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Ancestry.com - Community Guidelines
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COMMUNITY GUIDELINES

	WELCOME TO THE ANCESTRY COMMUNITY! 

	As the world's largest online community dedicated to family history, we have members all around the world from Ancestry, RootsWeb, and Genealogy.com. As you collaborate with other members sharing ideas, making meaningful discoveries, and finding answers to your questions, we ask that you follow these guidelines so that everyone in the community can have an enjoyable experience. We update these guidelines from time to time so please check back regularly to get the latest. 

	BE NICE 

	It's pretty simple: treat others the way you want to be treated. We believe that everyone has something valuable to contribute to the community. While it's okay to disagree, be polite. Don't harass, abuse, or threaten other members. We're a community of family-friendly companies so don't post any content that's vulgar, hateful, sexually explicit, illegal, defamatory, or otherwise offensive. 

	RESPECT PEOPLE'S PRIVACY 

	You probably don't want your personal information posted all over the internet. Neither do the other members of the community. Don't post contact information, photos, email addresses, or other personal information about a living individual without their permission. In the case of minors, you'll need the consent of their parent or guardian. 

	THINK BEFORE YOU POST 

	Remember, you're responsible for what you post. Here are a few tips to help you determine what you should or should not do: 

 	 * Don't post spam. This could be commercial messages, advertisements, third-party promotions or related solicitations.
 	 * Don't post anything you didn't personally create. That includes copyrighted material you're not authorized to distribute, personal email messages, GEDCOMs owned by other people, etc. For more details please read our terms and conditions.
 	 * Don't impersonate anyone. If you pretend to be an employee or representative of Ancestry or anyone affiliated with the Ancestry family of companies, properties or affiliates, or impersonate another member of the community, you may have your account suspended or terminated.
 	 * Be aware of who can see your posts. Depending on your privacy settings, photos, stories, or comments that you post might be public and can be copied, modified, and distributed by others. In addition, by submitting content in our community, you expressly grant Ancestry the rights explained in our terms and conditions.

	We can't be responsible for the content our members create and share in the community, but we reserve the right to remove any posts or comments that disregard these guidelines or violate our terms and conditions or rules of conduct. Serious violations or offenses will subject the responsible member to account termination. In addition we may move messages that are posted in the wrong topic or edit the surname field, subject line, etc. in any message as we deem appropriate. 

	Learn to Collaborate Effectively 

 	 * Stay on topic. If you're posting on the "Oklahoma" message board, don't post queries about New England.
 	 * Don't put your message in all caps--it makes you sound angry.
 	 * Keep discussions constructive. If you disagree with someone, respond to their message instead of commenting on them as a person.
 	 * Don't forget to say thank you! If someone has answered your question or given you good advice, make sure you let them know you appreciate it.

	REPORT ISSUES  

	We don't pre-screen or monitor every comment or post contributed by our members. If you see content that you feel is inappropriate based on these community guidelines or that violates our terms and conditions or rules of conduct, please let us know.

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