Q.  Why does the blurb on your homepage read "To report errors or updates to existing entries, please e-mail existing-entries@genarians.com"?  Are you trying to discourage suggestions for new entries?

A.  Yes!  The word "existing" is there for a reason.  Although I sincerely appreciate the interest and enthusiasm people show for my site, I seriously mean it when I say I'm not looking for new names.  I know people mean well and want to help, but the site has grown far larger than I ever intended it to, and, with the exception of those individuals turning 90 this year, I don't wish to add any new people.  I do, however, encourage visitors to inform me when someone on the site has passed away and to point out any factual discrepancies, grammatical errors, or typos they may find.

Q.  But shouldn't you make every effort to include all noted nonagenarians and centenarians on your site?

A.  No.  To quote from my homepage, not everyone of note can be here.  That would be impossible.  With hundreds of names currently on the NN&C pages, I'm not going to beat myself up if someone slips through the cracks.

Q.  How do you decide who gets added to your site and who doesn't?

A.  It's a total judgment call, but since I run the site, I get to make the call!  Long gone are the days when I tried to accommodate everyone who wrote to me.  As the late entertainer Rick Nelson so aptly sang, "You can't please everyone, so you've got to please yourself."

Q.  What makes someone noted enough to be included on your site?

A.  The people on my site fall into one of three basic categories of notoriety: 1) Individuals who've achieved some measure of recognition, either nationally or internationally, in their chosen fields, e.g., literature, the arts, sports, science, politics, etc.; 2) Individuals who were part of the history of the 20th Century, e.g., the remaining World War I veterans, the last survivor of the sinking of the Lusitania, the nurse being kissed on V-J Day in Alfred Eisenstaedt's iconic photo; and 3) Supercentenarians, a.k.a. people who have lived to be 110. 

Q.  My grandmother is 104.  Can she be added to your site?

A.  What is she noted for?  If only for being 104, then no.  I don't consider her to be unique enough to include, keeping in mind that a) the first "N" in NN&C stands for "noted" and b) according to the U.S. Census, there were over 96,500 living American centenarians as of November 2009.  Besides, with the exception of the Validated Supercentenarians page, I try not to add anyone to the site just for being old.  Perhaps surprisingly, that's not what this website is supposed to be about.  It's supposed to be about people who were noted during their lifetimes and then grew old. 

Q.  Then why do you have a Validated Supercentenarians page?  Aren't they just noted for being old rather than for past achievements?

A.  True, but I believe being one of the world's oldest people brings with it a certain degree of notoriety.  Plus, I know from the e-mails I get that the supercentenarians are real crowd-pleasers.  And while I'm on the subject of the Validated Supercentenarians page, please be aware I'm no longer interested in maintaining a formal countdown of the top ten oldest people.  I'd rather pick and choose who I add based on who strikes my fancy.  My choices may seem arbitrary, but, like all aspects of the website, they're mine.

Q.  Why don't you add the 138-year-old Indian man I read about recently?  He's noted.

A.  For what, lying and being a con artist?  He's no more 138 than I am Mary, Queen of Scots!  Anyone I add to my site who's 110-years-old or older must be on the Gerontology Research Group's list, which can be accessed by clicking on the link at the top of the Validated Supercentenarians page.  Please keep in mind it's not by accident that the word "Validated" is included in the page's title.

Q.  I know someone who's 112.  Can you please add her to the GRG's list of validated supercentenarians?

A.  I can't.  I'm in no way connected with the GRG.  If you think you know an individual who qualifies as being a supercentenarian, please contact Mr. Robert Young of Atlanta, Georgia.  His e-mail address is robertdouglasyoung@yahoo.com.  He works for the Gerontology Research Group and can assist you.

Q.  Can you guarantee that everyone on your website is still alive?

A.  I can within a reasonable doubt, but I admit there might be some errors.  That's why I'm very careful now about the people I add.  I'd rather err on the side of caution and not add individuals of questionable notoriety rather than add them only to find out later they've been gone for many years (e.g., actresses Norah Baring, Dorothy Boyd, Dennie Moore).  Plus, I sincerely question how noted someone can be if it's unclear whether the person is alive or not.

Q.  What's the Social Security Death Index?

A.  A morbidly fascinating resource tool for helping determine if someone is alive or dead.  Click here to check it out.  It contains the names of nearly 86,000,000 Americans who have died from within the last two months to the past 40+ years.

Q.  How do you decide what year or birthday to list for an entry?

A.  If the majority of Internet sources lists a person's birth year as 1912, for example, that's what I'll put.  But if a sizeable amount of sources cites 1911, I'll reference that, too.  It's all guesswork with some of these folks, so sometimes I end up playing eeny, meeny, miny, moe and hoping I've made the right choice.

Q.  Is it OK if I send you a link to an article in a language other than English?

A.  No.  I only speak English.  I won't know what it says.

Q.  Why do you link most of the pictures to Wikipedia?  And why are some of them in a language other than English?  I thought you just said you only speak English.

A.  Linking the pictures to Wikipedia is basically something I do for my own convenience so I have a quick way of checking if a person on the site is listed as still alive.  It doesn't matter to me what language the listing is in.  I don't have to be bilingual to spot if a death date has been added.  My theory is a foreign person's entry will more likely be updated in his or her native tongue than in the English-language equivalent.

Q.  So you're a fan of Wikipedia?

A.  God, no!  But I have a real love/hate relationship with it.  On the one hand, I'm continually appalled by the amateurish writing I find there.  Plus, I seriously question how scholarly a tome it can be if any Tom, Dick, or Harry is able to readily change the information.  On the other hand, Wikipedia has helped me over the years discover interesting new individuals to add to my site, and I've found that most of its articles are updated fairly quickly and accurately when someone dies.

Q.  Why is it your policy to limit the In Memoriam pages to only those individuals who were on your site while they were alive?

A.  Because if I didn't, I'd continually be offered suggestions on which recently deceased people to add, and I'd end up running two separate sites – one for the living and one for the dead.  Besides, the In Memoriam pages are just meant to be a by-product of the main site, a handy archival listing.  The real focus of the NN&C site should be on the people who are still alive.

Q.  Do you have addresses for the people on your site so I can write to them?

A.  Unfortunately, no.  I don't personally know any of the individuals on my site.  Try doing a Google search of celebrity addresses.

Q.  Why doesn't your website have a search engine?

A.  It's beyond my computer skills.

Q.  When did you start this website?

A.  I didn't.  It was started in 1997 by a man named Chris Cleary, someone I've never met or even had a phone conversation with, by the way.  I was a big fan of the site and we were in e-mail contact over the years.  By early 2005, time constraints made it hard for Chris to update the website as he once had, so in May of that year I boldly asked him if he'd allow me to take over the NN&C pages if I promised to run them with the same integrity he had.  He graciously agreed.  I don't hear from him very often, but he's doing well.

Q.  What are your credentials for running this website?

A.  Besides having a sincere interest in the subject matter and a commitment to make it as accurate as possible, none.  This is just a fun hobby for me, like stamp collecting.  It is not how I make my living.  And I have neither a research staff nor a research library at my disposal, by the way.  It's just me and the Internet!

Q.  Is the cost of running the NN&C pages subsidized by anyone?

A.  No.  The cost, which is quite minimal, comes totally out of my own pocket.

Q.  Do you make any money from the website?

A.  No.  It's meant solely for educational, informational purposes.

Q.  To whom is the website dedicated?

A.  It's dedicated to the memory of my dear friend Bill Naras (1956-2005).  As Bill might have said, "Serdecznie dziękuję for asking!"
 

Q.  Who are you, by the way?