Vinalhaven Telephone Directory - Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Vinalhaven Telephone Directory?

The Vinalhaven Telephone Directory is the online successor of the printed version of the "Telephone Directory" that Vinalhaven Eldercare Services (VES) published in 2014. In its current state, it contains the same listing as the published book, with a few updates and corrections.

There are no intentions to print a new updated release of the printed phone book, for cost and other resource reasons.

This new online version of the phone book shows the full listing only to those who are securely registered. This provides a level of protection against malicious gathering of information through the Internet, protection against spam and other annoyances. As a guest (not logged-in) one can only view names and primary phone numbers, no other details such as addresses or email.

Everyone year-round or seasonal resident in the listing area can register.

Once registered, you may update and manage your own listing, related to your primary (typically home) phone number. This may include the basic information such as home phone number and name but can be extended to list the address, secondary address, multiple phone numbers, email, etc. Everyone can decide which data they want to list and be published.

This online directory is meant to be a tool for islanders to provide all sorts of contact information.

Specifically on the Islands we are very sensitive in protecting our life from outside intrusion. The Internet, such as this phone book, can provide great benefits for enhancing communication within the community. However, there is the danger of greater exposure, for being bothered and threatened by spam and other misuse. We are aware of this and have thought about the best way to keep the data contained within the community, similar to the printed phone book that has not been published much beyond the Islands (except that the same information is available in white and yellow pages from Fairpoint and other outlets, of course). We have implemented means of keeping the online directory reasonably secure by only allowing registered users to lookup listing details. These are practices similar to other widely accepted online services such as Facebook.

How safe is our data out on the Internet and how are we protected?

This question of protecting our privacy and protecting us from spam and other malicious attacks is a serious one. Not just for us an the Islands but for every citizen. Internet security is one of the big concerns. Furthermore, we love the life on the Island for exactly this reason that we have a relatively safe community, largely protected from the big world out there.

Having an up-to-date phone book is important for our communication (and also safety, if we quickly need to reach someone). However, of course, we don't want to make our exposure to the Internet worse.

On the other hand, there should be no illusion that some of the data about us is already out there. Unless you have an unlisted phone number, the association of your name with the number is already readily available on the Internet (whitelists, and otherwise). Many of us have Facebook and other social accounts that contain various personal data. We increasingly use the convenience of online shopping, which certainly exposes our addresses, etc.....

When developing the online version of the phone book, we have seriously thought about these critical issues and put a unique and very sophisticated system in place that will provide this protection as much as it can. In fact, we go beyond the protection you'll get from Facebook, Amazon accounts, and the like.

These are the measures that we implemented to protect the phone book data:

• - Only names and primary (home) phone numbers can be viewed publicly by everyone, without logging in.
• - One needs to register and login in order to view more listing details such addresses (if available) and to modify the own entry.
• - One has to register with phone number and email. Both will be verified for validity.
• - During registration, we will make a phone call to your home number and you have to respond with a secret code that is displayed on the screen.
• - We will also send an email to that given address and the registered account will only be unlocked after a valid response.
• - Only phone numbers with local area prefixes (863, 867, and 366) will be accepted. In case you do not have a landline phone with these numbers, if you use a smartphone, for instance, you may send us a request for an exception in order to be whitelisted.
• - Everyone is responsible for its own content that will be listed. It can be as little as just name and phone number. But it can include things like address, multiple phone numbers, email, secondary address, etc.
• - Registration is per primary (typically home) phone number. All family or household members share the same registration ID and can add modify their entry.

What does the Telephone Directory cover?

As the printed book, the listing covers the 3 islands Vinalhaven, North Haven, and Matinicus. It includes all private persons that want to be listed as well as businesses.

By default, the directory shows the listing of Vinalhaven. Names and primary phone numbers are shown. Businesses are printed in bold within the name fields. More details of each entry (assuming there are any) can be viewed if you login as a registered user.

Radio buttons allow for the selection of specific Island or the Business listing. However, the main tool is the search bar that instantaneously shows the result of the search string (which includes names, addresses, phone numbers, and business categories).

Do I have to register?

In order to view the complete listing beyond the primary phone number, and if you want to update and manage your address entry, you need to register.

You register with your home (or primary) phone number, which is then be used as your login ID. We also require a valid email address and name for security reasons. (Note: The email you provide for registration stays private. If you want your email to be published, you may add this or another email address to your listing.)

