"Authorized Software" in FHC?

I recently started working with our Family History Center Director to standardize and maintain the computers in our FHC. We found that the administrator login was pretty widely known and, as a result, there was so much stuff (I'm not sure what else to call it) to fix/uninstall, that I've decided to use the image disks and restore them to their "like-new" state. We also just ordered computers (as a result of the XP end-of-life) which should be on their way soon, and plan to utilize DeepFreeze going forward, which should minimize the impact of "rogue" users.

My first inclination is to install only software available through Tivoli and lock it down from there, but there are software not available through Tivoli that seem very useful (photo editing, as an example). Once I open that door, I'm fairly certain that I'll be flooded with requests to make exceptions within a month, and without some sort of process in place to approve software this could turn into an administrative nightmare. The question I have is: what are other FHCs implementing as an "authorized software policy" if one exists?

I'm sure you'll have a few requests, but I'm not sure about "flooded".

I think if you establish that the software must be free for non-profit use (not just personal use), that will take care of a number of the requests. You'll have to read the EULA carefully. Make sure that installing ad-ware is not a condition of use.

You're right ... "flooded" is a bit strong. I've already received several requests, but I'm sure they'll taper off once we get rolling.

I'm totally on board with taking advantage of free software, and want patrons to have access to the best tools available. I'm just trying to find a comfortable balance between being "that dictatorial computer guy" and perpetuating the "wild west" attitude we have now. I'm sure there are lots of great software I'm not familiar with, but how do I maximize the utility of our FHC without sacrificing stability?

Case in point: This Sunday, we had to pause a FH class so I could work through disabling a browser extension that covered a patron's screen with notifications after she clicked what she thought was a link within the FamilyTree interface. The extension is free and I have learned it's pretty popular, but I had no knowledge that it had been installed and so did not know it was an extension or how to troubleshoot it. With the limited time available for Sunday School, it was a disruption that could have been easily avoided.

Was the extension itself useful for FH work, or was it the result of installing something else?

I think the big issue is does it help Family History work? Does it create a confusing experience for others (like this extension did)?

From what I've learned, the extension (Pandora's Hope Chest) can be very useful. I'm trying to reserve judgement for after I've had time to really fidget with it, but my first experience was a bit negative.

I think your last two questions hit the nail on the head for me, and would form a great foundation for a response to a software request:
1. Please explain how you feel this software will benefit our patrons.
2. How will the installation of the software impact patrons who are unfamiliar with its use?

Thanks!

I'll add another. To me, part of the use of the FHC is to train patrons to use the software in their own home. I have to wonder how much adding non-standard browser extensions affects that? The second, while this particular extension seems to a good tool for the experienced, in a FHC setting, it strikes me as promoting "harvesting where thou hasn't sown". In particular, I wonder if this doesn't encourage submitting names that shouldn't be submitted - yet (incomplete work) - or at least not by that patron (someone else is closer).

I'd ask the Director's review on it's true value.

Re: Pandora's Hope Chest.
Isn't this a Green Arrow hunting scheme that totally ignores several things:
1) Are you even related to the person with the green arrow, because if you haven't sourced your way up to that person, you can not rely on just what's in Family Tree as if it were true. Relationships must be verified with sources, which is so much easier to do now, and
2) Are their duplicate records for the Green Arrow person, which already have completed temple work? Let's not trivialize ordinance work by repeating it over and over for the same person. That's not hastening the work, that's actually hindering it, with much time and energy wasted.

I second the last two comments. A friend helped family members who had reserved around 220 "green arrow" ordinances. After my friend helped his family resolve errors and duplicates, guess how many ordinances were needed?

One sealing. That's it, out of 220 ordinances. It's just coming to light how few green arrows point to valid ordinances. So I would think twice about installing any program that helped people reserve them without proper research.

You might enjoy this recent FamilySearch blog post on the subject, entitled "Follow the Green Arrow... With Caution" https://familysearch.org/blog/en/follow ... w-caution/

I especially recommend the two presentations linked near the bottom of the article.

