From: "Gordon Clarke" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Gordon,
I have been volunteering for several years at the Ogden Regional Family History Center. We see all types of patrons who use the FS website regularly. One of the dichotomies of getting programmers for working on genealogy programs is that most of them are young, under 40 - many under 30, and although they are very good programmers they know nearly nothing about actually doing genealogy. Most have never used PAF for example, or the FS site. On the other hand we have older people, over 40, who are very experienced in all the different programs to get their work done but they know nothing about the inner workings of the programs themselves. What is needed is a combination of the two. Since it's probably not possible for an older experienced genealogist to learn programming, it's best to find younger hot-shot programmers who have been doing their own genealogy for some time. Our patrons regularly use PAF, PAF Insight, Legacy, FamilySearch, the old DOS version of Family Search, TempleReady, Ancestry.com, RootsWeb, besides various utilities such as GenViewer and FamilySearcher. Often they will use most of these in the same session. Someone here wrote that what is needed is a game-type program that would lure the user to do genealogy. If a person hates the work so much then nothing will lure them in no matter how exciting. Those who finally get converted to the work want programs that work well and will do what they are supposed to do. A reasonably attractive UI is sufficient but with an easy flow of logic to the steps and commands. Because the majority of people who actually do genealogy are a little older they suffer from vision problems. This makes larger text very high on their wish lists. We often set our monitors to 800 x 600 to make the text readable. Programmers often use large screens with high resolution to create their work without realizing others won't be using that same equipment. I have been an engineer for many years and my 21 inch monitor is set at 1280 x 1064 but I couldn't ask a patron to look at my screen. Younger programmers are anxious to create a "really cool" interface without running it past their parents or grandparents. Maybe just good and plain is what is needed. Just my $.02 worth. Best regards, Frank Reid ----------------------------------------------------------------- With six classrooms, a large main room, and 135 computers the Ogden Regional Family History Center is the Church's largest *independent* FHC. Independent because we are not linked to the mainframe but rely on the Internet like everyone else. ----------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ Ldsoss mailing list Ldsoss@lists.ldsoss.org http://lists.ldsoss.org/mailman/listinfo/ldsoss
