21 March 2011
BetterGEDCOM
DEVELOPER MEETING NOTES

Reports from moderators:

HOME Moderator: unassigned.
DearMYRTLE to update, move video to FAQ, etc. BetterGEDCOM byline, logo.

One issue is "Does it direct readers to the most important things to read?". What about the BGBlog - has not been updated in a long time. There is
some unnecessary duplication of text. It could say A BIT more about what BG is. (Geir)

Duplications, with multiple links to BG Blog for instance.

EE & GPS Support Moderator: GeneJ new!
GeneJ: BG to accommodate whatever detailed/ not detailed source fields, because ESM (Elizabeth Shown Mills) book, EE (Evidence Explained) is
the buzz word – what people want. Whether it is right or wrong, BG needs to transfer it seamlessly, with zero data loss. Users are driving the vendors.
The end-users decide what goes in the “footnote”, and this is what needs to be communicated in the file transfer.

GenBox next version will include EE style. http://www.genbox.com

What the user decides to do with sources and citations, whether full bore or minimalistic model allowing them to find data again – is irrelevant to what
we’re doing. We need to support whatever is put in the fields. As long as we support the _ number of fields, it doesn’t matter which fields the
end-users employ. All that is important is that it goes out and comes back in looking the same.


We’re US-centric, but additional fields from Europe. For instance the archives may not have the same citations


Tamura: Can BetterGEDCOM also forward the “Template” created by the end-user. Make a set of standard templates. Once you have a template
system, then people can send their templates along. Can you write about this?


Sandy: RootsMagic’s latest update has included the updates to the templates in their GEDCOM file.


Geir: getting agreement on templates will take a while. Vendors would like to see enough fields as a first priority. If I get BetterGEDCOM files from a
lot of people, and we have not reached a standard, I will end up with a lot of different styles, leading to messy reports. The receiving user should have
control over how it is imported and what is printed in the report.


Roger – what if I have set up an event with one set of fields, and I import an event by the same name with a different set of fields, which will take
precedence? (It is feared the last in will change the user's original fields.)



GeneJ – The footnote that is received was created by originator, you as the receiver will probably wish to revamp that. The one you receive was sent
with intention. The goal – the originator’s interpretation.



Geir – if that interpretation can be placed in 10-15 different fields. Not method-specific – templates.



Andy -- All software is interpretation of ESM’s work



GeneJ – the models in EE attempted to show live documents and how citations could be created for a given circumstance. ESM: “We learn the
essential parts, then we add or vary that material to suit our intent.”



Tamura – Here are our templates – the vendors if they get their templates out there. See also for a lengthy list of templates:
http://bit.ly/YatesTemplates




Can FamilySearch make the standard? Probably not, because it takes so long to get anything (like attendance at a BetterGEDCOM meeting)
approved by those in authority over the “RootsTech/GEDCOM” team. 14 years to make an update, abandoning PAF, having too much to do updating
and correcting its own Family History Library Catalog.



Goals Co-Moderators: gthorud and AdrianB38
Spotlighted the BG Requirements Catalog Index and how it’s hyperlinks to the related portion on the more lengthy Better GEDCOM Requirements
Catalog. All invited to add to the catalog, and Geir will see it is indexed and linked.



SOFTWARE USED BY FINNS from data reported by KrisseR:
These statistics are from May 2010 and the sample was 1100.
Key: Title of genealogy software, number of users in the sampling.

Genus, 45
Juuret, 68
Sukujutut, 455
Sukuohjelmisto, 157 (also known as FinFamily)
Legacy, 66, which is translated into Finnish by a Finnish team
Brother's Keepers, 61
Family Tree Maker, 35
Family Tree Builder, 38
Personal Ancestral File (PAF), 67


Not discussed:
Comparisons Moderator: unassigned
Data Models Moderator: Suggestion Mark Tucker. DearMYRTLE will invite him.
Definitions Moderator: ttwetmore (not discussed in his absence)
Meetings Moderator: DearMYRTLE
Genealogy Methodology Moderator: unassigned
Sandbox Moderator: unassigned
Utilities (Page achived Mar 5 2012) Moderator: unassigned
FAQ Moderator: DearMYRTLE – to include video from home page.