FSC phones
The FSC Operations Guide, under Safety and Security, says: Each center must have ready access to a communication device. If making a landline telephone available in the center is not feasible, a mobile phone should always be made available.
Has anyone heard about a change to remove all phones from centres?
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This has been discussed several times in the 1st and 3rd Wednesday Zoom (or more recently MS Teams) meetings for Center directors. Basically, the existence (or not) of a phone in a FamilySearch Center is a local decision determined by the Stake President. Our Center, for example, still has its own landline phone number from many years ago, and we have a phone that takes messages when we're not open, and provides a recording with hour of the Center. Other stakes have chosen to use VOIP (Voice Over IP) phones in the Centers (as discussed in the Wednesday online meetings for Directors.
It would be good to discuss this with your high councilor over Temple and Family History, and have him discuss it further with the stake president for a decision. If you don't currently have a phone in the Center, the stake can go through the FM Group to have a VOIP phone installed so that messages can be received, and a recording with hours, location, etc., can also be provided to people in the stake and the community. FM Group should be able to arrange for the installation.
And if you're the director or the tech support representative for your stake or center, attending the 1st and 3rd Wednesday online support meetings is highly advised at one of the three listed times (7pm Eastern, 7pm Pacific, and 7pm Hawaii times). It's an open forum for questions and answers with the top technical and policy support people in FamilySearch. It is accessed throughthe FamilySearch tech support Community page. Though technically for North America, there are sometimes even Center directors attending from Australia during the meeting at 7pm Hawaii time. There is a link near the top of the page:
—Chris
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I am newly called.. so forgive my lack of history. In way of a brief intro, I am former Inspector General I. T. inspection team for the US Marine Corps. More recently the senior Enterprise Architect for World Back in 189 countries… Not bragging just giving a small history to understand where I am coming from.
I am a fan of a standardized enterprise… it makes personnel transfers more stable and allows us all to learn the same way of doing things globally.
That being said, I realize phones are not the end of the world… but as a new guy to FSC callings… I hope "standards" are.
In my humble opinion, it may be beneficial for all, if someone at FSC HQ could make a standards call, then others no matter how long working in FSC/formerly FHC followed those standards.
Hopefully FSC Phones assignments based on FSC names, not personnel, may be most consistent. With FSCmail addresses to match. My center example might be (example only not working) WesMerTxFSC@gmail.com… then get a voice.google.com phone number that matches the city where the FSC is located. To date, these phone numbers and service are free.
Currently My FSC has an email address no one in my stake can check and a phone number which is disconnected. We are working on fixing it but it has been 2 months of my trying to fix it and I am told they have not worked in 4 years. This contact info is facing the public. If a non-member sent an email or made a call they went into a black hole. What do you think they thought of the free service?
Another thing, is video chat… if FSC is standardizing on Google OS to move away from all Microsoft products, we should all use whatever the new standard is. Teams is Microsoft… if we are standardizing on Google products we should be using Google Video chat solutions for everyone, correct?
Food for thought, please forgive my limited exposure to FSC systems, I am excited to work in this new calling.
Semper fidelis et paratus, /ALE
E Albert
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@ealbert Mod note: Community is a public online forum. For your privacy, your comment was edited to remove your private information, as well as names that are not part of your username. Please see the Community Code of Conduct for more details.
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I attend the Wednesday tech calls. I have noticed several attendees have mentioned that their Stake President wants to eliminate the cost of the FSC telephone in favor of using a staff's mobile phone. For safety and security, a phone needs to be available in the Center in case you need to call the police (as I did once) or the fire department. I am not in favor of using the a staff's mobile phone. I did this twice o respond to a patron and started getting calls during Sunday sacrament or a Saturday grocery shopping trip. Not good. Then what do you do when a new Director is called. You can't be changing phone numbers with every new Director. Our Center had aging copper phone lines which were deteriorating and causing communication issues. The cost for a tech just to come out to look at the lines was $300/hour. The Facilities Manager suggested a VOIP internet phone (through RingCentral). He said a lot of the local church offices (stake included) were going to this type of phone. It works exactly the same way as a landline phone (voicemail, greetings, etc.) except that it uses the internet. We were able to keep our Center's same phone number, which we've had for 40 years and you can check for voicemails remotely. The cost of the desk telephone itself was around $100 and the monthly cost is around $20-$25/month. As far as email goes, every FSC has an email address issued by FamilySearch (state_city@familyhistorymail.org). You can check email messages remotely as well, so you don't need to be in the Center check or respond to the messages.
