Tech Forum

The goal for the Church this year is to get broadband Internet in all the U.S. units where it is feasible at a reasonable cost.

If your stake president doesn't feel impressed to have each unit in the stake setup, however, then it doesn't need to be done. It depends on whether he feels the need or not. If not then the funds don't need to be spent anyway.

In my area it has been useful for those few units that are hours away from the stake center. The stake simply broadcasts stake conference to them which reduces a great burden on the members. The stake president simply expressed this need to the area office who approved the funds.

If your stake president feels that having Internet capability would be a great benefit to the members then he would contact the area office for the needed budget funding for the year. The FM group doesn't set the budget, the area office does.

rbeede,

The definition of 'get broadband Internet in all the U.S. units' is not a good term to use in my opinion. I have Internet in all my buildings, in fact, I have LDS Access Wireless in all of my buildings, What I don't have is wired connections to the pulpit nor to the clerk computers. My Internet connections are not all in secure or optimal areas, What is the actual intention of the goal? I certainly don't have optimal Internet in all my buildings.... for about 5K I could get Time warner provided Cable in 4 of my buildings and have 15 Mb Down and 1 MB up speeds to support PVC, but instead I have DSL with 1.5 down and 256K up... What is the goal... just having Internet is not the way I would interpret the desire.... having the Internet Capable of meeting the needs of the members is how I would interpret it. To Me, this means:

1. Broadband Speed sufficient for MLS
2. Broadband Speed sufficient to receive webcasts from the stake
3. Broadband Speed sufficient to support a PVC call with video and audio
4. Broadband Speed sufficient to support multiple teachers/leaders displaying a Mormon Message (or similar Church Content) for a teaching moment
5. Broadband Speed sufficient to support the bloatware new.familysearch.org
6. Broadband Speed sufficient to support an FHC (if on premise)
7. Church Firewall (of Course)
8. Broadband and Church firewall secured or 'out of the way'

Am I off my rocker? Look at the wiki and the instructional videos provided to STS and FM for this effort.

As you mention, the Stake President needs to determine (through the consultative input of the STS) which buildings to target for which speeds. And we'll be specifically emphasizing this in our 2013 planning, because the informal discussions we had with FM weren't apparently enough to make it to the budget for 2012. My fear is that this was the year to do it... I hear a purse cinching coming down for next year. It drives me crazy that this was not explicitly detailed and left open for FM to interpret and perform to the least as they so often do.

JohnShaw wrote:Hold a meeting with the Stake Presidency member over Family History, the High Councilman over Family History and your PFR give examples, show the history, etc... --> Explicitly let them know that you no longer support this meetinghouse and they can contract out a professional for it, have the meetinghouse provide their own STS or obtain the items you need to do the calling correctly (locked cabinet, release the whacko-FHC Director, etc...).

There is no need to show anybody anything about what goes on down there. Everyone knows and jokes about it. It is just this "let's not offend anyone" thing one of the other Brothers wrote about on this post.

Great idea! Thanks a million! I think that is exactly what I shall do.
I think the one thing here that really made me stop, step back and really start wondering is, the fact that the Salt Lake Family history networking people started watching the internet activity at this center for several weeks and verbally told me on the phone "that is exactly what they would expect to see"....excuse me....you got to be kidding here? That IS what you expect to see...
I am not saying nothing ever goes this way in the rest of my centers but.... unlike this one, it takes a center librarian to log in the computers and they are locked when the center closes.
I think I either have to rid my self of this one building burden...yes burden and continue to give my total support to the centers who really need and deserve it... Again... THANKS! Your ideas were truely a godsend!