FamilySearch Wiki:Consensus

On many wikis, community consensus must be reached before making a policy or guideline.

Informal Consensus
Items that might meet the need for this type of consensus:

A suggestion that would not change stated policy, practices, and guiding principles. But this is needed to keep the site up to date, clean or functioning.

Steps to Informal Consensus
or practices if the Wiki
 * Group that wants to reach consensus discuss need to change til agreement and evaluate what the changes may caused
 * They make sure that the change is not against any policy, guiding principles,
 * Infor all who may be affected by this change in writing and listen to their concerns
 * Put their plan into action

Formal Consensus
Items that will change policy, guiding principles or practices as states in any of our pages on Guiding principles and policies

Steps to get Consensus

 * The change needs to be discussed and a clear statement that states;
 * What needs to be changes
 * How it is to be changes
 * The planned results
 * Actions after that change.
 * Then this is presented to those over that area and discussed and agreed
 * These are then put out to all concerned and are open to further discussion
 * when all is discussed and agreed on the change is made.

Example
In 2011there was a statement in the list of FamilySearch Wiki is not on the FamilySearch Wiki:Purpose and Appropriate Topics page that stated that the "FamilySearch Wiki is not a list of Family History Centers". At the time the FamilySearch Wiki Support Team was creating the present FHC pages. They were concerned that placing these pages in the Wiki would be against this policy. They followed the above steps.


 * 1) They discussed the problem within their meeting, put the problem and the suggested solution to those concerned,
 * 2) Presented it on the forums(the place that many discussions were done at that time.
 * 3) When all discussion were in consensus.
 * 4) The policy was removed from the Purpose and Appropriate Topics page.
 * 5) Then the Family History Centers pages were placed into the Wiki.