1 General Questions

What is Famcling?

Famcling is a digital platform designed to help families create and preserve their own dedicated family profile and family history. Each family can have its own Family Domain where it can build and maintain its Family Tree, Member Profiles, branches, stories, memories, photographs, articles, news, events, and other information that represents the family.

Famcling is designed around the family itself rather than around an individual person's ancestry. The family has its own dedicated profile and space where its different branches and members can collectively contribute information, preserve their shared history, and build a complete representation of the family's identity and story for present and future generations.

Is Famcling only a family tree platform?

No. The Family Tree is an important part of Famcling, but Famcling is designed to preserve much more than family relationships. A family can create its own profile and preserve its history, stories, memories, photographs, Member Profiles, articles, news, events, and other information that describes the people and experiences that make up the family.

The Family Tree shows how the members are connected, while the other features help capture the story behind those connections. Together, they allow a family to build a richer and more complete representation of its identity and history.

Who can use Famcling?

Famcling is primarily intended for families who want to create, preserve, and share their family profile and history. Family members can collectively contribute information through the Family Admin and Branch Manager structure, with different people helping maintain the parts of the family they know best.

Famcling can also be used by people outside the family to discover and explore family profiles and information that families have chosen to make publicly available. The information a person can access depends on the family's visibility settings and the user's role.

2 Family Domain & Branches

What is a Family Domain?

A Family Domain is the dedicated digital identity and space of a family within Famcling. Each family gets a unique web address through which its family profile and website can be accessed and shared with others.

Can I create a Family Domain directly on Famcling?

Currently, Family Domain creation is handled outside the Famcling website through the Famcling Platform Admin. A request needs to be submitted and verified before the Family Domain and Family Admin account are created.

This verification process helps ensure that the request genuinely represents the family, that the appropriate person receives the Family Admin account, and that family names and identities are not misused or unnecessarily duplicated.

My family does not have multiple branches. Can I still use Famcling?

Yes. A family does not need to have multiple branches to use Famcling. The Family Admin can manage the entire Family Domain directly without assigning any Branch Managers. Branch Managers are useful when a family has multiple branches or when the Family Admin wants to share the responsibility of maintaining different parts of the family.

Can a family have multiple branches?

Yes. A large family can have multiple branches or subfamilies that have developed over different generations. These branches may be known by different names and can maintain their own identity and dedicated space while remaining connected to the larger family and Family Tree.

Can a branch have its own web address?

Yes. Each branch can have its own dedicated subdomain within the main Family Domain. This allows the branch to maintain its own profile and content while remaining connected to the larger family.

Who manages a branch?

A Branch Manager can be assigned by the Family Admin to a specific member in the Family Tree. That member becomes the starting point of the branch managed by the Branch Manager. The Branch Manager can maintain the family members and relationships within the assigned branch, including subsequent generations.

The Family Admin retains full access to all branches within the Family Domain and can also manage and update the members, relationships, content, and other information of any branch when required. This allows Branch Managers to independently maintain their assigned branches while the Family Admin retains overall control and responsibility for the entire family.

Can one Branch Manager manage multiple branches?

Yes. A Branch Manager can be assigned to multiple branches when the Family Admin considers it appropriate. This can be useful when the same person has sufficient knowledge or responsibility to maintain more than one branch.

Can a Branch Manager manage multiple subfamilies?

Yes. A Branch Manager can be assigned to manage multiple subfamilies, depending on how the Family Admin organizes the family and assigns responsibilities. Their management access applies to each branch or subfamily assigned to them.

3 Famcling vs. Other Family Tree Platforms

How is Famcling different from traditional family tree websites?

Traditional genealogy and family tree platforms generally focus on building a person's ancestry and genealogy, allowing users to trace relationships in multiple directions through parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, spouses, and other relatives. The focus is often on discovering an individual's wider or complete ancestral connections.

Famcling takes a different approach by focusing on the family as a whole and its dedicated family identity. Instead of trying to represent the complete ancestry of every individual, Famcling builds a Family Tree around a particular family and its Family Domain. For example, if a person's father belongs to a Family Domain, the person can explore and connect the father's relatives and generations within that family. The person's mother may be represented as a member, but her wider relatives do not necessarily become part of that Family Domain unless her family is also represented on Famcling. If the mother's family has its own Family Domain, the relationship can be represented from that family's side as well.