Registration is needed per primary phone number. In many cases, multiple persons (or businesses) share the same home (landline) phone number. In these instances, only one registration is needed. You may then add multiple names/entries for each person or business that share this number.

There are also several cases where one person has multiple phone numbers listed. Since we allow for multiple phone numbers and secondary (off-season) addresses, these entries could be consolidated under a single registered primary phone number, if you want.

Please let us know if you want certain duplicate entries to be deleted after consolidation. We would be glad to do that for you, so you can avoid to register for multiple primary phone numbers.

How can I search for address information?

When initially opening the web page, we will load the entire directory for faster subsequent search. This may take a few seconds, depending on your computer and Internet speed.

Once the database is loaded with all addresses, you will see instant search results by typing a search string into the search bar on top. The more characters you type, the smaller the set of search results will become.

You may separate search words by space. The result will be an AND between the first and second (and so forth) search word. For instance, a search for "carver st" will return every entry that contains the strings "carver" AND "st", not just those that have "carver st" in one sequence.

Also, note that searches are case insensitive. Whether you type upper or lower case does not matter.

Matches in the following fields are included in search results (some may only be visible in the details view):

• - First and Last names
• - Home and Mobile phone numbers
• - Primary address and Island name
• - Business name (companies are printed bold in the name fields)
• - Search keywords

Why is primary (home) phone my user ID?

If you have a primary landline phone, this number is generally a unique identifier of you, your family, or household. In this case you only have to register once.

Registering under this common number still allows every member to list additional information and phone numbers under his or her name.

The landline home phone number will be one of the 863, 867, or 366 regional numbers in 207 area code. However, if you have a cell phone as your primary phone, the regional and/or area code will be different. For households or people who only carry mobile phone (specifically seasonal islanders), these may be listed as the primary number (you need to request to be added to a whitelist for these external numbers to be accepted). This is done to protect against spam or scam registrations.

Please note that all phone numbers are displayed in the standard 10-digit form "(123) 456-7890". You may input the number in any other form with or without spaces and minus characters. Furthermore, if your phone number is in the 207 area code you only need to type the remaining 7 digits.

Will my account information be public?

No. The account information that contains your registration name, email address, and password is private and protected accordingly.

The only information that is generally available is your name and primary (home) phone number.

Your email, additional phone numbers and other information that you optionally may have entered will only be available to other registered community members.

What information can I make public?

The current listing contains about the same information that was already printed in the phone directory, with minor corrections and updates.

In addition, once you register, you may optionally add supplemental contact information. This includes:

• - Full primary address
• - Company name (if applicable)
• - Search keywords for freelancers and businesses, similar to the categories found in yellow page directories (free form field))
• - Phone numbers (home, mobile, work, fax)
• - Email address
• - Website
• - Photo
• - Secondary (off-season) address, including separate phone number

How is the Telephone Directory being maintained?

Since Vinalhaven Eldercare Services (VES) does not have the resources to print a new release of the phone book, we, a couple of volunteers (Patrick Trainor and Norbert Leser), came up with the idea of creating a save and easy to use online version of the book. We are committed to make this a valuable tool for the islands and will maintain it until someone else steps forward to taking over the day-to-day maintenance.

However, the whole design of this online phone book is based on the assumption that it is a community effort. Everyone who is interested in having a current version of this directory is asked to be responsible for updating its own entry(ies).

Will Vinalhaven Eldercare Services publish a new version of the printed phone book?

As far as we know, there are no plans to publish another printed version. The costs are too high and in order to be useful, updates would have to be made frequently.

What to do if I am not listed at all?

While we added a few people and phone numbers to the printed version of the directory, there are still many that are not yet listed in this online version.

The way to get listed is to register with your primary (home) phone number. After logging in to your account you can add new entries for every member of your family/household with the desired details.

My name is listed, but under the wrong phone number

If you are listed with a wrong or old phone number, please get in touch with us via email (see below) and we will remove that entry.

Regardless, you can enter your entry with the correct phone number(s) at any time by registering with your primary phone number.

How can I consolidate entries if my name is listed with multiple phone numbers?

The recommended way would be to register with your primary home phone number and then add the other phone numbers to your name or the names of your household members.

For instance, if your daughter has a cell phone, list her name under your home phone and add her mobile number to her entry.

Please notify us via email about all other entries you want to be deleted.

Can I automatically dial the listed phone number?

Yes you can, if you are on a mobile phone. Just tap the respective phone number and it will automatically go to your phone app.

Also, if you are on your home computer and use Skype (or similar) you can click the underlined phone number and invoke the respective application.