Frequently Asked Questions
1. Is JwContacts in any way linked with or supported by any official organization of Jehovah's Witnesses?
No.
2. May I pass JwContacts data through the jwpub.org email server? My company's private email server?
Absolutely not! Especially for the first that would likely violate its terms of service and could lead to suspension of your rights on that server.
It might also cause the author some difficulty.
3. Is the author of JwContacts one of Jehovah's Witnesses in good standing?
Yes, and I pray it will always be so. I have been a baptized Witness since 1961 and always in good standing.
From the start of the elder arrangement I have been privileged to serve, with interruptions, as an elder in several Congregations..
4. May I make a monetary donation to support JwContacts?
No. The author bears all costs. Consider the app your personal gift.
JwC employs some 3rd-party software that costs its author nothing as long as JwC is totally free to all.
Other 3rd-party software has been paid for (sometimes with annual renewal feesw), but the expenses are viewed as a contribution the owner makes to the brotherhood at large.
However if you are an elder who feels he can afford the time and is qualified to help with translation, please get in touch.
5. May I submit suggestions, error reports?
Please do; they would be very much appreciated. Thank you.
If you experience errors, kindly consider passing along as much general information about what you were doing at the time.
Some anonymous automatic error reporting is built-in. It does NOT transmit any personal or congregational data.
The sole purpose is to help improve the app.
6. Since JwContacts is capable of storing various personal information, what is the minimum amount needed to be useful?
It is up to each user to respect the law of the land, theocratic direction, and his own conscience as to which data is stored.
Though a means may be provided for much more, use only that which meets such criteria.
At a minimum all that would be needed for any contact entity is a name and some way to reach the person, for instance: a phone number.
7. If I have questions, may I email the author?
Please submit using the contact form at https://www.jwcontacts.com/Pages/ContactUs.html.
8. I feel something in JwContacts is not in accord with current Organizational policy. What should I do?
Please take a moment to verify to yourself that is really so, then feel free to email the author with what you've found.
It will be prayerfully considered.
9. If Organization policy ever indicates apps like JwContacts should not be used, what should I do?
By all means immediately uninstall this app, which will also destroy or render unreachable all its data.
10. I feel in some way my use of JwContacts has been deleterious. What are my remedies?
The author hopes nothing of the sort ever happens and would be very sorry to learn it did.
If asked, he will gladly do whatever he reasonably can to render assistance.
But please understand there are absolutely no express or implied warranties or guarantees of any kind for JwContacts.
JwContacts is a completely non-profit effort of a sole individual and your use is always at your own risk, not the author's.
11.Do I have to use email for sharing / backing up files?
In Windows you can always store / retrieve most any data as a file. Please be careful to do so securely.
JWC makes available means of connecting to your own personal online secure storage account with certain such services.
Normally these services allow you to invite others to view at least some portion of what you store.
Please make use of that ability discreetly, keeping in mind safegayrading privacy rights of anyone about whom you've stored data.
Make sure any use is in accordance with latest Shepherding instructions regarding sensitive or confidential information.
12. JwContacts Internal Emailer does not seem to work with my email account. What can I do?
Please submit the contact form at https://www.jwcontacts.com/Pages/ContactUs.html., supplying details of any error messages and of how to acquire an account like yours.
I will test and seek to remedy.
The Internal Emailer is founded on a commercial product with paid 24/7 support; I can enlist the vendor's aid as needed.
13. JwContacts suddenly crashes at times. What should I do?
No software is perfect and trying to support a broad range of installations is difficult.
After 3+ years working on this project I've yet to experience data loss, so your data is likely fine.
If the crashes really become bothersome, please email me with any details your feel might help understand what was going on just prior to a crash.
Thank you.
14. When will JwContacts be available in other languages / for use in other countries?
As any Witness, my main interest is my Christian ministry; only so much time can be set aside for extending JwContacts.
Thus no promises can be made, but qualified help from any elder who can rightly make himself available will be considered.
Machine-generated translations can be generated in numerous languages, but these always require verification by a knowledgeable speaker.
15. I think I've found a better app to do what JwContacts does. What should I do?
Please let me know! If you are truly correct I'll make every effort to let other users I'm aware of know.
16. Is JwContacts affliated in any way with other applications?
As of this writing, No, although JWC does provide specific means of exporting data for (older) KHS and TSWIN.
Please oo NOT use any app as if it were affliated UNLESS it is specifically so stated HERE.
However we are open to enabling cross-sharing of setup data with appropriate applications maintained solely by Witness Elders.
Any such application, like JWC, must be in full accordance with all applicable law, especially privacy regulations.
Consideration is also being given to eventually creating a JwContacts Lite for use by publishers.
Such an app would not include any elder-specific data as found in JWC, but would use the Primary Lite data regarding publicly-available information.