Terms of Use

Welcome to Mauk Family Systems — a private space dedicated to honouring our family's lineage. By creating an account, requesting membership, or contributing content you agree to these terms. Please read them carefully; they exist to protect every member and the integrity of our shared story.

1. Membership

• Membership is open to descendants, spouses, and approved relatives of the families hosted on this platform.
• Every request is reviewed by a family admin. We may decline or revoke access if the relationship cannot be verified, or if conduct is incompatible with these terms.
• One account per individual. Please use your real name as it would be recorded in the family tree.
• You are responsible for keeping your password confidential and for all activity under your account.

2. Content you contribute

Photos, stories, biographies, and member updates that you contribute remain owned by you and your family. By submitting them you grant the platform a non-exclusive licence to display them to approved members of your family, and (where you explicitly choose so) to the public sections of the family page.

• Contribute only information you have the right to share.
• Treat every elder, child, and relative with dignity. Do not post content that is disrespectful, defamatory, or harmful.
• Do not upload material that infringes copyright, exposes private information about non-members, or violates the law.

3. Family admins and moderators

Family admins are trusted custodians of each family's tree. They may approve members, edit member records for accuracy, publish or unpublish stories and events, and remove content that breaks these terms. Disputes about a family record should first be raised with the admin of that family.

4. Acceptable use

• Do not attempt to access another family's records, scrape the site, or interfere with its operation.
• Do not use the platform to send commercial messages, solicitations, or unrelated promotions.
• Automated access, bots, and unauthorised integrations are not permitted.

5. Account suspension and removal

Accounts that violate these terms, or that are dormant for an extended period and unverifiable, may be suspended. You can request closure of your account at any time; certain genealogical records may be retained in a respectful, anonymised form to keep the family tree intact for future generations.

6. Service availability

We work to keep the platform available, but it is offered on an "as is" basis without guarantees of uninterrupted service. We are not liable for loss of contributions beyond the reasonable efforts we make to back up and protect your data.

7. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms to reflect changes in the platform, our families' needs, or applicable laws. Material changes will be announced on this page and, where appropriate, by email to approved members.

8. Contact

Questions or concerns about these terms can be sent through our contact page. Please also review our Privacy Policy.