What Happens When You Click “Accept” on FamilySearch?
“Links of Knowledge”
Have you tried assembling furniture only to realize you didn’t have the necessary tools, butthen proceeded in the effort anyway because you wanted to be done? Or, have you substituted an ingredient that didn’t taste like the real thing when making a recipe? In an effort to save time, sometimes we take shortcuts or make do with inadequate tools to complete a project, achieve a goal, or reach the proverbial destination, only to find we have sacrificed quality for an unreliable and at times even potentially harmful counterfeit. What was once deemed a shortcut may result in a lengthy lesson.
If you are currently accessing new FamilySearch, you may have taken a shortcut by clicking to accept the “Conditions of Use” without realizing it. If you did, you agreed to those conditions, whether or not you read or understand them. Do you know what you agreed to? Every registered new FamilySearch user, upon initial registration, certified that he or she would abide the Conditions of Use. The document contains information about various aspects of use, including user collaboration and some name submission policies. If you’re like most people, you may have agreed without reading this important document. However, it’s not too late; there is a link located at the bottom of every new FamilySearch web page called “Conditions of Use.” The document is written in user-friendly language and is relatively short, unlike many software or site registrations.
For example, if you are supporting patrons who are submitting their ancestors’ names for temple work, the following excerpt from the Conditions of Use would be helpful for them to know in advance:
Submitting Names for LDS Temple Ordinances. Users should not submit the names of nonrelated persons for vicarious temple ordinances, including names of celebrities or famous people, or those gathered from unapproved extraction projects, such as Jewish Holocaust victims.
Or, maybe you’ve been researching your genealogy for years, have accumulated a good-sized pedigree, and may have developed what’s called “my tree-itis”—the feeling that it’s my tree and I don’t want anyone to mess with it. However, when registering for new FamilySearch and reading the Conditions of Use, you learn that collaboration is one of the goals of new FamilySearch, because it can reduce research and ordinance duplication.
Collaboration with Others. You acknowledge that a primary purpose of this site is to enable collaboration between all users of the FamilySearch sites who wish to expand their knowledge of their own ancestral lines.
Perhaps as a family history consultant and in helping others, you’ve been working in new FamilySearch and questions have arisen about what to do if you find something inappropriate. The Conditions of Use can facilitate finding answers to these and other questions.
Knowledge informs decisions; understanding influences actions. Knowledge and understanding create a powerful link, empowering individuals to “act and not be acted upon” (2 Nephi 2:26). Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the contents of the Conditions of Use. This will not only benefit you in your family history calling, but it will facilitate your service in helping others. By reviewing this important resource, you’ll avoid pitfalls that shortcuts can sometimes cause and be able to make informed decisions as you use new FamilySearch.
