BetterGEDCOM
DEVELOPERS MEETING NOTES
19 September 2011
INTRODUCTIONS
- Dovy
- Roger
- Tamura
- Myrt
- Andy
- Geir
- Louis
FYI - Arphax providing maps to digital and online format and HistoryGeo.com
SOURCE TEMPLATES.ORG sub-project
- Dovy - Category, edit templates – first focus Elizabeth Shown Mills’ work.
- Geir – jumping? Governance? Goals?
- Gordon – time with Robert Raymond & Steven Law ICE and met with 10-15 vendors on bibliographic metadata to discuss a framework, layer of extraction that regardless of the templates everything would work into an exchange capability. Which templates for which purpose, depending on user expertise, custom templates. They tried to stay out of everything in ESM book and stay out of the database or template business to make sure every possibility could be embraced regardless of website or desktop application. A model for citation without a specific application. We went that way because we didn’t want to pull everyone into a detailed schema battle – consensus is better. What 20% will handle 80% of people’s needs? 100% for published sources, stopped at unpublished.
- Dovy – is every vendor to have a spot on the governance. We are guessing BetterGEDCOM will be doing much of the work and have a voice in the governance.
- Geir – Voice in the governance -- Need more than American vendors to participate in the work if we want “international” application.
- GeneJ - http://bit.ly/nCafvj that link is link to 2009 ICE slide show (Robert Raymond)
- Myrt – Why was the FS interest stopped?
- Gordon – other interests took priority.
- GeneJ – consider not jumping in with SourceTemplates, perhaps start with the concept of I.C.E. We have also discussed records-based.
- Andy – finally getting
- Roger – is FamilySearch source citation work largely American in focus.
- Gordon – EE lacked in internet-based and international citations. Using 8-10 languages, FS is focused internationally.
- Dovy – John Vilburn says I.C.E. can be easily integrated.
- Gordon - is here as an individual, not as an employee of FamilySearch.org. When there is a formal organization, then there can be formal discussion. FS needs standardization just as does BriteSolid to deal with GEDCOM is just part of the issue – unique identifiers, APIs.
Comment: It was agreed that BetterGEDCOM as a non-commercial entity is poised to pull togethercontributions from members of the genealogy community.
AGREED: At next meeting we would discuss process for becoming a non-profit corporation using materials Gordon would provide to the wiki in the mean time.
Comments
GEDCOM's sourcing/documentation architecture is a small platform--few elements and relative few "mechanical" parts.
While there are pitfalls to a system too small, there may be more pitfalls to a system that is too large.
Least we jump from the frying pan into the fire, I hope BetterGEDCOM plans carefully the mechanism by which it seeks to expand the GEDCOM system.
P.S. Apparently I didn't make the introductions cut, but you all know bear was there.