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6 Bad Things About Today’s Genealogy Software - Sun, 20 Nov 2011

  1. They make you enter your data into forms and require you run reports to see (some of) your data.
  2. They are person-centric, rather than source-centric.
  3. They emphasize formatting your citations correctly, rather than documenting your sources correctly
  4. They promote merging other people’s data with yours, rather than keeping them separate and virtually merging
  5. They don’t adhere to GEDCOM standards, thereby not allowing you to correctly transfer your data between programs.
  6. They try to do everything, except the one thing you want them to do: Help you quickly and easily record your data, evidence and conclusions and let you make use of them.

Sorry. The last few days I’ve been thinking a lot, and had to put this down.

4 Comments           comments Leave a Comment

1. npmaling (npmaling)
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Joined: Mon, 21 Nov 2011
1 blog comment, 0 forum posts
Posted: Mon, 21 Nov 2011  Permalink

Hi, Mr. Kessler. I’ve written a few comments about your list above. The comments are at http://wp.me/p1WkdT-bK. Thanks. NPM

2. Louis Kessler (lkessler)
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Joined: Sun, 9 Mar 2003
287 blog comments, 245 forum posts
Posted: Mon, 21 Nov 2011  Permalink

NPM: Thank you for your comments. I’ve posted a reply on your site.

3. mtibesar (mtibesar)
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Joined: Fri, 25 Nov 2011
5 blog comments, 0 forum posts
Posted: Fri, 25 Nov 2011  Permalink

When they merge data they often corrupt the database. Merging is very dangerous and, I’ve learned after repeated attempts to manually enter everything. Virtual merging would be cool!

4. mtibesar (mtibesar)
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Joined: Fri, 25 Nov 2011
5 blog comments, 0 forum posts
Posted: Fri, 25 Nov 2011  Permalink

Amen on Number #5 !!! Why in the hell don’t they follow this wonderful standard!?!

 

The Following 3 Sites Have Linked Here

  1. Response to Louis Kessler\\\\\\\'s 6 Bad Things - Sea Genes - N. P. Maling : Mon, 21 Nov 2011
    Mr. Kessler posted six statements (marked below as “LK:”) on Sunday evening and one reader asked for suggestions, so I am responding with my opinions...

  2. What's "Bad" About Genealogy Software? - Genea-Musings, Randy Seaver : Mon, 21 Nov 2011
    Louis Kessler, on the Louis Kessler's Behold blog, posted 6 Bad Things About Today’s Genealogy Software yesterday. Louis has been discussing source information in GEDCOM files...

  3. Genealogy - Southeast Michigan : Sun, 1 Dec 2013
    Bad Software. Posted by Derek Davey.

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