Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia
Internet Committee
Members of this committee for the year 2000, as appointed by the Grand Master
Paul M. Bessel – Chairman
Robert R. Arzola
Thomas A. Russo
Robert H. Starr
Carl E. Williams
Goals of this committee
Assist in making the website of the Grand Lodge of D.C. the best website it can be
Provide information, pictures, etc., that could usefully be added to the Grand Lodge’s website
Next Meeting of the Committee
Date –
Time –
Place –
Other details –
Questions for members of the committee to consider for inclusion on the Grand Lodge website (grouped by topics)
General things to consider about the DC GL website
General
Have a nice, clear title on the 1st page of the website, rather than the logo — examples are at the websites of the Grand Lodges of Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Louisiana
Have a nice “welcome” message, and other things to make people feel we’re very happy to have them viewing our website
Provide an easy way for people to send email to individual Grand Lodge officers, especially the Grand Master and Grand Secretary
Carefully check spelling, grammar, and other details for 100% accuracy
Join webrings that other Grand Lodges belong to
Administrative
Say, on 1st page at least, that this is the official website of the GL of DC, none other is official
Include details about who maintains the DC Grand Lodge website, who approves things, etc., and how someone can make suggestions for changes in the website – make this very easy to do
Include on each page the last date updated, and copyright notices
Review by GM, GS, Internet Committee
Graphics
Consider a flashing welcome, or 3D, or animated graphic on the welcome page
Use some 3D and animated graphics in various places, but not too much
Have some animated graphics, but not too many, and some still graphics, too – such as waving DC and US flags
Make the website quick to load, on all computers – or provide quick to load pages, and warn about those that are not quick to load
Tracking
Have a counter, and show statistics about who and how many are viewing our website
Is there a way to check how many visitors to our website later petition to become Masons?
DC Masonry
Events
Have a calendar of upcoming events, actually on a calendar rather than a listing
Information about Grand Lodge ritual schools, Masters and Wardens Association meetings, committee meetings, Front Royal conference, etc.
Details about Front Royal Conference, including agenda, schedule, map
Information about Grand Masters Classes
List all Grand Visitations, and describe what they are
Details about the Capitol and White House bicentennial celebrations, with pictures
Administrative
Provide a page for anything the Grand Master wants to say, at any time, including a photo of the GM
Same as above for the Grand Secretary
List of GL officers, Past Grand Masters
Lists of Committees, and their members
Provide free email for all DC Masons (if that’s possible) and details and simple instructions about how to do this
Offer free webpages for all DC Lodges and other Masonic groups
Provide forms online for those who could use them, such as Affiliation petitions, monthly report forms
As other GLs do, publish the Call for meetings, including upcoming proposed resolutions
Committee reports
Proceedings
DC Masonic webring
Information
Map of DC showing where each Masonic building is located
Maps, addresses, and directions to all DC Masonic buildings, and list which Masonic groups meet in each one, and when
Voice of Freemasonry – entire magazine, and back issues
Have a chart showing the number of members each year, number of raisings, etc., as in the Proceedings, and also include graphs showing membership trends
List all Past Grand Masters of our Grand Lodge, with an indication of which are living and which are deceased
Catalog of the Grand Lodge library and museum – searchable
Information for those seeking to do Masonic genealogy research, especially about ancestors who belonged to DC Lodges – how, and who to contact (fees?)
Chart of Lodges, showing which ones have consolidated, etc., for those who might be looking for a Lodge to which an ancestor belonged
Picture of the Grand Lodge building, and other Masonic buildings in DC, and pictures of recent Masonic events
Provide space for PGMs, GLOs, and other Masons to say something, subject to approval by the GM
Grand Lodge Code
Information about MESH, ST. John’s Mite, Masonic Foundation, and other groups
Information about DC Masons’ involvement in the community, parades, charity, schools, scholarships
Pictures and information about famous DC Masons, such as Benjamin B. French
Information about the DC Masons Egroup, how to use it, how to join
Include a history of the DC Grand Lodge
Information about the GW Gavel (if Potomac Lodge wants that on the GL website)
Things the GL is selling, and how to obtain them and at what cost
Links
Links to websites of each Lodge that has one, and each Royal Arch Chapter, etc.
Links to, and information about, local chapters and national groups for National Sojourners, Knight Masons, AMD
Masonry in general, and DC in general
Masonry in General
Have a page about “What is Freemasonry” and “What should someone do if he wants to join”
Information about what Freemasonry is all about, such as is on the Missouri GL website
Information about Freemasonry and charity, on a national or worldwide basis
What Masonic friendship and brotherhood are all about – do’s and don’t’s
Short history of Freemasonry worldwide, and particularly in the U.S.
List of famous Masons
Responses to things that are sometimes said negatively about Freemasonry, such as Is It True What They Say About Freemasonry, Ed King’s website
Interesting articles about Freemasonry
Other Masonic Groups
Philalethes Society information, links, and Internet Lodge link
Information about Masonic weekend in DC in February
Link to, and information about, MLMA
Information about the House of the Temple and Eastern Star headquarters, since they are located in DC, including touring information
Link to DC PH GL website
Links to, and information about, MSA, MIC, MLC
Links to websites of the D.C. Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons
Links to Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction, Imperial Shrine site, General Grand Council of Cryptic Masons, etc.
Links, and information about Grand Lodges around the world
Links to getting information about sightseeing in DC, for Masons who are visiting
Books
List of good Masonic books, especially those in the GL Library, for Masons and non-Masons
Masonic books reviews
Information about the book by George Adams
Information about excellent books about Freemasonry, plus pictures of their covers, such as Margaret Jacob’s books, Steven Bullock’s