By the way, steph.younger and russellhltn, are you aware of the FamilySearch Yammer network? If you're not already on it and would like to join, please PM me with your email address and I'll send you an invitation. Lots of good discussions there about green arrows and reducing duplication.

Pandora's Hope Chest seems to be ignoring all the cautions FamilySearch has taken in the temple opportunities list. The temple opportunities list indicates "green arrow" opportunities within 4 generations of the patron. FamilySearch has deliberately limited it to four generations because the likelihood of errors is too great beyond that. FamilyTree is currently riddled with errors of incorrect relationships and completed ordinances that have not been merged together to show they are completed. Whoever created this Pandora's Hope Chest app is just ignoring the wisdom FamilyTree showed in limiting the temple opportunities list. Is there anyway that FamilySearch can restrict Pandora's Hope Chest from doing this?

I loaded the PHC extension into Chrome this morning and let it run. Four hours later, it had finished my tree (back to the mid-1300s, where it apparently stops looking) and found forty names, most of whom were born before 1700, and in family lines I'm not very familiar with. Then it started on my wife's tree, so I stopped it. It appears to ignore any names where "more information" is required, and focuses solely on the "green arrows."

Aside from the issues already pointed out, I found two things disconcerting:
1) the extension loads as an icon in the familytree toolbar, giving no indication to patrons that it's not actually a part of the church's program.
2) after logging out of familysearch and logging in as my wife, the same results showed up without running the extension, and neither closing the browser nor clearing the history removed the results.

Pandora's Hope Chest is a great tool to identify families that need to be fixed in FT. Open the person page and fix the families with an unknown spouse, check for duplicates, look up whatever records are available. Follow your own fan chart out until you get to about 1700 and let Pandora Hope Chest analyze the descendants of a known ancestor, according to Temple policy. Look for spouses. Expect each identified green arrow to take a couple hours research and FT corrections to be ready to reserve an ordinance. I do not think it would work well at a FHC. It takes hours to run and you would need to clear it between patrons. Be sure to view the "presentation", especially those who have already passed judgement against it without regard to its intended use. Those who are tempted to reserve ordinances without cleaning up the records also need to see it.

Hmm, that is something interesting I should look into and could perhaps advertise to users in there.

Pandora's Hope Chest has become FamilySearch Hope Chest. It has moved from the familysearch.org location to a brown chest icon at the far right of the address bar. Thus it only appears if one is signed into Family Tree. Currently (v 7.0.6?) there are two flavors to the extension. Hope chest and Hope Chest Plus, the latter costing $10.

One of the nice additions is that you can limit the search results to only those name which appear to have no duplicates. You can also search descendants (which was available previously, but not mentioned in this thread). And you can limit the search to only "Needs more information" results thus helping one search out problem individuals.

Another feature is that the search results are completely individualized based on the LDS account login name. Another patron cannot see your names unless they are logged in as you.

Another nice addition is the ability to place "labels" on the search results. Thus you can build lists of descendants from each of your 4th or 5th great grandparents, and have the results placed in your hope chest with a "Dunbar Roger 1782 Descendants" label as an example.

And you can also limit the search results to only specific ordinances, like baptism or sealings.

Eric Vance, the author of the Hope Chest, has done a great job of helping researchers find names needing ordinance work. You can view a introduction video if you google "hope chest familysearch" and open the Hope Chest Chrome Webstore page. It may not be "authorized" by FamilySearch, but it definitely enhances ones ability to clean up family records and search for qualified missing ordinances. Of course, submitting any name for ordinance is sacred work and needs to be done carefully and be "worthy of all acceptation."

We have several staff members who feel that the church's blog post, about cautioning members about the accuracy of "Pandora's Hope Chest", mean that the LDS Church/FamilySearch are saying "Do Not" show/train people on using this extension, and that it shouldn't be used at all until it is on the official Tree Share Certified list. Is this true?

