So long as your consistency is apparent to everyone else who might use your data. One thing I've learned in my <significant number> years of life: common sense is not universal. What makes perfect sense to me might totally confound/confuse someone else. There are 'rules' in genealogy that have evolved and are generally accepted, even though your way might well be better.
The key is to imagine that in 100 years time, when some descendent of yours gets interested in the family history and digs out your research, will he or she be able to tell what you've done? If you're confident that this is the case, then proceed. Otherwise, give it a 'second think' -- you may be consistently wrong! Take care especially when devising abbreviations and short descriptions. There are plenty of good genealogy books and websites to guide us on what standards now exist. Jane Hakes =============== Frank Morrow writes > Rather than being careful that we 'follow the rules' why > don't we just use common sense in all cases when adding > information - as long as we're consistent does it really matter? > A boss of mine once gave me his rule - 'It doesn't matter if > you are right or wrong, as long as you are consistent'. > Provided we follow this rule, those that follow after can > decipher how we've recorded certain things. > Let's not be concerned too much about what is the right way - > just be consistent! Legacy User Group Etiquette guidelines can be found at: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp To find past messages, please go to our searchable archives at: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup%40mail.millenniacorp.com/ To unsubscribe please visit: http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/LegacyLists.asp
