User:Wonghk3/Sandbox/WU-Contributors -- Wiki Policies





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Why We Need Guiding Principles
Since the Wiki is open to anyone who wants to use it and edit it, it needs to be as universally useful as possible and needs to be free of offensive material. In addition, published standards are important so that contributors have guidelines for whether their material fits into the Wiki and how it should be formatted.

All contributors are expected to be aware of these standards and guidelines.

Conditions of Use
When you were approved for login access to the FamilySearch website, you agreed to the Conditions of Use policy. The same conditions apply to using the FamilySearch Research Wiki website. The policy contains the following notices:


 * Privacy Notice: how your personal data is processed and used.
 * Terms of Use: restrictions on data submitted with respect to licenses, copyrights, trademarks, and other data protection agreements governed by law.
 * Submission Agreement: your responsibility and rights as a contributor.


 * Conditions of Use
 * Wiki Policies
 * Manual of Style

What Are the Guiding Principles?
The guiding principles below are applicable not only to articles but to user pages as well.

The Wiki Is Free to All Users

 * There is no charge to anyone to research the Wiki.
 * Any content added to the Wiki must be in the public domain and may be used without restriction.
 * There may be links to sources and records that charge a fee, but they will be designated with a "$."

Sources and Delimiters

 * Articles should cite authoritative sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
 * There should be no expansion of content beyond that which affects family history research or record keeping.
 * No source documents should be included except a few pages used as examples.
 * No information about specific ancestors should be included except as case studies.

Neutral Point of View
The Wiki must be unbiased and strictly factual--no discussions of religion, politics, ethnicity and culture. It is not a platform for advocacy or a place to express a personal point of view. The Wiki can link to sites where there is advocacy, but only when there is a genealogical reason to do so.

Spam-Free

 * Sources should be recommended in the order that the user might want to use them, taking into consideration budgets, time constraints, and speed of response desired.
 * Advertising or links to non-genealogical commercial sites are not allowed.
 * Previous to January 2020, advertising was allowed for Professional Genealogists. This practice has since been discontinued.

Etiquette Guidelines

 * Respect all contributors and be civil to each other, avoiding conflict.
 * Assume all contributors are genuine and are contributing in good faith until proven otherwise.
 * Attempt to reach consensus. Avoid edit wars (see the three revert rule ).
 * Do not use profanity or profane slang in any form or language.

Be Bold with caution

 * If you see a need, fill it.
 * If you see an error, correct it.
 * Don't make a suggestion, make a change. (A few exceptions will be covered in the patrolling lessons.)
 * Don't let the possibility of disagreement stop you from making the changes, but don't close the door on honest disagreement.
 * Don't take edits or changes to your work as a personal affront.

Remember, what is changed can always be reversed.

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