I wish I had thought to add to my previous post that Ron is clearly a Legacy guru. Regardless of our differences of opinion regarding sourcing, he is the go-to guy for anything about Legacy.
Janis On 12/7/08 6:46 PM, "Janis L Gilmore" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Ms. Mills' succinct and practical statement about the practicality of > stringent standards for sourcing is most welcome. > > I continue to pull for Legacy to become the academic software of choice for > genealogists; it has much to recommend it. I drifted to Legacy (as I have > often said) more or less by accident, from TMG. There are things I still > miss about TMG, but the superior graphic interface of Legacy was enough to > keep me here. Improved sourcing capabilities with 7.0 pretty further > confirmed my choice. > > I do understand that not everyone feels as I do. I am more than happy to > live and let live. Legacy still offers the old style sourcing. But my > "personal testimony" (can you tell that I was raised a Baptist?) is that my > research, and my output of that research, has been immeasurably improved and > informed by a striving to apply academic standards in the past two years. > The work that went before I tend to view as work to be done over. > > (Note the word "striving." As my husband is fond of saying, "I know what I > am": not there yet!) > > Janis > > > On 12/7/08 6:19 PM, "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >>> We could see this coming, and it is why I would imagine most are like me, >> and extremely selective as to which Source Writer templates are used. Mrs >> Mills has a lot to answer for!! >> >> >> Beyond a doubt, I do, Mr. Ferguson. <g> However, I doubt that this will be >> one of those issues for which I will one day make atonement. >> >> Standard practices for citing subsequent sources existed long before >> _Evidence Explained._ I take no credit for inventing them--only for the >> labor of cataloging them in a genealogical context. Indeed, those standards >> existed long before the emergence of the great divide between lumpers and >> splitters. >> >> The crux of the problem is this: Every software program has its peculiarly >> distinctive architecture. Until common standards are followed by all of >> them, we wrestle with a common problem: What works for one program doesn't >> necessarily work for another. Beyond that, until that glorious day comes >> when peace, harmony, and total synchronization exists, we have a few other >> realities to live with: >> >> 1. Standards for writing and documentation *do* exist for logical reasons, >> although it would be illogical to assume that everyone will automatically >> perceive all those reasons. Most of us learn their value the hard >> way--whether that be through time-consuming study or costly mistakes. >> >> 2. Computers and software are tools to help us perform our tasks--whatever >> those tasks may be--according to the standards that exist for each task. >> >> 3. If we believe that standards should change to fit every piece of >> software, then we're arguing for a morass in which there are no standards at >> all. >> >> >> Some studies have shown that most genealogists today have been "doing >> genealogy" for less than a dozen years. Even so, there are many who well >> remember the state of affairs in the early-to-mid 80s, when genealogical >> software allowed us no way to cite sources at all--no way, no place, no how. >> When we begged the designers for some way to do this, they, too, had trouble >> understanding those "standards for writing and documentation" we spoke of. >> Many a time, at one conference or another, they smiled at me so tolerantly >> before they tsked: "Now, Elizabeth. Nobody cares about documentation--nobody >> but a few 'professionals' like you." (They even had this cute little way of >> saying "professionals" that made it sound like a 13-letter dirty >> word--apparently oblivious to the fact that even genealogists who help >> others with their research have private lives in which they research their >> own families.) >> >> Today, we are blessed that brilliant developers such as Geoff, and his >> counterparts at several other major genealogical software firms, not only >> realize why standards for research and documentation exist, but also are >> putting immense effort into figuring out how to make their programs produce >> those standards. Like all of us, their efforts are still a work in progress. >> Candid discussions in forums such as this, in which users share their >> experiences in using those tools, helps them greatly. Debating the >> intricacies of citation, the differences between sources, the ways both >> effect our analysis of evidence and the reliability of our data--these, too, >> help us toward our common goal: To find our forebears, separate them from >> other same name individuals, reconstruct their lives, and assemble them into >> families whose collective experiences ultimately make ourselves and our >> world more understandable. >> >> Elizabeth >> --------------------------------- >> Elizabeth Shown Mills >> (Whose ancestors have led her on a merry chase through every state east of >> the Mississippi, half of those to the west, and virtually every country west >> of Russia) >> >> >> >> >> *** Holiday discounts on Legacy 7.0, add-ons, books, and more. Visit >> http://tinyurl.com/65rpbt. *** >> Legacy User Group guidelines: >> http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp >> Archived messages: >> http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyfamilytree.com/ >> Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp >> To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp >> >> >> > > > > > > *** Holiday discounts on Legacy 7.0, add-ons, books, and more. Visit > http://tinyurl.com/65rpbt. *** > Legacy User Group guidelines: > http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp > Archived messages: > http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyfamilytree.com/ > Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp > To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp > > > *** Holiday discounts on Legacy 7.0, add-ons, books, and more. Visit http://tinyurl.com/65rpbt. *** Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyfamilytree.com/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
