Tech Forum

As ward clerk, I was showing the Primary President (my wife) the new beta directory, and told her we now can take pictures of all the kids individually and add them to the directory so the bishop could see and get to know them.

She said it wasn't safe and we shouldn't do it. Her explanations are that a child predator tries to find any info about kids, such as a name, a parents name, siblings, or addresses, and will use that to convince a child they are a "friend" and not a stranger. Having a photo next to their name in the ward directory would give a potential dangerous person the ability to recognize a child, their address, siblings, etc.

I explained that these directories are only available to ward members who have made an LDS account. Her response: "You are ward clerk. Do you know every name on our ward list, even those who don't come? How can you be sure a dangerous person we don't know about won't access our ward directory?"

I don't have the answer to that one...Any thoughts?

kisaac wrote:As ward clerk, I was showing the Primary President (my wife) the new beta directory, and told her we now can take pictures of all the kids individually and add them to the directory so the bishop could see and get to know them.

She said it wasn't safe and we shouldn't do it. Her explanations are that a child predator tries to find any info about kids, such as a name, a parents name, siblings, or addresses, and will use that to convince a child they are a "friend" and not a stranger. Having a photo next to their name in the ward directory would give a potential dangerous person the ability to recognize a child, their address, siblings, etc.

I explained that these directories are only available to ward members who have made an LDS account. Her response: "You are ward clerk. Do you know every name on our ward list, even those who don't come? How can you be sure a dangerous person we don't know about won't access our ward directory?"

I don't have the answer to that one...Any thoughts?

I would leave this decision up to the parents. If they don't mind a photo posted of their family (incl children), then proceed. The final decision should be up to the parents to decide.

kisaac wrote:I explained that these directories are only available to ward members who have made an LDS account.

Actually, the directories are available to anyone in the stake who has an LDS Account.

But personally, I trust that the Church would not release such directories with this security unless they felt it was safe. The Church is very concerned with the safety and privacy of its members, and particularly the children.

That said, any family can make its own decisions, and the stake president or bishop can make decisions at the stake or ward level regarding the local policy on the inclusion of pictures.

kisaac wrote:I don't have the answer to that one...Any thoughts?

Yes. Listen to your wife. [grin]

Then you and she share your concerns with the bishop in private (or even in ward council), follow the counsel and listen to the Spirit.

Your bishop may suggest that photos be limited to adults and not youth and children. He may suggest that photos are ok for all, but that the parents should carefully decide if they wish to post them.

Ultimately, it is up to the parents. And I think your wife has a valid point, although I also believe the Church feels the site is adequately secure.

I am not familiar enough with the beta site to know what restrictions or suggestions are made there, especially concerning youth and children.

I assume that members still may opt out of the Local Unit Web Site completely.

The policy I've recommended to my ward is that we post a family picture, and a picture of the adults. We will only post pictures of youth or children upon the family's request. We do the same for individual phone numbers and e-mails for this age group.

One reason I recommended this policy was because I know that I wouldn't want my daughter's picture on the website, and I figure that it would be less hassle tracking those who want their children's information on the directory than those who do not.

Another argument I've made is that children change rapidly, and I don't want to have to deal with uploading new pictures for that many people on a regular basis. I'll have my hands full enough doing just the adults.

All good arguments. I think one argument for posting is to help the primary teachers learn their student's names. However, It doesn't have to be the website.

kisaac wrote:I don't have the answer to that one...Any thoughts?

I share your wife's concern, she is wise.

kisaac wrote:As ward clerk, I was showing the Primary President (my wife) the new beta directory, and told her we now can take pictures of all the kids individually and add them to the directory so the bishop could see and get to know them.

She said it wasn't safe and we shouldn't do it. Her explanations are that a child predator tries to find any info about kids, such as a name, a parents name, siblings, or addresses, and will use that to convince a child they are a "friend" and not a stranger. Having a photo next to their name in the ward directory would give a potential dangerous person the ability to recognize a child, their address, siblings, etc.

I explained that these directories are only available to ward members who have made an LDS account. Her response: "You are ward clerk. Do you know every name on our ward list, even those who don't come? How can you be sure a dangerous person we don't know about won't access our ward directory?"

I don't have the answer to that one...Any thoughts?

RussellHltn wrote:I think one argument for posting is to help the primary teachers learn their student's names. However, It doesn't have to be the website.

The new site has been designed to present personalized content and resources based on the calling held by the LDS Account holder. If the ability of ward and stake members to view photos of children and perhaps also youth, could be restricted to those with specific callings, the valid concerns over safety and privacy could be addressed, while at the same time, designated leaders and teachers would be able to benefit from this resource.

danpass wrote:If the ability of ward and stake members to view photos of children and perhaps also youth, could be restricted to those with specific callings...

That's a really good point, worth considering in my opinion.

mkmurray wrote:That's a really good point, worth considering in my opinion.

If done, I'd like to see it implemented as a local option. Parents interact with their children's playmates. They may want to raise a concern with someone and need to match a name to a face.

However, I think limiting stake-wide access for those without primary/youth callings would be a good thing. Most people have a grasp on who is in the ward. They have no clue who is in the stake.