This approach allows Famcling to preserve the identity, history, branches, people, stories, and memories of a family as a collective, while different family domains can maintain their own identities and histories.

Does Famcling show the complete ancestry of every person?

Not necessarily. Famcling is primarily organized around a specific family and its Family Domain, rather than attempting to construct the complete ancestry of every individual. A person's relatives can be represented as far as they belong to or are connected to the family being documented.

4 Family Tree Questions

Can multiple people contribute to the same Family Tree?

Yes. This is one of the key ideas behind Famcling. The Family Admin and assigned Branch Managers can contribute to and maintain the same Family Tree. Branch Managers can maintain the branches assigned to them, while the Family Admin has overall access to the entire Family Tree. As different branches contribute their information, they can be connected through their family relationships to form a larger and more complete Family Tree.

What should I do if I find incorrect family information?

If you find incorrect information, it is better to correct the existing information rather than create another member or relationship. If you are unsure about the correct information, discuss it with the relevant family members, Branch Manager, or Family Admin before making the change. This helps prevent incorrect information from being introduced into the Family Tree.

Can a person appear more than once in the Family Tree?

A person should generally have a single member record within the Family Tree. Creating duplicate records for the same person can result in disconnected or incorrect relationships. Before adding a new member, always check whether that person already exists in the Family Tree.

What if I make a mistake while building the Family Tree?

If you make a mistake, the existing member or relationship should normally be corrected rather than creating a new record. The Family Admin or assigned Branch Manager can review the information and make the necessary correction according to their access.

Can a Branch Manager delete a member from the Family Tree?

Famcling places restrictions on deleting members to help protect the Family Tree from accidental data loss. A member who has children cannot be deleted, because removing that member could break relationships and affect the representation of multiple generations.

A member who belongs to the last generation and does not have any children can be deleted when necessary. Even in such cases, deletion should be done carefully after confirming that the member record is no longer required.

Can a Branch Manager delete a parent or grandparent to remove an entire branch?

No. A parent, grandparent, or any other member who has children cannot be deleted simply to remove a branch. This prevents an entire part of the Family Tree from being accidentally disconnected or lost.

If an entire branch genuinely needs to be removed, the members must be considered and removed individually, where deletion is permitted. Such action is not recommended without first discussing it with the Family Admin and other relevant Branch Managers and obtaining their agreement.

Why does Famcling restrict deletion of members?

The Family Tree represents relationships across generations, so deleting one member can affect many other members connected to that person. Famcling therefore restricts deletion of members who have children to protect the structure and history of the Family Tree.

These restrictions are intended to encourage correction rather than deletion and to reduce the risk of accidentally losing valuable family information.

5 Member Profile Questions

What information can a Member Profile contain?

A Member Profile can bring together information such as basic details, an About section, education and work experience, living timeline, life events, family members, and lineage. The information can be expanded and updated over time.

Who can manage a Member Profile?

The Family Admin can manage Member Profiles across the Family Domain. A Branch Manager can manage profiles within their assigned branch. The Family Admin also has overall access to review and manage information contributed by Branch Managers.

Is all Member Profile information visible to the public?

Not necessarily. The visibility of member information can be controlled according to the family's privacy preferences and the member's consent. Personal or sensitive information should only be made publicly available when it is appropriate to do so.

6 Accounts, Roles & Access

What is the difference between a Family Admin and a Branch Manager?

The Family Admin has overall responsibility and control of the Family Domain and can manage information across the family and its branches. A Branch Manager manages the branch or subfamily assigned to them and contributes information about the people and history they know best.

Can a Branch Manager create another Branch Manager?

No. Branch Manager management is handled by the Family Admin. A Branch Manager can view other Branch Managers and the Family Admin, but cannot create or modify their assignments.

Can a Branch Manager manage another branch?

Only if that branch has been assigned to them by the Family Admin. A Branch Manager's management access is based on the branches or subfamilies assigned to them.

Who can manage the entire Family Domain?

The Family Admin has overall management responsibility for the Family Domain, including its branches, Branch Managers, Family Tree, content, and member information.

7 Content & Feature Questions

What can a family publish on Famcling?

A family can use Famcling to preserve and share a wide range of information, including family history, stories, articles, news, events, photographs, memories, Member Profiles, and other information that forms part of the family's story. This content can be maintained under the main family domain or within individual branches, depending on where it belongs.

