LDS Account E-mail to MLS

[mkmurray]

In my experience, the MLS addresses are the most out of date and inaccurate e-mail addresses of the three places mentioned. So sending MLS to LUWS would introduce the most error. On the other hand, the LDS Account e-mail was probably fairly recently verified, since the process of obtaining an LDS Account requires an e-mail verification. So it is probably the most accurate address, and thus is the best choice.

I really doubt that those posting on this thread who have multiple active e-mail addresses are a representative sample of Church membership at large. I can understand why those people would be frustrated with the MLS e-mail address being overwritten by the LDS Account e-mail address, but in most cases this will lead to increased accuracy for the reasons I stated above.

I think you are right on the whole. This probably is the best assumption for a large majority of Church units. However, because of the flood of updated contact info we acquired through Tithing Settlement, I will have to print out the email addresses before this data gets pushed down in order to see how much data we lose. I'm hoping it's not much, but there is a small risk of significant setback.

[hutchinsbb]

I think you are right on the whole. This probably is the best assumption for a large majority of Church units. However, because of the flood of updated contact info we acquired through Tithing Settlement, I will have to print out the email addresses before this data gets pushed down in order to see how much data we lose. I'm hoping it's not much, but there is a small risk of significant setback.

I am the product manager for LDS Account, and I really appreciate everyone's thoughts on this. The synchronization process that is being put in place is not a one time load. We are confident that LDS Account contains the most accurate source of personal e-mail for the Church because it is the only system that requires the user to validate ownership of their e-mail.

By doing this we are hoping to accomplish several things... the main one being of course to make it easier for members to keep their e-mail up to date (self service - update it once and have the changes cascade across all systems, etc.). This should reduce the burden placed on ward clerks to have to keep this information up to date for everyone, and help avoid typos etc. that can happen when the information is entered into MLS by a ward clerk.

What I have found interesting in this thread is that many seem to want to use one e-mail for LDS Account and a different one for display on the ward directory. Can you help me understand why that is? We currently let you store two different e-mail addresses in LDS Account... so one of the features we were considering is to let you choose which e-mail is used to synchronoize across other Church applications. Right now by default it will be the "Primary E-mail" and not the "Alternate E-mail" value stored in LDS Account. Would this solve your needs?

Thanks,
Ben

[hutchinsbb]

I think you are right on the whole. This probably is the best assumption for a large majority of Church units. However, because of the flood of updated contact info we acquired through Tithing Settlement, I will have to print out the email addresses before this data gets pushed down in order to see how much data we lose. I'm hoping it's not much, but there is a small risk of significant setback.

I am the product manager for LDS Account, and I really appreciate everyone's thoughts on this. The synchronization process that is being put in place is not a one time load. We are confident that LDS Account contains the most accurate source of personal e-mail for the Church because it is the only system that requires the user to validate ownership of their e-mail.

By doing this we are hoping to accomplish several things... the main one being of course to make it easier for members to keep their e-mail up to date (self service - update it once and have the changes cascade across all systems, etc.). This should reduce the burden placed on ward clerks to have to keep this information up to date for everyone, and help avoid typos etc. that can happen when the information is entered into MLS by a ward clerk.

What I have found interesting in this thread is that many seem to want to use one e-mail for LDS Account and a different one for display on the ward directory. Can you help me understand why that is? We currently let you store two different e-mail addresses in LDS Account... so one of the features we were considering is to let you choose which e-mail is used to synchronoize across other Church applications. Right now by default it will be the "Primary E-mail" and not the "Alternate E-mail" value stored in LDS Account. Would this solve your needs?

Thanks,
Ben

[jdlessley]

What I have found interesting in this thread is that many seem to want to use one e-mail for LDS Account and a different one for display on the ward directory. Can you help me understand why that is? We currently let you store two different e-mail addresses in LDS Account... so one of the features we were considering is to let you choose which e-mail is used to synchronoize across other Church applications. Right now by default it will be the "Primary E-mail" and not the "Alternate E-mail" value stored in LDS Account. Would this solve your needs?

The use of different e-mail addresses for the LDS Account and another for MLS and the LUWS allows people such as myself to differentiate the source of spam. If other people are like me the use of an ISP registered e-mail address is kept very close while throw away e-mail addresses are used for those situations where control of the dissemination of that address is not possible. An e-mail address used for registration with LDS Account is relatively secure while the address in MLS or posted on the LUWS could end up in the hands of spammers relatively quickly.

My recommendation would be to have the alternate e-mail address in the LDS Account profile be the one to be pushed to MLS. If a user does not provide an alternate e-mail address then the primary address could be used. This would keep those like me happy in controlling the e-mail address that is distributed.

