Meet the FamilySearch Research Wiki Support Team

Although everyone who is registered with FamilySearch.org can contribute to the FamilySearch Research Wiki, it is not really like the Old West. The Research Wiki is moderated. Every change and every new article are reviewed by a team of volunteers. At the basic level are the moderators that watch certain areas of the Research Wiki. To quote the Research Wiki:

Moderators are volunteer administrators of the FamilySearch Wiki who help encourage contribution within a subject area on the wiki, monitor its content, and guide others as they contribute.

The Research Wiki is always looking for additional volunteers to act as Moderators. Their duties include the following:

• Build Community - Help build an active, vibrant community of contributors in a locality or topic.
• Recognize Contributions - Introduce themselves to new contributors to that locality, potentially recognize contributors for great work
• Help Resolve Problems - Generally a very minor part of these responsibilities, it will be important to respond when Wiki Guidelines and Policies are broken by contributors, and help when two or more contributors are in an editing dispute by supporting the Dispute Resolution guidelines.
• For more detailed information on the responsibilities, see the Moderator Responsibilities page.

In addition, there are additional levels of review and support including a Support Team. There are also a team of Administrators who have overall responsibility for the content and operation of the Research Wiki.

Without this support staff, the Research Wiki would not be a nearly accurate and focused as it is. All of these volunteers (and a few paid employees of FamilySearch) are dedicated to making the Research Wiki the most valuable genealogical resource on the Web. They are one of the main reasons why the Research Wiki is growing so dramatically and yet maintains its integrity. So, there is no mystery. The Research Wiki grows and becomes more valuable through the efforts of the hundreds of contributors, while at the same time, the Moderators, Support Staff and Administrators watching, correcting and constantly maintaining the basic structure of the Research Wiki.