What can the OBA website do for you?

There are four parts to the Old Bostonian Association web site. As a current or former student or member of staff of Boston Grammar School you can benefit from any of them whether you are a member of the Old Bostonian Association or not - though it's great if you are a member, and if you're not, we'd love you to join.

(Article updated 13 January 2017)

1 - Old Bostonian Blog

Well, you're here. You've already found the Old Bostonian Blog. You can also find it from the menu on the main site. We post all sorts of stuff here: news, obituaries, weddings, gossip. You can comment on any of the posts and if you have an idea for a post then let us know at webmaster@bostonian.org.uk.

When a new post is added to the blog, a link goes up on both Google+ and on Facebook so it gets published to quite a wide audience. As of 13 January 2017 the Facebook group "Boston Grammar School Alumni" has 838 members!

The blog isn't even averse to "advertorial" posts. That is, providing there's a good bit of information, we can advertise something in which you are involved.

2 - Old Bostonian Association main site

The Old Bostonian Association main site can be found by clicking on "Home" on the blog, "OBA main site" or in the store. It is the home of the Old Bostonian Association on the web. Here you can find details about the Association, its events diary and useful contacts. You can find out here how to join the OBA. It also provides links to the other parts of the web site, and provides a constant feed of news items from the press relating to BGS, and to people like you who have been associated with the school.

If you have been involved in an event that has made the press, then send a link to webmaster@bostonian.org.uk and we'll get it posted for everyone to see. Also let us know if you see an article which refers to BGS or anyone who has been associated with it - we try to include as many articles as possible but we don't know everyone and can't have eyes everywhere.

3 - Old Bostonian store

Like this blog, Old Bostonian store is Google Blogger blog. It works as a showcase for products, mainly creative ones, to which BGS old boys have contributed or in which they are the main subject, or in a few notable cases, relating to BGS itself.

It allows us to promote these products and in some cases, the Old Bostonian Association can benefit a little from purchases made through the store.

The store is cheekily called "Not the tuck shop". For more details about the name and the aims and workings of the store, see the separate blog post about it.

4 - Old Bostonian Association wiki

The Old Bostonian Association wiki is the place to find historical information about Boston Grammar School right from its foundation in 1555 to the present day. It's not just a formal history resource but also a place to rediscover your school friends or teachers, or to share information that only you know. You can find it on the "History" menu option from the main site or the blog.

There's always work to be done on the wiki but it is already a great resource for anyone interested in Boston Grammar School, and it's growing rapidly. But don't just sit there, you too can help. Get yourself a user account on the wiki and you too could write articles of historical interest.

The problem with setting up a wiki is that there's a fine balance between the desire to let everyone contribute and keeping out people who want to contribute irrelevant material (wiki spam). A number of measures have been implemented to avoid bogus users and such spam and currently those measures seem to be quite successful since the rate of appearance of bogus users has reduced significantly over time and the amount of spam is now almost zero.

This has some knock-on effects. There are some hurdles to cross if you want to be a user. If I remember correctly you will currently be asked to complete a Captcha (one of those annoying "Type what you see" questions), and you will have to provide a valid email address. Once you're in there are certain things you won't be allowed to include in pages. Hopefully they won't prevent you from posting real information but it's always a risk.

Also, as a new user, you won't be able to edit the wiki home page. That shouldn't be too much of a restriction and in any case I would ask you to make your first edit one to your own home page: "User:yourUserName", adding something about yourself and your connection with the school. With luck that will allow me to identify you as a legitimate user and welcome you rather than throw you out.

That brings me to the final possibility, and I apologise about this one before it happens. There is a small chance that I will delete your account and your first contribution. Please don't take offence if this happens, just contact us on webmaster@bostonian.org.uk explaining what has happened and your connection with BGS, and I'll suggest how you can get back on the wiki. The best way to avoid this is to write something on your home page ("User:yourUserName") as soon as you have created your account.

Whatever you do, have fun and in the words of Wikipedia founder, Jimmy Wales, "Be bold!"