Net-Working: Web Rings
Grab A [Web] Ring And See The World Web rings are "communities of websites, united by a common interest and organized into a circular 'ring' of mutual links, together with some technology to make it all work. Links on each page permit you to travel the entire ring, eventually returning to the page from which you started.
~ James S. Huggins, Technology Consultant
It's a jungle out there The
RingWorld Directory numbers more than 8,000 rings - and more than 300 of those are adoption-related! They cover everything from adoption journaling and databases, to interest groups in foreign countries, and everything in between. Membership numbers range from several hundred down to one. [Of course, these also include the prerequisite number of Web rings for pet, cyberpet, endangered species, and "other" adoptions.]
Web rings are an easy way for us to identify our Web sites to others who share our hobbies, lifestyles, professional pursuits, or other interests.
An interesting alternative. While a Web ring is pictured as a circle and interest areas are as specific as ring owners (ringmasters or ringmistresses) choose,
The Rail is another style of linked sites, but it moves, as they say, "from east to west." The Rail is organized into broad categories of sites (junctions), and the train travels through a random selection of personal pages, sites for kids, hobby sites, and other "stations."
Rings to join, rings to travel Joining a ring. If you want to join a Web ring, make sure your site and the ring have the same goal, with members offering the same type of content.
Whether your focus is family life or activism, there's a ring to match, and ring owners are usually very clear about what kind of sites qualify for membership. The
Adoption Web Ring (the largest of all adoption rings with more than 450 members), does not accept registries or sites that consist only of lists of links. The
Adoption Chronicler Web Ring encourages all those who have told their adoption story on the Web to join, and the
Swedish Adoption Ring is a collection of sites (most are in Swedish) related to adoptions in that country. These are only a few of the rings open to
all members of the adoption community.
Other Web rings are very specific in scope. For example, the
Sunflower Birthmothers is open only to members of the group.
All of the adoption rings included in my
listing are free to join. Your site only needs to meet the membership criteria.
Traveling a ring. Some Web rings are better managed than others, so you should certainly travel any ring you're considering joining to make sure it doesn't lead someplace unexpected. You can also travel a ring on the road to a specific destination. Those looking for a reunion registry, might follow the
S.O.A.R. ring where all member registries subscribe to ethical codes. The
Open Adoption Ring and
Older Child Adoption Ring provide introductions to families that have chosen these options and, if you want community-within-community, try the
Heartland Adoption Ring for those sites within the Geocities Heartland community only. Traveling an adoption Web ring can be interesting, informative, educational... but don't forget... it can be just plain fun, too!
Check out our growing list of Adoption Web rings and see the world!
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