Question about the Find-A-Grave website

Question

Call someone tell me if F-A-G still has any guiding rules detailing what memorials can or can't be created and what can and can't be put on them?  As I recall, when I first joined F-A-G a number of years ago the cardinal rule was that memorials could only be created for people who had an actual known, existing, visible grave; preferably with photographs of a stone to verify the grave.  Since Ancestry acquired F-A-G, it seems to have devolved into a free for all with people adding memorials for ancestors in a willy-nilly fashion, many for whom it is NOT even known which cemetery they are buried in, much less which state.  F-A-G seems to have become another Ancestry where people can make whatever claims to relationships that they want; apparently to "prove" them since now "it's on the Internet so it must be true."  The overall philosophy of the site seems to be summed up in this one sentence I found in their current help files: "If you can't find a memorial for the specific individual, go ahead and add the memorial."

So, does anyone know if there are still any of the original guidelines for quality still left in place?

Answer 1

It appears that they discourage it but don't prohibit it.  https://support.findagrave.com/s/article/Non-Cemetery-Burials?r=866&ui-knowledge-components-aura-actions.KnowledgeArticleVersionCreateDraftFromOnlineAction.createDraftFromOnlineArticle=1#expla

"Find a Grave's purpose is to catalog and make available final disposition information. If burial information is unknown for an individual, Find a Grave is probably not the right place for their information. In rare cases, creating a Find a Grave memorial for someone with no burial information may be warranted, but these should be uncommon."

Answer 2

I think generally they are happy to discuss such subjects, within reason, on the FB site  https://www.facebook.com/groups/459495604130542

True, there may be problems.  A memorial popped up recently for my great-grandparents (passed away in the 60's).  If I hadn't been checking, I would not have noticed that it was based on a wild guess about the place of burial.  I do have ancestors in that graveyard, but the creator of the memorial would have no way of knowing any connection among my mother's paternal and maternal ancestors.  The creator corrected it immediately and thanked me.  If they had not, I could have invoked the rule about claiming memorials of close relatives.

Answer 3

I don't recall ever seeing any rules on the website, regarding the adding of profiles, but family tree (non cemetery profiles), have been there for many years, and are not new. Find A Grave, as well as all genealogy websites, have lots of junk profiles, but there are many more credible profiles, with photos, headstones, obits, and stories about the person to make it a great resource.