We have many guests and staff that feel that the things that are not good in it such as "doesn't point out that you may have duplicates" and "May not be your line, because of inaccuracies in your tree" and "may not be sourced" are all problems that currently exist in FamilySearch if you are only looking for green arrows, and even exist with programs like BYU's Relative Finder, which is on the official site list. How do we resolve this?

moabgirl91k wrote:We have several staff members who feel that the church's blog post, about cautioning members about the accuracy of "Pandora's Hope Chest", mean that the LDS Church/FamilySearch are saying "Do Not" show/train people on using this extension, and that it shouldn't be used at all until it is on the official Tree Share Certified list. Is this true?

It looks to be a local decision to me. The FHC Operations Guide doesn't say what can't be installed other than it can't be done by patrons without permission and it must be properly licensed.

I think it's important to differentiate between "authorized software" which is, I believe, a local decision, and "certified software" which is a familysearch decision. In our own center, we don't install software with read/write access to patrons' familysearch data unless it's certified, but we have authorized a few programs that didn't come from familysearch (ie: image editors) after discussing them as an executive board and determining that they enhance the functionality of our center with a minimal risk of disruption.

I have used Hope Chest with good success. It does not promote an oversight of the FS rules, just helps you find and have a list of people to work on without reserving them. It is entirely up to the user to abide by the rules of relationship and also to do the diligent search for duplicates. I treat it as a work list from which I pick "candidates" and then do the clearing work as normal. This allows me to resolve some duplicates and then return to the Hope Chest list and continue at a later time. This is very useful for those with 100+ possible duplicates. If a patron simply finds the green arrows and reserves them for a working list, it only complicates the duplicate merge process for themselves and others. I highly recommend Hope Chest to be used as a tool to find and hold a list of possibilities. Good hunting.

My name is Norma Larsen. My genealogical line goes back to Adam on several lines. I have entered more than 3000 names. I am not interested in memories or pictures. I am interested in working on what President Nelson has said which is to take people to the temple for their ordinances. I used to use Chrome, Puzzilla and Hopechest. I could go back 12 generations, click on a name and the programs would search all the people in that decendency list and bring up a list of names that needed ordinances done. I then could click on each name, find out if was a duplicate and if it really needed ordinances done. If yes, I could send the name to the temple or do it myself. With so many temples, I am certain the church needs all the legitimate names it can get. Hopechest no longer works. I paid for a subscription. It still runs the search but does not produce the list of names that need temple work. I know the church has many intelligent, capable people working for it and it uses IT. PLEASE purchase the program from the owner and make it work again OR create a similar program so people that have a lot of names entered into Family Search can find many names that need temple work. Finding only one name at a time is extremely tedious. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION AND HOPEFULLY YOUR CREATION OF A PROGRAM THAT FINDS LISTS OF PEOPLE WHO NEED TEMPLE WORK DONE. Please contact me to let me know your response. normaslarsen@gmail.com, 971-212-1059.
https://community.familysearch.org/en/s ... =community

NormaSLarsen@gmail.com wrote: Wed Aug 14, 2024 10:28 pm Hopechest

I'd suggest re-downloading and installing the extension. I'm sure it needs to be updated regularly to keep up with changes at FamilySearch.

Have you tried using FamilySearch's Ordinances Ready? It looks like it does something similar. This article talks about how it finds names. The 6th bullet ("Green temples" from your tree) sounds like what HopeChest was doing for you.

jonesrk wrote: Thu Aug 15, 2024 12:01 pm Have you tried using FamilySearch's Ordinances Ready? It looks like it does something similar. This article talks about how it finds names. The 6th bullet ("Green temples" from your tree) sounds like what HopeChest was doing for you.

I agree with @jonesrk. Ordinances Ready is a much better choice than Hope Chest. It has better safeguards and it's part of FamilySearch. There shouldn't be a reason to use Hope Chest any more.