Famcling allows families to control who can access their content. Depending on the nature and sensitivity of the information, content can be shared only with family members or made publicly available. The Family Admin and Branch Managers can manage the visibility of content within their respective areas, ensuring that information is shared with the intended audience while respecting family privacy and member preferences.

Can branches publish their own Articles, News, and Events?

Yes. A branch can maintain its own Articles, News, and Events through its dedicated branch space. The assigned Branch Manager can manage this branch-specific content, while the Family Admin retains overall access and control.

Can family content be shared publicly?

Yes. Families can choose to make appropriate content publicly available. Content intended only for family members can be kept restricted according to the family's visibility preferences.

8 Privacy, Visibility & Consent

Can family information be kept private?

Yes. Families can control the visibility of their content and choose whether appropriate information is publicly available or restricted to the family.

Who decides what information about a family member is publicly visible?

The Family Admin and, within their assigned branch, the Branch Manager can manage the visibility of member information while taking the member's consent and privacy into consideration.

What should I do if I notice sensitive information has been made public?

Sensitive or inappropriate information should be brought to the attention of the relevant Family Admin or Branch Manager. Administrators are responsible for reviewing information before making it publicly visible and for taking appropriate action when something should not be public.

Famcling provides authorized administrators with the ability to edit, restrict, or remove information immediately when necessary. This helps protect member privacy and maintain the quality and integrity of the family website.

Can the Family Admin remove information added by a Branch Manager?

Yes. The Family Admin has overall control of the Family Domain and can review, update, restrict, or remove information contributed by Branch Managers when necessary.

Should sensitive information be added to a public family profile?

No. Personal or sensitive information should not be made publicly available without appropriate consideration of the person's privacy and consent. Families should use the available visibility controls responsibly.

9 Collaboration Between Family Branches

Why does Famcling use Branch Managers?

Large families often have many branches spread across different places, and no single person may know the complete family history. Branch Managers allow different people to maintain the parts of the family they know best, making the building of the Family Tree a collective effort.

How can Branch Managers work together?

Branch Managers can view the Family Admin and other Branch Managers and use their available contact details to communicate with one another. They can share information, clarify relationships, verify or correct details, and coordinate information where different branches connect.

What happens when different branches contribute their information?

The contributions from different branches can gradually be connected through their family relationships. As more branches are added and connected, the Family Tree becomes larger and more complete, allowing the family to discover relationships and history that may not have been known within any single branch.

Can the same branch be assigned to multiple Branch Managers?

Yes. The Family Admin can assign multiple Branch Managers to the same branch when more than one person is needed to manage and maintain that branch. This can be useful when different people have knowledge of different aspects of the same branch and need to work together.

Can I assign a sub-branch to another Branch Manager?

Yes. A Branch Manager can manage an assigned branch while another Branch Manager can be assigned to a sub-branch or a branch that grows from it. This allows the Family Admin to distribute management responsibilities at different levels of the family structure.

The Family Admin retains overall access to all branches and sub-branches, regardless of which Branch Manager is assigned to them.

What if two Branch Managers need to update information about the same part of the family?

They should communicate with each other and, when necessary, involve the Family Admin to clarify the information before making conflicting changes. This collaborative approach helps keep the Family Tree and family information consistent.

10 Administration & Family Management

Can the Family Admin review information added by Branch Managers?

Yes. The Family Admin has overall access to the Family Domain and can review information contributed or updated by Branch Managers. When necessary, the Family Admin can correct, restrict, or remove information to maintain accuracy, privacy, and appropriate use of the family website.

Can the Family Admin manage branch-specific content?

Yes. The Family Admin can manage content across the Family Domain, including content belonging to individual branches or subfamilies. The assigned Branch Manager can also manage content within their own branch.

11 Preserving Family History

Why should I add stories and memories when the Family Tree already contains the relationships?

The Family Tree shows how people are connected, but it does not capture the complete story of a family. Stories, photographs, experiences, achievements, places, memorable events, and personal memories provide context about the people represented in the tree and help future generations understand the lives they lived.

What if an older family member has information that is not documented anywhere?

It is valuable to record that information while the person is still available to share it. Family stories, names, relationships, places, memories, and historical details can otherwise be lost over time. Famcling provides a place to preserve such knowledge as part of the family's shared history.

Can family history be updated later?

Yes. Family information can continue to evolve as new information is discovered, existing information is verified, and family members contribute additional stories, photographs, and memories. Famcling is designed to allow the family's digital history to grow over time.