Wiki Genealogist Honor Code

WikiTree is free, but it's not a free-for-all. Our wiki genealogy community is creating something special: a worldwide family tree that will make genealogy free and accessible for everyone. This grand project requires mutual trust and a common understanding of how the community works. If you were invited by a family member and are just creating or editing a few private family profiles, this isn't critical, but those who participate at a higher level must agree to this shared code of ethics and principles.

Our Honor Code

1. We collaborate. When we share ancestors we work together on the same ancestor profiles.
2. We care about accuracy. We're always aiming to improve upon our worldwide family tree and fix mistakes.
3. We know mistakes are inevitable. We don't want to be afraid to make them. We assume that mistakes are unintentional when others make them and ask for the same understanding.
4. We know misunderstandings are inevitable. We try to minimize them by being courteous to everyone, even those who don't act accordingly.
5. We respect privacy. We privacy-protect anything we think our family members might not want public. If that's not enough for someone, we delete their personal information.
6. We respect copyrights. We don't knowingly copy information that's owned by someone else. If we ourselves want to preserve a copyright, we're clear about what's copyrighted so others don't accidentally copy it.
7. We give credit. Although most genealogy isn't copyrighted, researchers deserve credit for the work they've done.
8. We cite sources. Without sources we can't objectively resolve conflicting information.
9. We are united in a mission to increase the world's common store of knowledge. We always respect copyrights and privacy, but we keep information as free and open as possible.

Signers

Janice Zoradi, May 17, 2012. Kathie Llewellyn, May 17, 2012. Frieda Davison, May 17, 2012. Paul Voelker, May 17, 2012. Dean Fauber, May 17, 2012. Jeffery Owens, May 17, 2012. Gloria Krack, May 16, 2012. Vince Hall, May 16, 2012. Sue Durling, May 16, 2012. Glenda Brown, May 16, 2012. Debra Kieffer, May 16, 2012. Luigi Perini, May 16, 2012. Debbie Misner, May 16, 2012. John Haberecht, May 16, 2012. D Chambers, May 16, 2012. Phil Martin, May 16, 2012. Hank Beecher, May 16, 2012. Ernest McGill, May 15, 2012. Pat Brooks, May 15, 2012. P. Lee Elliott, May 15, 2012. Samuel Wells, May 15, 2012. Pamela Gunn, May 15, 2012. Amy Starenchak, May 15, 2012. D HN, May 15, 2012. Jeff Godfrey, May 15, 2012. Bob Unknown, May 15, 2012. Bjorn Flink, May 15, 2012. Pam Mascher, May 15, 2012. Pam Anderson, May 15, 2012. Dominique Sweeney, May 15, 2012. Larry Bryant, May 15, 2012. Glenn Legge, May 15, 2012. Margaret Wahlberg, May 15, 2012. Carlos Garcia, May 15, 2012. Terri Crowell, May 15, 2012. Elaine Campbell, May 15, 2012. Connie Stringer, May 15, 2012. J Gordon, May 15, 2012. David Green, May 14, 2012. Bradley Eldredge, May 14, 2012. George Bassett, May 14, 2012. Kim Wolterman, May 14, 2012. Dona Breneman, May 14, 2012. Joann h, May 14, 2012. David Decker, May 14, 2012. Stephanie Winchester, May 14, 2012. X White, May 14, 2012. Sheri Minnick, May 14, 2012. Ray Stewart, May 14, 2012. Marshall Brown, May 14, 2012. Frances X, May 14, 2012. Gary Knapp, May 14, 2012. Stephen Helmlinger, May 13, 2012. Judy Young, May 13, 2012. Adara Brookler, May 13, 2012. Clarice Cardinall, May 13, 2012. LuAnn Rittenhouse, May 13, 2012. Ron Bishoff, May 13, 2012. Carl Colby, May 13, 2012. Denise Sears, May 13, 2012. Rita A Gerrard, May 13, 2012. Heather Hicklin, May 13, 2012. Donna Mason, May 13, 2012. Lisa Hester, May 13, 2012. Steve Donaldson, May 13, 2012. C Gumbs, May 13, 2012. Kim Frizzell, May 13, 2012. Kathy Lindler, May 13, 2012. Deidre Matson, May 13, 2012. Nancy Legge, May 13, 2012. Simon Meade, May 13, 2012. Erica Hoard, May 12, 2012. Peter Johansson, May 12, 2012. Sheila Burks, May 12, 2012. Deborah Ruth, May 12, 2012. Bruce Nicoll, May 12, 2012. Jonathan Watson, May 12, 2012. Gail Lynde, May 12, 2012. Robin Apell, May 12, 2012. Jack Templeton, May 12, 2012. Michael Keating, May 12, 2012. Mike Chin, May 12, 2012. Barbara Ignatz, May 12, 2012. Candice Buchanan, May 12, 2012. Prescott Smith, May 12, 2012. Jeff Kenner, May 12, 2012. Judy Bolan, May 11, 2012. Allon Rodford Maxwell, May 11, 2012. David Winslow, May 11, 2012. Kimberly Cain, May 11, 2012. Peter Knowles, May 11, 2012. Beirne Konarski, May 11, 2012. Daniel Jens, May 11, 2012. Heather Cole, May 11, 2012. Suanne Sittner, May 11, 2012. Shayne Davidson, May 11, 2012. Aldrin Cara, May 11, 2012. Les Fenton, May 11, 2012. Nan Harvey, May 10, 2012. M Rothrock, May 10, 2012.

Click here for the complete list of signers.

You can discuss this Honor Code on our community's "G2G" discussion forum, on Twitter (@WikiTreeOnline), Facebook, or Google+.

Here is more about WikiTree including its mission and organization. Here is more about the community.