Genealogy Programs
I have a basic love-hate relationship with database programs in general, and even more so with genealogy programs.
Genealogy is a “data based” activity, and the advent of personal computers and software should have meant a better method to collect and store the data. The problem has been that the major program, Family Tree Maker by Ancestry.com is like that old nagging aunt you have in your Gedcom: it constantly nags you. Internet searches, once the domain of free and open access, invariably lead you to a search box that announces thousands of “hits” for your brick wall ancestor only to lead you to a sign up page for a “free trial” ending with, of course, a recurring monthly payment of $19.95.
Seeking out alternatives is not that easy. The program I’m using now, Roots Magic, is a fine program, complete with all the little odd things you find with “independent” software. For software like this, you always look for a helpful and active user community, because they can often help you understand something much easier than the authors. I was excited to see a mailing list for the program, only to realize that it must be moderated by a programmer (or at least someone who has been around the internet since the days of the 1200 baud modem). Strict “on-topic” rules exist, along with stern admonitions that you cannot send a “thank you” message when someone helps you. The penalty for the very next person to exercise this most common of the common courtesies is …. suspension from the list.
Presumably, we only want rude people or techno-geeks on the list, ever cautious about the number of bytes we are transferring over our broadband connections. That extra 75 or 80 bytes makes a difference you know!
Contrast that with the reception users get with Darrin Lythgoes’ TNG Software, intended to present your Gedcom on a web site. I use it at my Genealogy Pages, but alas, being optimized for web use, it isn’t suited to a “local computer” and cannot supplant Roots Magic. Users at his forums are met with friendly users who aren’t afraid to thank one another, and aren’t worried that they will be publicly taken to task for drifting off-topic. Darrin knows that a little moderation goes a long way, and its really about the users anyway.
So a search is on again for a genealogy program that will nag me less than Family Tree Maker and with a feature set similar to Roots Magic, BUT with an active usergroup that’s allowed to say “please” and “thank you”. Comments are welcome.