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Like you, as a FSC director I have zero authority to standardize anything. I too, as a former Air Force pilot, highly appreciate standardization. However, my experience with FamilySearch is that the only constant in FamilySearch is change, and the only real "enterprise" culture seems to reside in the fact that all of its pieces happen to share the same name (FamilySearch).
Just to consider recent changes (and nothing has changed in many years except all the changes), we've moved from Zoom to Teams recently for our two meetings on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month. Some centers' computers are still upgrading to Windows 11, while others have had to migrate to Google Chrome Flex (which comes with zero instructions for use!). The procedure for returning microfilm and fiche to Salt Lake changes regularly, and recently was even paused altogether for whatever reason(s). The outward facing information about our centers seems to constantly change, including the platform. It's not even clear if our center Wikipages are going to continue. Etc., etc., etc.
There is no consistent policy for phones in the centers, except that there should be one for safety purposes. But that takes away from interaction with the community (both members and non-members), since using personal cell phones either requires publishing of personal number(s), and the consequent lack of privacy on that personal number with incoming calls as @Pamela Nunokawa very clearly and correctly pointed out above, or it would require an expensive cell phone with a monthly cell phone bill for a dedicated "line" in the center for example.
I agree that some standardization would be great, but I would not be optimistic…. 🤔 And personally, I try to NOT use Google for anything I don't have to, simply out of security/privacy concerns. They make their money from all the data they vacuum up from our "free" accounts. A friend who used to work for NoSuchAgency recently told me he believes that Meta and Google probably have more data on each of us individually, than does his prior agency, further confirming my concerns about Google.Just my 2¢.
—Chris
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A basic mobile with a pay as you go sim would not cost as much and most calls would most likely be inwards, from patrons, so call costs shoud be minimal
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My humble opinion, which is hard pressed from a Marine…
I agree, a VOIP solution Phone. This should be centrally negotiated at FSC HQ. This would be the best most centrally managed and least expensive solution. Each FSC has internet access, I have never seen an internet provider that could not also add phones as needed. If it is centrally managed, via comcast or Verizon or AT&T whomever it is for your region… they provide your minimum Internet access and an FSC phone line with the Ward Chapel Phones… or directly from FSC HQ if that funding comes from them. Ensure we insert a provision to maintain current phone numbers if established. New Ward, they get the full package Internet, phone, wifi, etc…
@Chris Schmink if you know of any phone company that guarantees privacy of (y)our data, I want their name too. /grin My friends at various agencies have told me, everyone is monitored, everyone… just don't say anything you don't mean and cant back up. /grin Thank you all for your candor…
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In response to @Chris Schmink "if you know of any phone company that guarantees privacy of (y)our data, I want their name too. /grin"
I have given up on privacy. That being said, we need to find a manageable enterprise level solution. Do we have a voip company owned by a member? It will not stop government but our best hope of an honest company. /shrug
NSA has hooks into every cell and even what is left of the copper wire carriers. As you probably know, FISA warrants come after… Better to ask forgiveness than permission in the US GOVT. /grin
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See my previous comment. Our FM set us up with a VOIP phone through RingCentral (HQ in Belmont CA). I don't know if it's owned by members. Our FM said a lot of the church buildings are using these phones now. Don't contact the company directly; go through your local FM since I'm assuming he can qualify for group pricing. We have used this phone for two years now and have not had any issues except if the internet goes down which is rare. It has a separate modem that can be placed anywhere in the room (atop our file cabinet). The phone is on the staff desk. I have the RingCentral app on my mobile phone. I can check messages and voicemails remotely; it also transcribes any voicemails into my Center's email and into the phone app. When the physical phone rings at the Center, it also rings on my mobile phone. I can choose to answer it (on FSC closed days) or not (when there is staff at the Center I let them answer). I can also call an FSC patron through the app on my mobile phone, so the patron sees the FSC number as the caller ID and not my personal mobile. I can't answer about privacy. We only use it for incoming calls to the Center. The company seems reputable and has answered any of my questions (via email) when I asked. Not saying you need to use this company; I'm just stating the conveniences and that we haven't had any issues.
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