Thanks for that sage advice. I'd value a pointer to some reasonably concise guide to accepted standards adopted by genealogists. There is so much info out there that I find it overwhelming. A method of identifying unknown names is a good example. There seems to be a lot of debate on this forum about that, as also about sourcing. There also seem to be very different practices in the US and UK. I'm on neutral ground here in Australia. Maybe that's why I'm confused!
As a newcomer to both Legacy and Genealogy, I'm trying to set my own internal standards so that I can be consistent, and both I in the future, and others afterwards, can understand what I have done. So far (in the 6 months I've been at it) this has involved a certain amount of trial and error, which is fine up to a point, and in my view, is the best way to learn. The challenge now is to anticipate the future uses that my data will be put to. That is where tapping the much greater and varied experience of others is so essential. This group is great for that, as it's not just genealogical standards that are important but also how to graft those onto Legacy.
However, I also agree with the sentiment behind Frank's email. In this area it is easy to agonise over the minutiae too much, rather than just getting on with it. I'm as guilty of this as anyone!
Cheers, Rob
----- Original Message ----- From: "Jane Hakes" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, January 06, 2005 9:42 PM
Subject: RE: [LegacyUG] Common sense
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!
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