[lajackson]

What I have found interesting in this thread is that many seem to want to use one e-mail for LDS Account and a different one for display on the ward directory. Can you help me understand why that is?

I use one e-mail for serious business and give it to trusted folks who understand that they should use it for private communication and not be broadcasting it to the world.

I give another e-mail address to the public, who generally do not understand that they should bcc my address when they blast messages to a thousand friends in their entire address book and, as I mentioned earlier in this thread, keep me up to date (read spam me) with information about the Second Coming and the imminent disasters for which I will need my food storage.

This is a very real problem.

We currently let you store two different e-mail addresses in LDS Account... so one of the features we were considering is to let you choose which e-mail is used to synchronoize across other Church applications. Right now by default it will be the "Primary E-mail" and not the "Alternate E-mail" value stored in LDS Account. Would this solve your needs?

Yes. Probably it would. As long as I knew which applications it was going to update.

I did not remember that there are two addresses stored at LDS Account. In fact, it has been so long since I registered for LDS Account, that I am not actually sure which e-mail address is there. (I know which one should be there.)

I do like the idea of one place to update them all, but some of the places need the private address and the rest can have the throw-away address.

[mkmurray]

My recommendation would be to have the alternate e-mail address in the LDS Account profile be the one to be pushed to MLS and ultimately the LUWS. If a user does not provide an alternate e-mail address then the primary address could be used.

I think it would be better to get to choose Primary or Secondary email to be pushed to the other systems. I went to LDSAccount yesterday and switched the order of my Primary and Secondary in order to accommodate this upcoming push. But it would be easier just to select which one, and it would be more flexible for everyone's needs.

I did not remember that there are two addresses stored at LDS Account.

There wasn't when I originally registered. There apparently have been some changes since then, including some new profile fields to fill in.

[jdlessley]

I think it would be better to get to choose Primary or Secondary email to be pushed to the other systems.

That would probably work also. But what happens when people do not provide an address for the one selected for pushing to other systems? Is that going to create a problem when an e-mail address is needed in the other system. Right now not having an e-mail address in MLS does not create a problem. In fact that may be the way some people may want it for MLS - no e-mail address.

[russellhltn]

What I have found interesting in this thread is that many seem to want to use one e-mail for LDS Account and a different one for display on the ward directory. Can you help me understand why that is?

I have two addresses - one "personal" and one "public". The personal one is for those who have physical access to me or at least know where I live. I give it to friends, family, financial companies, etc. I have nothing to gain by trying to hide from these folks. The address has my full name. It makes it easy to tell people and easy for them to remember/identify it.

The "public" address has a shorted version of my name. I use it for Internet friends. I have a uncommon last name. I know I'm not truly anonymous, but I'm not going to make it easy for anyone who has chosen to be my enemy to find me. It's simply not wise to advertise my full name like that. I think that's in line with advice from the safety experts. It's the one I use for this site. And it gets the most spam. I'd rather not have the ward members try and get my attention though that account.

We currently let you store two different e-mail addresses in LDS Account... so one of the features we were considering is to let you choose which e-mail is used to synchronize across other Church applications. Right now by default it will be the "Primary E-mail" and not the "Alternate E-mail" value stored in LDS Account. Would this solve your needs?

It would help, but it wouldn't solve my problem as I would use different addresses for different aspects of church. I use my personal address for MLS and LUWS, but my public address for this site and other public church Internet sites. So I'd like some control of which address goes to which application. If the primary address went to public sites and the alternate went to MLS/LUWS that would work for me, but may not work for others like lajackson.

[lajackson]

I'd like some control of which address goes to which application. If the primary address went to public sites and the alternate went to MLS/LUWS that would work for me, but may not work for others like lajackson.

I agree with this. For example, because I am the LUWS admin, I am forced to use a throw away e-mail address. If I accidentally send a broadcast message, my ISP shuts down the address until I contact them and convince them I am not a spammer. That usually takes a few days.

I cannot afford to have my primary address out of commission that long.

So, if my LDS Account e-mail address were to flow to MLS and then LUWS, LDS Account would not be able to get me, either, after the first broadcast on LUWS.

[rmrichesjr]

...
What I have found interesting in this thread is that many seem to want to use one e-mail for LDS Account and a different one for display on the ward directory. Can you help me understand why that is? We currently let you store two different e-mail addresses in LDS Account... so one of the features we were considering is to let you choose which e-mail is used to synchronoize across other Church applications. Right now by default it will be the "Primary E-mail" and not the "Alternate E-mail" value stored in LDS Account. Would this solve your needs?

Thanks,
Ben

I would suggest stating clearly which email address is sent where, preferably on the form where email addresses are entered. That way, people with particular needs can decide what address to put where. If the form just says "Primary" vs. "Alternate", it's not obvious which one is public and which is private.