests are complicated by the Romanization and pronunciation issues of various villages, aggrevated by simplified and traditional Chinese characters. You provide that human interface of interpretating the requests, offering a professional opinion of the nearest match. I don't think a self service map gallery could provide that type of service.
Also, I surmise many of the maps are your own personal maps of a professional cartographer.
Maybe someone can go thru the forum and tag the maps already displayed. It could make searching easier. Without the tagging, difficult as it may, even I can eventually find maps of interest to my village. However, I don't know what type of tagging algorithm one can use. As the information increases with time on the forum, manually searching becomes more tedious.
Is tagging available for the engine of this forum? Would the Wordpress recommendation alleviate that? How hard is it to change to another forum 'operating system'?
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Post by Woodson on Dec 13, 2009 23:45:21 GMT -5
Doug, This forum's software is ancient. It doesn't know about tags which is a Web 2.0 thingy. Anyway I've created a "Map galleries" category at legacy1.netThe entries are linked to the postings in the forum. Please take a look and tell me what improvements are needed. Thanks, Kevin |
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Post by Doug 周 on Jan 17, 2010 15:04:10 GMT -5
Kevin,
Nice site and nice collection of maps. The problem of tagging maps in Romanized English is that locations have synonyms. Case in point: Guangdong is Canton to my parents. I am vitally interested in your maternal lineage Chow, though I know that its synonyms are also spelled Zhou and Joe. In an ideal world, maps can be referred as longitude and latitudes, but until very recently no one else referenced locations by this means.
Can tags also be in Chinese? I realize that even Chinese names change. Also, within the past 1/2 century there was the Chinese government emphasis of simplified over traditional calligraphy. However, the more information tagged, the more hits in a search. Maybe just tags in simplified Chinese, and let the searcher translate traditional to simplified themselves. I don't use Wordpress, but maybe searches will look at words in the context of the email requests. That should expand the results.
Sorry I did not respond sooner. I missed your post in December. I need to explore your site more thoroughly.
Doug
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Post by Henry on Jan 17, 2010 15:43:10 GMT -5
Kevin,
I agree with Doug - it may be useful to add the Chinese characters ( traditional & simplified ) for the places that are located on maps posted on the Forum. It may also be helpful, if the maps were organized by each of the four component counties that comprise the SiYi region.
I believe that just sorting through my posts will provide a good start of maps that have been posted on the Forum.
If also agree that these maps need to have the related postings to provide the context, and detailed information about these places and their associated ancestral villages.
I you need my help - please let me know.
Henry
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